Cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years and can be found in coffee shops, supermarkets, and even convenience stores. What exactly is cold brew coffee? What do you need to pay attention to in terms of the ratio, time, and grind of brewing practice? Today we will recommend 3 ways to make your own Cold Brew at home!
What is Cold Brew Coffee?
Cold brewing refers to the use of cold water below 41 °F for a long time to soak coffee powder at a low temperature, waiting for fermentation, which takes about 8 -12 hours, and then filtering the coffee grounds.
In this low-temperature extraction, in low-temperature water and coffee powder contact for a long time, only the smaller molecules of flavor substances, such as floral and fruit flavors are extracted, and molecularly large flavor substances such as smoky, roasted flavors are difficult to be extracted, so the cold brew coffee can drink more to the flavor of the coffee beans themselves, smooth taste, layers and aftertaste obvious.
Compare this to regular iced coffee, which is generally made from hot espresso with ice water, or in some places where hot coffee is brewed directly over a large amount of ice to cool it down.
The most different thing about cold brew coffee is that it is not brewed with hot water at all. The most popular aspect of cold brew coffee is that it can be easily brewed at home without the need for special equipment.
How to make cold-brew coffee?
Cold brew coffee is brewed with room temperature water only, and no hot water is needed at all to come up with a cup of aromatic and smooth coffee, the secret lies in time. Cold brew coffee is using time as the extraction medium, which is more similar to the magic of alcoholic fermentation.
Generally, when coffee is brewed, the hot water will bring out the natural oils within the coffee beans. In addition to the complex aroma of the oils, they also bring out some oil-soluble bitter coffee substances. Moreover, coffee with high oil content is prone to oxidation, flavor changes easily over time, and even produce an oil consumption taste. So low-fat cold brew coffee is less prone to oxidation, making it a convenient coffee for storage, and the flavor can be preserved for up to half a month.
Since cold brew coffee does not use oil to bring out the flavor like hot brew coffee, how does the flavor come about? Just like brewing, the coffee beans themselves contain a lot of carbohydrates and sugars, and with the effect of time, they will produce a wine-like aroma. Therefore, some cold brew coffee made by long-time steeping, even with ordinary and cheap coffee beans, will have a distinct wine aroma.
Cold brew coffee water to powder ratio
Cold brew coffee is made with only coffee and water; professionals mostly use the ratio to create different flavors. The term "powder to water ratio" is used to describe the ratio of coffee to water used in a recipe. Generally, 1 gram of coffee is used as a base, and the less water used the stronger the coffee will be, and the more water used the lighter the coffee will be.
1. Make cold brew coffee at home - the golden ratio of 1:5
If you don't have a coffee machine at home, making milk coffee at home is not that convenient. But by changing the powder-to-water ratio, you can use the cold brew method to make espresso liquid, so you can easily enjoy milk coffee at home, or even create different coffee specialties.
Ingredients：
1. 1.76 oz coffee powder (coarse grind, such as hand-ground coarse pepper)
2. 8.45 fl oz water
3. Tea pot with a metal filter or French press pot
Steps：
1. Pour the ground coffee into a container
2. fill with room temperature water and stir well, cover and let stand for 12 hours
3. 12 hours later, the coffee concentrate will be poured out to complete
Since cold brew coffee breaks down more caffeine than hot brew coffee, it is recommended that you do not drink more than 5.29oz of cold brew coffee concentrate at one time. To make black coffee add double the water or milk to the concentrate to make black coffee or milk3oz of coffee concentrate, add 7.05oz of milk and you will have a smooth and aromatic milk coffee. Since cold brew coffee concentrate is very rich and flavorful can add condensed milk or lemon juice, or even, lemon water, to make a unique coffee flavor.
2. Japanese Cold Brew Coffee - Ratio 1:10
An impressively burnt and thick coffee. Japanese traditionally uses deep-roasted coffee beans, which are thick and not strongly acidic. Together with cold brewing to reduce the bitterness, about 8 hours can already produce a good Japanese cold brew coffee. To brew the same flavorful coffee at home, you just need to brew it in the following way.
Ingredients：
1. tea bag
2. 1.76 oz dark roast coffee powder (coarse grind, such as hand-ground pepper coarse)
3. 6.91 fl oz water
4. 33.81 fl oz capacity water bottle
Steps：
1. the tea bag filled with 1.76 oz coffee, can be put into the kettle2. pour in room temperature water, cover, and let stand
3. 8-9 hours after removing the tea bag, you can put it in the refrigerator to drink
Japanese-style cold brew coffee has a rich taste like whiskey, you can drink it directly or add ice cubes to melt it and enjoy the diluted coffee with a light alcoholic aroma and sweet cocoa flavor.
3. Special cold brew coffee - ratio 1:16
Ingredients：
1. 1.76 oz light roast single origin coffee powder (medium grind, hand-brewed size)2. 27.05 fl oz water
3. 33.81 fl oz container
4. filter spoon
5. Kitchen paper
Steps：
1. Pour the ground coffee into the container
2. Pour room temperature water into it and stir well cover and let it rest for 12 hours
3. after 12 hours, put kitchen paper on the filter spoon
4. Slowly strain the grounds and then put them in the refrigerator to drink
This taste of cold brew coffee will be a little lighter, suitable for people who like medium roast or light to medium roast beans.
Conclusion
Brewing cold brew coffee at home may seem simple, but there is no way to make it on a small scale in a coffee shop, how do professional baristas make cold brew coffee? They use a commercial cold brew appliance that can make 405.78 fl oz of coffee at a time, with a three-layer filter system inside, using filter paper, metal filters, and cotton wick filtration to ensure a smooth and crumb-free coffee taste, and more effectively reduce the oil content, so that cold brew coffee can be more safely and stably preserved and the flavor is not easily lost.
So in different cases, we can choose different preparation tools. The only thing that suits you best is the best.
