Within recent years, cold brew coffee has built quite the reputation in the casual coffee scene, and even the more enthusiastic coffee drinkers.
But what exactly is this “cold brew”?
Cold brew is the name given to coffee that is made with either room temperature or chilled water, and steeped for a duration of time.
Now, it is to not be confused with iced coffee, which is coffee made with, ideally, water around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and then chilled and served over ice.
And how has cold brew become one of the coolest (pun intended) things since sliced bread? Simply because of the taste, and the benefits it offers those who have digestive issues.
Cold brew, because it does not come in contact with hot water, is far less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee, which makes it easier on the stomach. It also becomes quite concentrated during the 20 or so hours that it steeps, so when watered down, it will result in much more coffee than normal brewing.
There are a plethora of ways to make cold brew coffee, with the most popular method requiring the Toddy Cold Brew System, a rather expensive food safe bucket that comes with bag filters for the coffee grounds, and has a very easy to use spout to pour from. If you do not own one of these, have no fear, as there are easier options.
One of the ways that I make it at home, is with the use of a French press. For the most part, French presses are all the same, with the exception of a few bells and whistles, so any press will work just fine. For this recipe, you will need 2/3 of a cup of your favorite coffee beans, ground on a coarse setting, one paper coffee filter, a resealable jar, 3 cups of filtered room temperature water, a French press that can hold at least 4 cups, and about 20 hours of patience.
- Add roughly half of the water to the press.
- Add the ground coffee, and give it a light stir.
- Pour in the rest of the water, and stir until all of the grounds are incorporated.
- Now, just top it off with the plunger portion of the press, and then wait. It is best to let it sit on the countertop as opposed to in the fridge, as it will keep it from getting too cold prevent an incomplete extraction.
- After around 12-20 hours or so, go ahead and push down that plunger, and carefully pour the cold brew into something like a mason jar, through a normal paper coffee filter. The paper filter will catch any grounds that made it through the steel filter, which will result in a cleaner cup of cold brew. Next, simply place the jar into the fridge and allow it to chill.
Now, after all that work, you have a good batch of cold brew. Cold brew is very versatile, as there is a lot you can do with it. You can add milk, water, sugar, ice, cinnamon, vanilla, pretty much anything goes wonderfully with cold brew, and the best part is that it will not get watered down by adding ice, as typical ice coffee does.
It is always fun to use different coffee beans to see how they taste as cold brew. I generally prefer darker roasts, as they give a nice stout taste. So why not give this super smooth brewing method a try today? I promise you won’t regret it!