Cold Brew Coffee

What exactly is cold brew coffee

Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold water over an extended period of time. Unlike traditional brewing methods, cold brew relies on time rather than heat to extract flavour. The result is a coffee liquid that is smooth, versatile, and easy to use in drinks.

Since there is no heat involved the coffee gives up some of its essentials differently. Oils are probably less likely to get ripped out of the beans, the temperature forces are nearly non-existent. It is a slow process. The coarser the coffee powder the less surface to "exchange" flavour between the beans and the water. But do not make the mistake to go too fine (espresso style for instance) as this simply muddies the water and does not considerably speed up the process or intensifies the flavour.

Cold brew coffee ingredients

Roughly a 1:10 ratio can be used, for concentrates you could even go to 1:6 or stretch your coffee mileage up to 1:16. It strongly depends on your coffee as well. A strong coffee will yield a more intense flavour. For today we start with the rule of thumb ratio:

• 100 g coarsely ground coffee
• 1 litre cold water

Steps to make cold brew coffee

1. Add the ground coffee to a large jar or container.
2. Pour in the cold water.
3. Stir gently until all coffee grounds are saturated.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours.
5. Strain through a fine sieve, coffee filter, or cloth.
6. Transfer to a clean bottle or container. Close it.
7. Store in the refrigerator.

Some notes on cold brew coffee

Why coarse coffee matters

A coarse grind allows for a cleaner extraction and makes filtering significantly easier. Finely ground coffee can create excessive bitterness and leave sediment in the finished brew.

How long to steep cold brew coffee

• A shorter extraction of around 12 hours produces a lighter and brighter flavour.
• A longer extraction of 18–24 hours increases body and intensity.
• Most home brewers will find their preferred balance somewhere between the two.
• Time and exposure of the coffee to air and water let it "age". For that reason it is a good idea to always do the extraction in your fridge.
• Make sure you cover the vessel tightly with a lid or a cap as the cold brew loves to pull in odours from your French cheese collection and the garlic dip from last night.

Why cold brew tastes different

Heat extracts acids and aromatic compounds very quickly. Cold water extracts flavour more slowly, producing a coffee that often tastes smoother, rounder, and less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee.

Cold brew concentrate or ready-to-drink

This recipe produces a relatively light concentrate. For drinking, you can dilute it with water, tonic water, milk, or sparkling water. Sweeten it according to taste with syrup or other sweetener. But go lightly as it needs less than you might think.

For cocktails and mocktails, using it slightly concentrated often delivers better results. After all you are diluting with ice most probably anyway.

Make sure to use the coffee in a few days and store it in a fridge at all times. It is just coffee water after all.

Cold brew coffee variations

• Stronger version: increase coffee to up to 160 g per litre
• Lighter version: reduce coffee to 80 g per litre
• On the rocks: it is delicious just with ice.
• Sparkling version: serve over ice with sparkling water.
• Tonic version: combine with tonic water for a refreshing coffee highball. Careful as this can create a foam fountain.

Add a nice orange zest for extra aroma! It makes it even better.

Some Cold brew background

Although cold brewing has become increasingly popular in recent years, the technique itself is much older.

One commonly cited origin points to Kyoto-style coffee in Japan, where slow extraction methods have been used for centuries. Similar approaches have appeared in different forms across the world whenever brewers wanted to reduce bitterness or improve shelf life.

Modern cold brew became particularly popular as speciality coffee culture expanded. Its smooth flavour profile made it attractive both to coffee enthusiasts and to bartenders looking for a reliable coffee ingredient.

Today, cold brew is used in everything from simple iced coffee to complex cocktails and alcohol-free drinks.

Some tool recommendations

I am using two things to make cold brew:

1. The Goat Story Cold Brewer (Weblink) works great for me as it fits into the fridge, is easy to clean, has a sealing lid and looks nice. I purchased this just recently after having used my Gina before.
2. Gina, by Goat Story as well, (Weblink) as it looks nice and offers the option to create a differnet version with the cold dripper method where ice water slowly drips onto the coffee. A bit different as it gets the cold from the iced water and it is not sealed off. But for just a cup it is a nice alternative as well.