Coffee steeped in a cool water rather than hot creates an entirely new drink – cold brew coffee. This unique – and now famous – style of brewing is touted for it’s smoothness and low-acidity.
It can get pricey at some coffee shops, but it’s actually pretty easy to make yourself some at home. Here’s how:
Getting Started
The water-to-coffee ratio and the brew times are almost a matter of preference. Different sources vary greatly in this regard.
We recommend to start with 250 grams or about 9 ounces of coffee beans from your favorite roaster. If you want to use a standard one cup measurement, that’s a heaping cup of coffee beans. You will have enough for 4-6 cups.
You will also need a large mason jar, a sieve, paper towels, pure filtered water, and a burr grinder.
Make your Cold Brew Coffee
In a nutshell, there are 3 easy steps:
- Grind your beans on coarse using a burr grinder
- Put grounds and filtered water in your mason jar (or container of your choice)
- Let it sit for 12-24 hours
Here are the detailed instructions with explanation:
Grind your beans on the coarsest setting available on your burr grinder. If you have a hand-powered grinder you’ll get this level of grind automatically. You’ll want your ground beans to have a lot of surface area to help steep the brew and make it as flavorful as possible, so keep it rough.
First, put your grounds in your pitcher or mason jar, then add a liter and a half of filtered water. If you’re using fluid cups, measure out just over 6 cups of water. Pour it over your beans in a circular motion to ensure they’re all saturated and keep pouring until you’ve used all the water.
Cover your bowl with a towel and let it sit for 24 hours.
After your cold brew coffee is thoroughly steeped, strain the coffee into a new container through a sieve. This can be a jar or a second bowl, glass or plastic. Then, strain the coffee a second time, this time adding a wet paper towel to your sieve to catch any tiny bits of the beans left over in your brew. Put the coffee in the container you’ll use to store it, (it will keep up to a week), put it through your sieve and towel combo one last time. Seal it and put it in the refrigerator.
Serve Your Cold Brew
The beauty of “cold” brew coffee is that you don’t have to drink it iced or chilled. You can also use it to make a hot cup of coffee that’s much smoother than a standard hot brew coffee.
Start with about a quarter cup of cold brew coffee and then add hot water to it, filling your mug or thermos to the top. Your coffee won’t need any sugar or milk as it’s already balanced, but dress it up however you like. This version of coffee is also great in smoothies or in a cocktail.
Do you love cold brew coffee? Comment or post below and tell us all about it.