The summer is finally here and after those long Alberta winters, we all find ourselves looking for something cold to drink. It is no doubt that Iced Coffee has become a favorite for coffee lovers during these hot months. While Iced Coffee is still the most widely know cold coffee beverage, the popularity of Cold Brew coffee has been steadily growing over the last number of years. While you may have never heard of it before, it has actually something that has been around a long time.
What is Cold Brew Coffee?
While Iced Coffee was brewed with hot water and then cooled, Cold Brew is brewed with cold water over a longer time, thus the term cold brew.
What's the big deal with Cold Brew Coffee?
Well, making coffee is all about extraction. Through the roasting process green coffee is transformed from around 300 different types of molecules to close to 1000. Some of those are soluble and other not. Basically this means that the method you use to make your coffee can change what parts of the coffee end up in your cup, which greatly affects the taste.
When you make Cold Brew Coffee, you end up with lower acidity and often a sweeter and smoother flavor. That's not to say that it is better than hot coffee, just that it is different and will provide a different experience. Some of those acids that you get in a hot coffee can give you some sweet and fruity or citrus like flavors that make your coffee delicious.
How to make Cold Brew Coffee?
What you need...
- Course Ground Coffee
- French Press or food grade container to steep your coffee
- Reusable metal filter (paper filters tend to clog more with Cold Brew) *not needed if you're using a French Press
What do you do?
1. Add your ground coffee to your container or french press.
2. Add cold filtered water and give a quick gentle stir to ensure the grounds are wet. We use 70 grams of coffee to make 1 liter of cold brew.
If you use 1 liter of water, the grounds will soak up a good amount of that water. After filtering the coffee we will add water to get the 70 gram to 1 liter ratio. You can experiment to find what you enjoy best.
3. Cover the container and place in the fridge for 18-22 hours.
4. Filter the coffee with the french press plunger, or pour through your filter into another container.
5. Dilute to desired strength, Pour, and enjoy!