What is Cold Brew Coffee?
Though the name and temperature make it sound like this could be true, the reality is, cold brew coffee is NOT iced coffee. To differentiate:
Iced coffee
- Brewed normally (using hot water)
- Chilled or served over ice
- Is still often characterized by a bitter flavor
Cold Brew Coffee
- Typically uses more coffee
- Brewed over a longer period of time
- Brewed at room temperature, or in a refrigerated environment
- Typically has a naturally sweeter flavor
When brewing coffee, normally hot water is used to pull out all of the delicious flavors of ground coffee beans.
With cold brew, time is the agent used to pull out these flavors. Brewing coffee with cold water over a longer period of time can actually make the acid content lower.
It's so easy to make your own cold-brewed coffee. If you make brewed coffee regularly, you have everything you need. Just keep a few glass jars or bottles on hand for storing the cold-brewed coffee, and you can have a cup any time you want.
- Put freshly coarse-ground beans into any kind of container (glass is usually best). Use your favorite roast, but make sure it's ground very coarsely so it won't cloud the water.
- Gently pour in cold, filtered water at a ratio of 4-to-1 (for example, 4 cups water for 1 cup grounds).
- Stir gently to make sure all grounds are wet and cover container with plastic wrap.
- Let it sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Taste it occasionally and discard the grounds when the coffee hits your sweet spot.
If using a French press, once your coffee is done, gently press the mesh down on the grounds to filter them out. Pour the coffee into a jar or bottle for holding. French press cold brew makes less mess, so if you plan to brew cold regularly, it's worth investing in the coffee maker.
With other kinds of containers, put a filter or cheesecloth in a sieve on the mouth of another container. Gradually pour coffee through the filter.
Or, before you brew, use a rubber band to bundle grounds in a coffee filter (you can fit about 1⁄4 cup into a standard filter) or a piece of cheesecloth. Put in the packets and cover the container with plastic wrap. Just pitch the packets when you're done.