Metric Coffee Unveils Cannabis Cold Brew on 4/20

Typically serving its patrons liquid fuel, beginning tomorrow, 4/20, Chicago’s celebrated micro-roaster Metric Coffee—which landed in West Fulton a year and a half ago—will help denizens mellow out. Partners Ben Houtkamp, Darko Arandjelovic, and Xavier Alexander are introducing a limited-run batch of Hellion Cold Brew—sister brand to Metric—laced with cannabis ($13), or more specifically CBD (cannabidiol), the plant’s legal, non-psychoactive compound that’s lauded for a laundry list of therapeutic and medicinal benefits, like decreasing anxiety, alleviating pain, and combatting inflammation.

To start, Metric has produced just 25 12-ounce bottles, each of which contains 30 milligrams of CBD—a solid dose considering cannabis dispensaries typically sell CBD edibles, like gummies, portioned with 5 milligrams per candy. “We’re fascinated by CBD’s apparent ability to chill us out,” states Houtkamp of the group’s decision to tweak their chilled coffee with a medicinal slant.

According to Houtkamp, their cannabis cold brew took several months to properly batch. “Flavor and effect were the two big criteria that were challenging, but we are very happy with what we’ve come up with,” he says, adding that the CBD “adds a unique and noticeable earthiness,” which matches the cold brew’s chocolatey flavor. While the healing cold brew marks the team’s foray into CBD beverages, pending the drink’s success, more could come down the line.