How to make cold brew coffee

Have you ever considered cold brew coffee?

It may be just what you need to get your caffeine injection on scorching hot days, where your usual flat white is too much to bear. Contrary to the popular belief of those who frequent a coffee shop, making cold brew can be done without extensive barista training.

Cold brew coffee is thought to have originated in Kyoto, Japan, sometime in the 1600’s. It has become a popular form of drinking coffee around the world, due to its simple process and ability to better enhance and highlight the flavour characteristics of the coffee.

When it comes to brewing this style of coffee, there are several options available:

• French press – Brewing jug with a built-in plunger that allows you to push the coffee grounds and compact them to leave behind filtered, ground-free, cold brew concentrate.
• Mason jar – This is a relatively cheap option for at home brewing. It just requires you to filter the concentrate through a fine sieve before use.
• Specialised cold brew system – These are bundles that give you a steeping area and a filtration function, all in the one handy piece of equipment! These systems are all highly specific and come with their own instructions that must be followed.

What’s the difference between cold brewed and heat brewed?

Using the more common heated methods of brewing coffee, is significantly quicker than cold brewing methods. Heat allows for an immediate extraction of flavour and liquid in a short period of time. Cold brewing, although the far simpler of the two, typically takes twelve hours to produce a strong enough extraction to use. The varied methods of both options, yield different results:
The heat picks out one array of deep flavours, cold brewing can result in both a rich depth and a smooth sweetness.

Don’t want to wait half the day? Take a drive to visit the cute employee at your favourite café and take advantage of their excellent barista training, but if you’re up for it follow the steps provided to make your own amazing and versatile cold brew coffee concentrate!

You will need:

• Course ground coffee
• Water
• Either a French press or mason jar
• A fine sieve (for mason jar)
• Saint-like patience

Procedure:

1)  Take your mason jar or French press and first add ¾ of a cup of coffee.

2)  Slowly add 4 cups of water stirring to make sure all grounds are wet.

3)  Leave covered at room temperature, and allow to sit…and sit and sit for 12 hours.

4)  If you used a French press, use the plunger to push and pack the grounds to the base of the press. If you used a mason jar, pour your concentrate through a fine sieve to separate the liquid from the coffee grounds.

You now have cold brew concentrate! It can keep up to two weeks in the fridge.

Do you want to master cold brewing? Start barista training now by enrolling in one of our courses!