Cold Brewed Coffee Concentrate

While this post may be a little untimely as summer has reached its end, there is never a bad time for anything coffee related, at least not for me! I actually made this in June, but haven’t gotten around to posting it because it’s another VIDEO POST! Of course I shot  it, started editing it, made the music, and when it was almost finished, got busy with other things and didn’t wrap things up until now! But alas, here it is, the delicious cold brewed coffee for your reading/viewing pleasure.

Prior to making this, I kept seeing and hearing things about Cold Brewed Coffee and how great it was, then it showed up in the July 2012 issue of Bon Appetit (which I subscribe to) and being the coffee addict I am I had to try it! As stated in the name, what sets this coffee apart is the fact that it’s “cold brewed”. Instead of running through your regular coffee making method (pouring some steaming hot water over your beans for a brew), you let it sit at room temperature in cold water for around 15 hours! Now that’s a long time when you’re fiending for a cup of joe, but that’s why you make it ahead of time, resulting in an even quicker way to get your fix when you really need it.

One of the big draws of cold brewing your coffee, rather than brewing hot coffee, then cooling it down, is the fact that it reduces the acidity by around 70% (hot water brings acidity out of the beans). This means if you find coffee too bitter, or it bothers your stomach, cold brewing is the way to go! You know when you buy a bag of beans and it says some blah blah blah jargon about “light roast, with chocolatey caramel undertones, and a bright crisp finish blah blhahb lah blah” and you’re like yeah okay, like any of that is actually true. Well cold brewing coffee actually brings those flavours out, making your coffee taste like more than just “coffee”.

Cold Brewed Coffee Concentrate

• 6 oz. coarse ground coffee beans (a light roast is preferable)
• 900 ml cold water

Coarsely grind your beans, placing them in a large container, slowly adding your water and stirring the beans until they become saturated. Cover the container and let sit at room temperature for around 15 hours. After 15 hours has passed, pour the contents over a fine mesh sieve into another container, and then back through a coffee filter into a container for storing (should be good for 2 weeks).

Since this is a concentrate, you will have to add 1 part coffee to 1 part milk or water (or more if it’s too strong). Feel free to add sugar if you want to sweeten it up, or try using different types of milk like soy or almond for different flavours (I really enjoyed mine with almond milk). I halved the original recipe that was in Bon Appetit, since I was testing different beans (I tried dark roast and light roast, and a lighter roast is definitely is the way to go for a cold brew), but it is easily scalable!

Hope you enjoy yourself a cold brew and the video!

Bob