How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
Cold coffee is always a great treat – it is incredibly refreshing while giving you that distinct kick of energy that only caffeine can give you. However, one of the worst problems coffee enthusiasts have to deal with is watery cold coffee. Trust us when we say that no one loves bland iced coffee. Luckily, there is a solution to that – cold brew.
Cold Brew offers you a simple way of getting that caffeine fix in the middle of a hot day. It is highly-caffeinated and incredibly easy to make, at least, if you have the patience to wait. That said, this guide teaches you everything you need to know about making cold brew.
Cold Brew refers to the slow method of extracting flavors from your coffee grounds. Instead of using hot water to do it in a matter of minutes, you will be using cold water for at least 12 hours. The steeped coffee steadily infuses the water with all the great coffee flavors your beans have to offer while leaving out the compounds that create bitterness.
It is also worth mentioning that the prolonged process also enables you to extract greater levels of caffeine from the grinds. At the end of the process, you will have cold coffee with a distinctly smooth and almost chocolate-like flavor profile.
Before anything else, you need to prepare your ingredients. In terms of coffee, you need to ensure that your beans are coarsely ground for optimal extraction. As a general guide, it needs to resemble coarse cornmeal. We also recommend using filtered water. Remember, if the water doesn’t taste great on its own, then it will also make for poor coffee.
You can start using 4 cups of water for every cup of ground coffee. If you are new to cold brew, remember that it will have a stronger taste profile compared to iced coffee. So, feel free to play around with the coffee-water ratio on different batches as you adjust the cold brew’s concentration and intensity.
Making the cold brew is as simple as putting the ingredients together and letting the grounds steep in the fridge overnight. 12 hours is the standard as it gives the coffee grinds enough time to infuse the water with its flavors. Once you are done, strain the water and serve. Remember that a cold brew batch won’t spoil for at least a week.
That said, you can also play around with the cold brew’s steep time to adjust flavor intensity. If you want something lighter, then a 10-hour brew should suffice. You can also for as long as 20 hours if you want to get a full-bodied cold brew. Just be careful about over-extraction as steeping your coffee grinds for too long can create a bitter aftertaste.
There you have it. Making cold brew coffee is a simple and straightforward affair. It also gives you a myriad of possibilities in terms of how you can consume this drink. So, make sure to try this brewing guide the next time you get a chance.
