What is cold brew coffee?
Cold brew is coffee brewed without heat.
you might go on to pour hot brewed coffee over ice, and this would simply be iced coffee.
It lasts a while.
Usually when you embark on making cold brew, its a concentrate.
While it might look like a small amount, its incredibly strong.
So a measly 12 ounces of concentrate might last you a solid three mornings of caffeination.
If youre a sometimes-drinker, youre in even more luck.
Dont misunderstand, I like hot brewed coffee too.
The hot water extracts flavors and oils from the bean that display the entire spectrum of flavor.
No special tools needed.
You only need a container with a lid, coarsely ground coffee, and filtered water.
Then you could strain it in any of the ways that I list in Step 5.
Whichever bean you like is the one you should use.
This time I usedCafe Grumpys Momentumroast.
Which brings us to our next step.
Use a coarse grind
The size of the grounds is mostly about logistics.
Set your grinder to a medium-coarse grind, leaning slightly more to the coarse side.
Plus, this amount fits best in my French press.
Once youve decided on your ratio, you could do some gentle math.
Dont worry, its not too bad, but a kitchen scale helps.
You’ll probably need to adjust your dilution at the end to nail your perfect mix every time.
For my 1:5 ratio I used two cups of ground beans and a hair over three cups of water.
Steep
Put the lid on your cold brew vessel if there is one.
Leave the brew to steep on the counter at room temperature for 16 to 18 hours.
This lengthens the brew time to about 20 to 24 hours.
Dilute and enjoy
Now comes the moment weve all been waiting for: drinking!
Youve probably noticed you used a heck of a lot of beans for a seemingly small amount of coffee.
Concentrate is deceiving like that, but dont be dismayed.
I like to fill a glass halfway with ice, and add 50/50 concentrate and water.
Add a splash of milk if you like and get on your way.
Now there’s no need to hit the cafe first thing to get that perfect summer cold brew.
