How To Make The Perfect Cold Brew Coffee
Course – Breakfast
Cuisine – American
Keyword – Cold Brew
Time to make – 5 minutes prep, 12-24 hours to make.
Serving – 1 Gallon (2 64oz pitchers)
Skill level – Easy
Author – Bobby Hicks
Ever get angry at people with mugs that say “But First, Coffee”? If so, this might not be for you
Coffee is very special to me. I go to sleep excited for the time I spend waking up to drinking it.
I used to consume an unhealthy dose of coffee daily and now I think I’ve dropped to the respectable level of “I’m worried about him, but he’s a big boy and can take care of himself.” But if I don’t have a couple banging cups of sweet bean juice, I’m useless.
I also used to spend all of the money on my coffee, had a first name basis with my favorite Korean baristas (that I still keep in touch with), and would visit them 2-3x daily.
So, when I moved to Florida, I realized two things:
- We have no good coffee shops here (or at least in my suburban area). It’s only Starbucks and Dunkin’ and it’s not worth the gas to get there.
- I needed to start making my own coffee.
- When I did the math, my 1lb bag of coffee that I now buy costs $10 at Publix. That 1lb bag makes two pitchers of cold brew. Each pitcher will make about 8-10 large cold brews for us. Starbucks charges $4.50 for a 16oz cold brew and (if my math is correct) that means that I’d spend roughly $72 for the same amount of coffee I spend $10 on (pro-tip, I get the BOGO deals and buy 2 bags for the price of 1).
::Insert Cold Brew::
It’s not hard to make this stuff, but I’ll break down my tips, tricks and products that I use every week and show you how a $10 bag of ground coffee can save you over $50 or more.
What is a Cold Brew?
- Cold Brew coffee is what it sounds like! It is generally ground coffee that is steeped in water, like a tea, over a long duration of time, which gives a smooth, concentrated coffee beverage.
Why is Cold Brew better?
- I can’t say that it’s better or worse, but if you prefer cold coffee, Cold Brew is less acidic and has more caffeine than coffee that is brewed from a hot machine and then chilled.
Why does it take so long to brew?
- Cold Brewing coffee takes more time because you’re essentially steeping the beans like a tea leaf, rather than brewing in heat. This will deliver a smoother coffee that is also more concentrated, requiring you to dilute your coffee with some water.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Bag of Ground Coffee (1 pound of coffee)
- Cold Brew Bags
- A Pitcher
- Cold Water.
METHOD
Find a coffee that is ground that you enjoy to drink – I’ve generally found that even inexpensive coffees taste so much better turned into Cold Brew than they ever would’ve brewed hot.
Using reusable or disposable sachets like these (https://geni.us/ColdBrewBags) are effective and 4 bags perfectly fit 1lb of coffee.
Add the ground coffee evenly between each sachet, if using the disposable bags, or 1/2 the bag of coffee in a reusable cold brew bag, per 64oz pitcher.
Add the cold brew bag and fill the pitcher 3/4 with water and allow to sit Unrefrigerated for 12-24 hours.
Generally, you can get away with 9 hours with a slightly weaker brew, if you need to, but I have found that between 12-24 hours of steeping will result in great coffee.
Anything after 24 hours is unnecessary and won’t help with flavor or concentration, in my experimentation.
Remove your steeped coffee grounds and either trash or compost them (they’re excellent fertilizer for plants!)
Fill the pitcher with clean water and refrigerate for 2-3 hours for some delicious, cold, refreshing coffee.
NOTES:
- Because of the lower amount of acid, Cold Brew is generally easier on people with sensitive stomaches.
- The coffee I use costs $10 for 1lb and give me about 20 cups of coffee or more.
- This is method extracts so much flavor, making it excellent for single origin beans with nuanced flavor profiles and also cheap, ground flavored coffees.
- Use your Cold Brew coffee grounds to make a rich, nutrient dense
compost soil for plants!
Other Recipes You Might Like
