I don't know about you, but I'm obsessed with iced coffee. I like hot coffee, too, but since I left Minnesota and made my way to Southeast Texas, my palette just doesn't crave it very much anymore. Hot coffee was always more of a Fall and Winter comfort for me.
Since making cold brew at home is so stinkin' easy, there really isn't any reason to go out and spend $$$ buying Starbucks everyday. Plus, I'm not a big fan of Starbucks, but that's a topic for another time when I share with you the Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew recipe I've been working on. Side note...it's delish...so I would totally recommend not missing out on that one. It's also really fun to play with different coffee beans. Each bean will create a different cold brew flavor, and you can learn what your favorites are.
And did you know that cold brew has a few benefits over traditional brewed coffee?
It has a much smoother and richer flavor.
If you have trouble with abdominal discomfort, heartburn, or digestive issues when you drink regular brewed coffee, try cold brew. It tends to have less impact on the gut.
If you find the taste of regular brewed coffee too bitter, cold brewing minimizes any bitterness in the coffee and brings out much more of the sweetness (fruit, chocolate, vanilla, etc., depending on the coffee blend) because it's not being exposed to high temperatures.
Cold brew is up to 69% less acidic than regular brew, which makes it more gentle on your teeth, tummy (as I've already mentioned), and your body's pH levels.
You can easily adjust your strength cup by cup.
There's less waste, because it keeps well in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Alright, let's make some coffee!
Ingredients:
1 cup coffee, coarsely ground
4 cups of filtered water
That's it!
I recommend an organic, high quality, and fresh roasted coffee + quality filtered water (we love our Berkey water). Your cold brew will only turn out as good as the quality of these 2 ingredients. This is a very standard ratio for making cold brew; however, you can play with these ratios to find the perfect cold brew concentration for you!
Directions:
Add water and coffee into a container, mix together so all the granules are saturated with the water, and cover. Let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. I prefer 24 hours, but you can play with how long you let your coffee steep for. Other common steeping times include 12 and 16 hours.
Don't put your cold brew mixture into the refrigerator to steep. Keeping it room temperature allows it to fully steep to its delicious, concentrated, smooth, and sweet goodness.
Time to strain!
Straining Method #1: Coffee Pot
Place a coffee filter in your coffee maker. Leave open. Pour coffee mixture directly into the filter in batches until all the coffee is strained. Pour into a pitcher, cover, and refrigerate.
Straining Method #2: Cheesecloth
Lay cheesecloth on a very fine strainer over a pitcher. Pour coffee mixture into the strainer in batches until all the coffee is strained. Pour into a pitcher, cover, and refrigerate.
This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of liquid coffee concentrate. Keep in mind that cold brew coffee is typically stronger than regular brewed coffee, so this recipe can yield you as many as eight servings when diluted with your favorite milk. Recommended ratio is 1:2, 1:1, or 2:1 milk to cold brew depending on your strength preference.
Keep your cold brew in the fridge for up to 1 week (you can keep it longer, but the fresher the better, in my opinion).
