Making The Ultimate Cold Brew At Home
There’s nothing quite like a creamy cold brew on a crisp sunny morning. You may notice it’s thick rich finish and wonder what exactally the barista did back there to make it so delicious? You may also notice Iced Coffee and Cold Brew both on the same café menu so… what exactly is cold brew? In this article we will dive into not only what cold brew is, but also how you can make the same delicious brew right at home without the hassle of long lines, chatty baristas, and their tip seeking iPads. Let’s dive in.
Cold Brew, Iced Coffee, & Nitro Brew
First, let’s decipher between cold brew and iced coffee.
Iced Coffee is simply hot brewed coffee, chilled and poured over ice. This method savors much of the beans original flavor and is always a refreshing and robust option. Out of everything discussed in this article, iced coffee is the most popular and best understood option available.
Cold Brew is crafted by steeping ground coffee beans in cold water for long periods of time, typically 12–24 hours depending on the roast profile. This method of extraction results in a cold brew concentrate which is potent in caffeine and aroma. It can be served in a variety of different fashions, typically diluted to taste with water or creamer, and then served chilled, iced, or hot. Cold brews are best known for their thick, rich, and creamy textures with high levels of caffeine, low acidity, and notes of nutty chocolate.
Nitro Brew is a trendy new style to serve coffee hitting the market. Nitro brew is crafted from taking that same cold brew discussed above and charging it with nitrogen, giving it an addictive creamier texture.
Making Cold Brew From Home
Making delicious homemade cold brew is simple with a few easy steps. Following these steps will bring some added convenience to your daily routine as well. Many home brewers recommend beginning the process over the weekend and straining your batch on Sunday evening, leaving you with a week’s supply of delicious cold brew ready to pour the moment you wake up. With that said, let’s get to brewing!
Step 1: Choosing the Right Coffee
The coffee you choose to brew will greatly affect the final product. By nature, the cold brewing process will tend to draw out notes of nutty chocolate with low acidity, thus baristas will typically go for a roast in alignment with that particular flavor profile. Great coffees to enhance that aroma would from South American or Latin American origins. Perfectly matching this profile within our catalog, we typically recommend our Double Reef French Roast or Blackbeard Dark Roast for cold brewing.
If you happen to enjoy the sweeter fruitier light roasts, the cold brewing process will help those flavors shine through beautifully as well. Baristas typically recommended when using lighter roasts to reframe from adding milk while diluting, unlike with heavier bodied dark roasts. When it comes to timing, typically the lighter the roast the longer the steeping process will take. The darkest of roasts can be ready in as little as 12 hours while light roasts can take up too 18–24 hours.
If you wish to learn more about specific coffee types, their origins, and what makes them all different, check out our guide here so you can confidently choose the right coffee for you.
Step 2: Choosing the Right Grind
Choosing the correct grind setting for your coffee is important due to the length of time your coffee will the steeping in the cold water. While finely ground coffee is best for auto drip and pour over techniques, the opposite can be said when it comes to making the perfect cold brew. Sourcing coarsely ground coffee will be your best option here as it allows the water to absorb a greater surface area of the bean, thus extracting a more robust aroma of rich flavors and caffeine.
While most pre-ground coffee found on store shelves will default to finely ground beans for auto-drip coffee, we highly recommend purchasing either whole bean options and grinding at home or purchasing pre-ground coarse beans online. We offer pre-ground coarse grind options for all our roasts online at www.bloodypiratecoffeeco.com .
Step 3: Choosing the Right Water & Temperature
Now that we have our preferred coarse ground coffee, we are ready to begin the steeping process. Be sure to use high quality filtered water for your batch. At the end of the day your coffee will be 98% water, and a quality foundation is crucial to your enjoyment and your health. Coffee lovers tend to choose cold brew for its low acidity and antioxidant rich nature, thus skimping out on quality filtered water is not the corner to cut.
A French Press is a great option for cold brewing, but any airtight glass container such as a mason jar will do.
Next, pour one cup of ground coffee with every 3 cups of filtered water into your container. While most hot brews have a ratio of about 1:16- 1:20 coffee grinds to water, your cold brew will live between 1:4–1:8. The three cups of water to every one cup of grinds rule is the perfect place to start with your concentrate, and can be diluted to taste later on.
While allowing the brewing process to take place in the refrigerator is great for dark roasts, it may not always be the best option when using a medium or light roast. If not given the appropriate amount of time your coffee can end up tasting bland and chalky. For light to medium roasts, try brewing in ambient water within the 60–70 degrees Fahrenheit range. Whether or not you choose to brew in the refrigerator, be sure to always store your strained and finished coffee in the fridge at all times. This will keep it good to use for up to 7–10 days. After brewing your batch think of your coffee as any other perishable item and treat it as such.
Step 4: Time Your Brew
Darker roasts will require less time to sit as lighter roasts. Generally the minimum amount of time you want to let it sit is about 12 hours regardless of batch size or roast profile. On average most home brewers allow 14–18 hours to pass depending on their roast profile, but it may take as long as 24 hours for lighter roasts to be fully ready. Allowing your coffee not enough time to steep can result in a weaker less flavorful batch, while steeping for too long can evoke harsh aromas. Typically the longer it sits in a healthy window of time, the stronger the coffee will be. Keep in mind regardless of your brewing container, its good practice to keep your coffee fully covered and sealed while it steeps.
Step 5: Strain, Seal, & Store
Next, we strain our coffee into what is called cold brew concentrate.
If you chose to use a French Press, its still good practice to strain your coffee through a filter into a large glass container. This will catch any lingering oils and fine grinds that may disrupt your overall taste. You may store your airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to 10 days! Do not forget to keep it refrigerated from here forward as it is now a perishable item. Lastly, it’s time to pour a well deserved glass and craft your cold brew just the way you like it.
Step 6: Dilute & Enjoy
You have now spent almost a full day waiting and the time has finally come to reap what you sew!
In your container is a strongly caffeinated cold brew concentrate. Most coffee lovers prefer to dilute this concentrate to a specific ratio they personally enjoy best. A good rule of thumb to start is 1:1 dilution. For every cup of concentrate consider adding a cup of water, milk, or sweetener until you find what works best for you. Like most endeavours, it may take some time to get it just right. No matter how it is served, there is nothing like having a week’s supply of delicious cold brew waiting for you every morning.
There are several ways to serve your cold brew beyond the ordinary splash of milk.
Many recipies are out there but some fun ones to try are:
- Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew
- Chocolate Cream Cold Brew
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- Cinnamon Iced Latte
- S’mores Cold Brew Iced Coffee
Cold brew can be served over ice or even warm from heating in a microwave. If using a microwave, adding an extra splash of water is typically recommended to savor the flavor of the coffee. Whichever serving style you decide, we salute you in your home brewing journey experiementing and enjoying all the new options cold brew has to offer for you.
Cheers!
Brew Team At