These days you can find cold brew just about anywhere.
in cafes, in supermarkets or down at the beach.
But just because it's easy to find doesn't always mean that it tastes good.
So to help you, and I avoid a summer let down,
here's our ultimate guide to delicious Cold Brew.
We have packed a lot into this video, so the sections are marked in the timeline
down here somewhere.
There are essentially two methods for cold brewing coffee.
drip and immersion.
cold drip brewers have a little valve that slowly drips
cold water onto the grounds over a number of hours.
Some of these look like a vintage chemistry set,
while others are just a little bit more modest.
Now, while they look pretty cool,
they can be a little bit hit and miss when it comes to flavor.
And that's because the extraction comes down to getting the right
grind size and how you set the drip rate.
I'll take you through an example later in this video so you can see what I mean.
But immersion brewers on the other hand, are boring, but effective.
The original and most popular of these is the classic Toddy brewer.
It's essentially a plastic bucket with a paper filter.
about as low tech as you can possibly get.
The original version makes up to one liter of cold brew,
and they also make a commercial version, which brews up to nine and a half
liters of cold brew With this type of brewer, the ground coffee is immersed
in cold water, typically overnight and then filtered into a decanter.
This method allows a fuller extraction than the cold drip brewers,
and with less of the fuss too.
But in truth, you can get similar results with anything that holds liquid
like a French press or even your home saucepan.
The hardest part is filtering out the sediment at the end.
If you just use the metal filter in your French press,
then you end up with a pretty cloudy, gritty, finished product.
So if you're using a method like this, I think it's also worth filtering
the brew with a paper filter for a real super clean, cold brew.
Choosing the
best coffee for cold brew depends on how you plan to use it.
A typical espresso blend can work okay if you're planning to add milk
to the finished product.
However, something roasted lighter is usually better for serving straight up.
In terms of origins, for me, the heavy body and fruity flavours
of natural or honey processed coffees tend to work better with cold coffee brewing.
For example, the deep fruity sweetness of an Ethiopian natural
or the heavy chocolate flavors of a Brazil pulped
natural coffee are right on the money for a good cold brew.
On the other hand, the more delicate, refined acidity of washed Central
American coffees just don't seem to show their potential much in cold brewing.
So it might be best to save these coffees for some hot water brewing.
If you want to keep things simple,
I'll put in a shameless plug for our own cold brew summer blend.
We’ve blended and roasted coffees that we think taste great as a cold
brew iced coffee.
Now, while we're talking about coffee, you'll also need a grinder
that can produce a coarser grind size than a standard espresso grinder.
If you already have a grinder that can handle
a full range of grind sizes, then you're all set.
If not, we think the Baratza Encore or the Breville
Smart Grinder Pro are great choices for home.
If a grinder is out of the question, then you can use ground coffee.
Just ask to get it ground on the coarse side of a filter grind.
Oh, and don't forget filtered water.
Water does definitely matter people.
Brew ratio is a
way to compare the weight of ground coffee to the amount of brewing water.
With a ratio, you can easily adjust the exact amount of coffee and water
you use to match the size of the brewer that you're using.
For example, a ratio of 1 to 15
is one part ground coffee to 15 parts water.
So if you use 50 grams of coffee, you multiply that number by 15
to get 750 grams of water or 750 mls.
If you prefer to measure that way.
Okay, with that out of the way, here are the two ratios
we think work best for cold brew.
The classic way to cold brew is to make a concentrate that you can
then dilute with water or milk to make the finished product.
To do this, we typically use one part coffee to five parts water.
Brewing a concentrate like this has the advantage of being versatile.
Not only is it ideal for mixing with milk, it can also be used as an ingredient
in items like Cocktails, Frappes, and even in cooking.
While this versatility is great, it does come with a few downsides.
First, the intense, almost boozy taste
that can mask the subtle flavors of more delicate coffees.
The second downside is cost.
You don't get much liquid out of a kilo of coffee.
This makes it more expensive compared to the alternative approach.
The alternative is to cold brew with a ratio that's ready to drink
straight out of the brewer This works out to a ratio of one part coffee
to a range of somewhere between 12 to 15 parts of water.
The finished brew using this
ratio has similarities to filtered coffee in taste and texture.
This works great
if you're only planning to serve black or with just a small amount of milk.
However, it doesn't allow many other serving options.
So let's make a cold brew concentrate using the Toddy brewer.
You can adapt the measurements I'm using here to any device you have.
We're using a ratio of one part coffee to five parts water,
so you can just increase or decrease the quantities as needed.
And first up, do not forget to insert the plug.
Otherwise this whole next part is going to be a very short exercise.
Add the paper filter bag to the brewer and weight out the coffee.
I'm using 400 grams and then grind it on the coarse side of filter,
somewhere between filter and French press, and then add it to the brewer,
pour filtered water over the grounds.
Try to wet them as evenly as possible.
If you're using the paper filter bag, stir
the coffee to make sure all grounds are completely saturated and wet.
Cover the brewer and leave it to brew at room temperature for about 20 to 24 hours.
The next day remove the plug and place on the decanter to drain.
Add the airtight lid and store in the fridge for up to seven days, tops.
To serve it up, add ice to a chilled glass along with one part
cold brew concentrate and one part still or sparkling water.
If you want to drink it with milk use one part cold brew concentrate
and two parts milk or milk alternative.
Let's make a ready to drink iced coffee, using the Bruer cold drip.
These basic instructions will work for most other cold drip devices too.
But I'm going to use a ratio of one part coffee to 15 parts water.
This will make a very light, delicate coffee.
If you prefer a little bit more full bodied, then you can try a 1 to 12 ratio.
Now this device
has a metal filter at the bottom, so I'm going to assemble that first.
I'll then weigh out the coffee.
I'm using 60 grams ground on Medium like the grind you might use
for a pour over filter coffee and then add that to the brewer.
Add one of the round paper filters onto the bed of coffee
and then pop the whole thing onto the glass decanter.
Wet the bed of coffee with some cold water.
Then insert the valve onto the top.
Add 700 mls of cold water into the top chamber.
And now we're going to set the drip rate using the knob at the top.
On old-school drip brewers, this is usually set with a little brass
valve at the bottom.
The trick here is to adjust the knob anticlockwise
until it's dripping at about one drip per second.
The drip rate is going to have a big impact
on the flavor of the finished product.
And we're aiming for the whole process to take roughly 4 to 5 hours,
depending on those ambient conditions.
Now, when it's done, we can remove the bottom decanter
and you are ready to serve that bad boy up.
This style of cold brew is best served straight
over ice or with just a small dash of milk.
So next time we're going to take a look at a whole lot of creative ways
that you can serve cold brew.
And there's way more than you think.
Until then, definitely enjoy your cup of coffee, and stay stoked.