To be honest, I’m a bit embarrassed that I’m just getting into cold brew now. I’ve always been a fan of espresso and splurged on occasion with a pour over but upon stumbling on cold brew I may have found one of the most versatile ways to make coffee.
We have been sending a ton of coffee samples out so there is always coffee around, normally we give it to family members before it gets too old. However, last week I found myself trying to figure out what to do with a vast quantity of coffee that was about three weeks old.
I googled “how to make cold brew” and realized that I pretty much had everything needed. Seven days and four batches of cold brew later and I’m convinced this is going to be one of my go-to extraction methods moving forward, especially in the hot Florida summers.
Making cold brew is surprisingly easy and rewarding. It is said that extracting via cold brew greatly reduces the acidity of the coffee, making it an overall smoother cup.
There are plenty of opinions on the web regarding different coffee to water ratios, an ongoing debate about caffeine content between cold brew and espresso, and even iced coffee versus cold brew. However, in Colombia we drink coffee from infancy and caffeine is but an afterthought. #EverythingInModeration
Cold Brew Instructions
After much reviewing online we decided to use a 1:6 coffee to water ratio, some people use
this ratio to make concentrate, we normally serve with a couple of ice cubes and as the ice melts the cup gets smoother.
For our last batch, we poured 120g of coarsely ground coffee into a large jug and mixed in
700g of cold water. When deciding which beans to use, we tried both our Guatemalan single origin and our more balanced Cumbia double origin blend and they were both excellent.
Stir the water and coffee grinds with a wooden spoon, some people say using a metal utensil gives the coffee an off taste so better safe than sorry.
Cover the container and store it in the fridge for 16 hours. Over time, the coffee starts setting and separation of the coffee sediment and liquid inside of the container is visible, I just grab the container and move it in a circular motion as to help it mix further.
Let your coffee brew overnight and after your desired extraction time has passed just filter out the coffee sediment with a cheesecloth, then transfer into a jug for storing. The used coffee grounds are wonderful garden compost.
Upon making a batch of cold brew, you have delicious coffee on demand. You end up with a very uniform, smooth, chocolaty cup. You can just reach into your fridge on a hot summer day for an instant refreshment. Moreover, cold brew can be mixed with milk or alt milk and can be diluted as necessary to make smoother. For this and many more reasons, cold brew is a winner and an extraction method to explore further.
