Cold Brew Coffee
If you like your coffee chilled, cold brew coffee makes a wonderful, refreshing and full-flavoured alternative to iced coffees, and is easy to prepare.
When coffee is brewed in hot water, then chilled or iced, it has a tendency to taste bitter or sour, but when it is cold-brewed the result is a smooth and sweet-tasting drink without the bitterness. The subtle characteristics of particular coffee beans are slowly and gently extracted and unique flavours become pronounced in the cold brewed coffee.
Cold Brew Coffee
When coffee is brewed in hot water, then chilled or iced, it has a tendency to taste bitter or sour, but when it is cold-brewed the result is a smooth and sweet-tasting drink without the bitterness. The subtle characteristics of particular coffee beans are slowly and gently extracted and unique flavours become pronounced in the cold brewed coffee.
You may find that cold brew coffee is a little smoother and naturally sweeter than iced coffee, as the subtle characteristics of particular coffee beans are extracted over a longer period of time than with an iced coffee.
The origins of this refreshing drink can be traced back to Japan as long ago as the 1600s, with evidence of a coffee beverage made with cold water to be found in Kyoto, but it's only in recent years that cold brew coffee has become quite so popular.
How to Make the Perfect Cold Brew
Making your own cold brew coffee is simplicity itself, and just requires coffee, water, a jar with a wide neck, and something to strain it with. Although it requires a little time and patience, the end result is worth the wait!
There are a variety of affordable cold brew coffee makers that can be bought, with integrated filters to make the process easier, but a kilner jar or any wide-necked jar with a sealable lid will do. Some people even use a French press.
- 1. Start with a quality coffee bean that has been coarsely ground. We would recommend our ‘Percolator’ grind coffees as an ideal coarseness.
- 2. A good ratio of ground coffee to water is 1:8, so 50g of coffee to 400ml of water, for example.
- 3. Put the coffee and water in a cold brew coffee pot, a kilner jar or any wide-necked jar and give it a very gentle stir.
- 4. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and leave it to infuse for at least 12 hours, but not more than 24 hours.
- 5. After 12-24 hours, you can discard the coffee grounds if using a device with a filter or strain the coffee through coffee filter paper or a few pieces of kitchen towel into another clean container.
Now your cold brew coffee is ready and can be enjoyed with the addition of ice or milk, or just diluted with cold water. Sugar doesn't easily dissolve in cold drinks, but a simple sugar syrup can be added to taste if desired. You will probably find your cold-brewed coffee tastes naturally sweeter than hot-brewed coffee anyway.
Which Coffee Beans to Use
The variety of coffee used for your cold brew is down to personal choice, but good quality beans, preferably single-origin, are best, as the wonderful nuanced flavours of high quality beans can truly be appreciated with this method. A medium or dark roast is also favoured, rather than a lighter roast.
Whatever beans are used, they must be coarsely ground, as there's a risk of bitterness from over-extraction if the grind is too fine; a grind suitable for percolator coffee is best.
It's worth bearing in mind that different roasts can impart different flavours; dark roasts may taste more earthy and chocolatey, whereas the flavours of lighter roasts may be less pronounced, and also take longer to be extracted.
The type of water used to make cold brew coffee can influence flavour and quality, with filtered or bottled water being preferable, ensuring the subtle flavours of the coffee are not impaired by undesirable tap water additives.