Cold Brew Coffee: The Recipe and Some Tips

Cafendo/Blog/Cold Brew Coffee: The Recipe and Some Tips

The advantages:

We believe that the main advantage with this type of drink is that it is really easy to make; you do not need any special equipment or set of skills
Also, making it at home is way cheaper than ordering it at a shop: talk about savings!
If you are one of those people that want something to grab quickly before getting out the door, cold brew is perfect
As for the taste, it is smooth, slightly sweet, and also very refreshing
Last but not least, even though this is meant to be served cold, you can easily warm it up when you feel like it and it will maintain its best qualities

An introduction to cold brew coffee:

You can control how strong or mild your brew can be, you just have to pay attention to a few factors, like the type of beans you use, the steep time, and the grounds to water ratio. Therefore, it is very easy to make it according to your taste.

Something you might not know about cold brew is that it is less acidic compared to drip coffee or espresso. If you noticed that the latter two do not always make best buddies with your gut, this might be the reason why! The only sure way of finding out is by trying it.

Cold-brew does not have many disadvantages, but one of them is the amount of time it takes to make it. Because cold water is used, it takes between 12 and 18 hours for the color, flavor, and caffeine to develop. But this is also the reason why it turns out to be sweeter than the rest of the coffees: thanks to the cold extraction process, fewer of coffee’s bitter compounds are brought up to the surface.

For the best result, you will need your beans to be coarsely ground. If you do not have a coffee grinder at home, a quick and easy fix is stopping by your favorite coffee shop and asking them to grind it for you - we are sure they will be more than happy to.

But while the grind matters, the variety does not. You can use any kind you want or like and even experiment to see which fits your preferences best. Also, a great little experiment would be to make both cold brew and hot coffee from the same variety and clearly see how this impacts the taste.

First step: the ratio

We will tell you right away, it does not have to be exact. Sure, a kitchen scale is always handy, but if you do not have one, you can work it out just as well. The idea is that now you will be making a concentrate, which later can be diluted to your liking.

Generally, you need 1 ounce (28 grams) of coarsely ground coffee for 1 cup of water
You might notice that you will end up with less concentrate than the amount of water you put in: that is because the coffee grounds will absorb some of it
Do not let this bum you out though, because you will end up diluting this concentrate with about an equal amount of water - so nothing is lost

Second step: steeping

Once you mix up your grounds and your water, you have to let them steep. The amount of time you should let them do that is not something too exact either: you can leave them overnight, for 12 hours, 18 hours, or even 20. We would say to leave them so as to match your schedule. After your first try, you will be able to figure out just how much time you should let them steep.

Third step: straining

Once the steeping is done, straining comes up. If you thought that a fine mesh or a french press filter would be enough, think again. That is if you do not want to end up with some murky concentrate.

One alternative would be a cheesecloth, but some people might find that hard to work with. Other ways would be either very thin paper coffee filters or a vintage handkerchief. The paper coffee filters should not be thick, as it will take forever to strain, and a handkerchief will work just fine as long as it is clean, lint-free, and made of cotton. You will end up with a coffee stain on it, so be careful which one you choose.

Fourth and final step: dilute it

Now that all the hard work has been done, it is time to let your alchemist skills shine through. For example, depending on the ratio you choose, you might end up with about two and a half cups of cold brew concentrate. Remember when we said that you will dilute it with the same amount of water? Well, do just that, and you just made yourself five cups of cold brew! You just fixed yourself up from Monday through Friday!

What do you think? Is it worth the hassle? We know that this process can be a little time-consuming, but considering the final result, we think it pays out. If you try it yourself, let us know what you think!