Drink coffee cold and never look old? – Let’s have a look at the Cold Brew Coffee trend and see if it’s easy to make and healthier than normal, or hot brew coffee.
“She prefers sharp to flowing lines, brooding to pouting,
and rock and roll to country and western. […] The Winter
Woman likes her men weak and her coffee strong.”
― Christopher Moore, Bloodsucking Fiends
* * *
“If I asked for a cup of coffee, someone
would search for the double meaning.”
– Mae West
Often called a trend with health benefits, Cold Brew coffee has become really popular lately – but it’s not a brand new thing really. The method’s exact pedigree remaining obscure, modern-day cold brew pioneers in the Western world have been on the market for 50 years.
Coffee nerds today discuss best devices and best coffee-to-water ratio, best bean variety and best brewing time – not unlike other foodie alchemists such as wine experts, craft beer nerds or tea enthusiasts.
Cold Brew Fact Check
A Fancy Name For Iced Coffee?
It’s incredible but there is some real confusion. To answer this question upfront: NO. Cold brew coffee is not the same as iced coffee.
It is of course possible to make quite delicious iced coffee FROM cold brew coffee, and I’m sharing my favourite little trick at the end of this post.
Cold Brew Fact Check
It’s Not Raw Coffee
Cold Brew Fact Check
Cold brew, Carl!
Sometimes the cold brew systems look like fancy props from a steampunk movie: tubes, copper bowls, strange, lab-like glass vials. Just without the steam obviously!
Yay to zombie-apocalypse-friendly coffee-making.
Making A Cold Brew Coffee
Now that you know which
✔︎ device
you’ll be using, all you need are:
✔︎ a few days to experiment with coffee-water-ratio and brewing time,
✔︎ medium grind beans, the coarser, the better, that you cover with
✔︎ room temperature water (start with an 1:8 ratio),
✔︎ and then some 8 to 12 hours steeping time (some like it strong: with up to 24 hours).
✔︎ When brewed, strain/filter and store in bottles or jars in the refrigerator.
The obtained concentrate, or extract, filtered, will be good for 2 weeks, stored in the fridge.
The taste and aroma are very different from its hot brewed counterpart – it’s in the solubility, you know. Also, do experiment with different bean varieties.To enjoy, mix the concentrate with warm or cold water (not ulike making an Americano from an Espresso). Some prefer to enjoy it pure, so here it’s the time to really find out what suits you best: find out your best beans to water ratio for steeping, and your favourite concentrate to water ratio for drinking your delicious cold brew.
Health Benefits, If Any?
(* Source 1 , source 2, ** source, *** source, **** source.)The good news is that cold steeping decreases the acidity of coffee.
Cold Brew, What’s Next:
Ready-To-Use Goodness
Having some cold brew concentrate handy in your fridge means that you can offer a bunch of friends a variety of coffee-based beverages – in the blink on an eye!
Rice milk, infused with organic spices – cinnamon, clove, ginger – and sweetened with delicious, caramel-like coconut sugar, softly heated in a stove and foamed, makes an excellent tox-free Pumpkin Spice Latte.
.
Pour the cold brew extract over ice for an iced coffee or latte, mix with hot water (1 to 1) with foamed plant milk or milk for an “instant” latte or cappucino.
I hope this somewhat lengthy post has answered all your pressing cold brew coffee questions and sparked your interest in finding your own, personal favourite recipe!
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Categories: BEAUTYCALYPSE, HEALTHY FOOD
I haven’t tried cold brew coffee but I have some beans, so I may try to make some. I like the idea of coffee ice cubes.
I like all flavoured ice cubes! Berry punch, frozen, is my go-to Halloween fun 😉
This is great, so, so great!! I’m a huge fan of cold brew so knowing how easy it is to make is going to be a game changer. Thanks for the information and great recipes Nath 🙂
One question, I bought a bottle of cold brew on a trip and didn’t put it in the fridge until a few days later. The company said since its not pasteurized it wouldn’t be safe to drink, but if it’s only coffee and water what’s happening to it to make it unsafe? I feel like this is an obvious answer that I’m just not seeing :S
Have a great weekend hon! xo
Hey luvvie, thanks for dropping by! Always good to see you ❤
Re your Q: coffee (the beverage) consists of water and solubles from the beans, oils included. I'd say it can go bad without cooling, get mouldy for example.
Well, if coffee would make me “not look old” then, with the cups of a coffee a day which I drink, I would be back to infant times 🙂
It’s the COLD coffee that rejuvenates. Hehe, that’s the trick 😉
What’s your fave coffee beverage?
Lately I’ve turned into espresso lady 🙂
Aaah. They got too acidic for me in fact. So I switched to a simple ceramic dripper, and the Vietnamese espresso blend (it’s 4 different coffee varieties, very fragrant, and they serve it with sweetened condensed milk – which I skip, or use unsweetened rice milk)
Hmm! Never tasted Vietnamese espresso blend! Ha!!
They serve it in all Vietnamese restaurants here in Berlin and probably in all Vietnamese restaurants in the world 🙂 You should try it!
Really? I’m in Berlin next weekend so I’m sticking it to my agenda!! Yay!
Oooh! Then do book a table at Chen Ché (http://www.chenche-berlin.de/html/) in Berlin-Mitte. It’s tea house themed and really lovely. Lots of most delicious vegan/vegetarian options, too. Or their quite authentic street kitchen sister – just across the road – District Môt (http://www.districtmot.com)
Thanks for the tips!!
Sure thing! 🙂