A Guide To The Coolest Coffee We Know
Ten years ago, there weren’t that many coffee shops that served cold brew. Now, you can find cold brew everywhere, from megachains like Starbucks to the aisles of supermarkets.
But just because it’s everywhere doesn’t mean everyone know what it is. To answer some of your most common cold brew questions, I talked to Brent Wolczynski, Head Brewer of Cold Brew Production for Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Stumptown started bottling cold brew in 2011, which was an incredibly novel idea at the time. But now, Stumptowns cold brew stubbies, whose brown bottles are now an iconic symbol within the cold brew world, are one of the most popular ready-to-drink products and just one of a handful of Stumptown cold coffee drinks on the market.
Key Steps To Better Cold Brew At Home
- Get the grind right. Cold brew requires a specific grind. A larger grind something closer to the coarseness of raw sugar keeps the brew from getting bitter overnight. If youve got a small home grinder, its best to grind the beans in batches.
- Use a higher ratio of coffee to water. This recipe uses a ratio of 8 ounces of ground coffee to 8 cups of water which is 1 ounce of coffee per cup making it easier to scale this recipe up or down. Drip coffee uses about 1/2 ounce of coffee per cup.
- Strain slowly. The Toddy System that Starbucks uses to brew and strain their coffee relies on gravity to gently remove the cold brew from the grounds. To replicate that at home, youll need to strain the cold brew gently through cheesecloth and a strainer. Avoid pressing or squeezing the coffee grounds, as that extracts bitter flavors. Work in batches to strain as gently as possible. You might be asking yourself, Cant I just strain the coffee with a coffee filter? You could, but it slows the straining process and occasionally the paper filters tear, creating more of a mess than anyone should have to deal with before coffee. My favorite tool for straining my cold brew is actually a nut milk bag.
Turning A Love Of Coffee Into A Business
There are coffee giants in the world, like Starbucks, catching on to the cold-brewed coffee excitement but there is still plenty of room for the inspired entrepreneur to make a name for themselves in the cold-brew business. Ideally, every good business starts with a business plan. This will help you map out the ins and outs of business in general, including financials, marketing, staff, and growth potential. Check out the competition in your area. If there is cold-brew coffee saturating your local market, you may have a tougher start. By working through the business plan, you will be forced to ask the important questions about the competition and the viability of your potential business.
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All About The Coffee Beans
There is only one other ingredient other than water in this cold brew coffee recipe coffee beans! Here is everything you need to know about coffee beans for cold brew and how to prepare them for homemade cold brew coffee.
- The last thing you want in your cold brew coffee is for it to be bitter or mucky. We suggest using coarsely ground coffee rather than finely ground coffee. If you end up with fine coffee, be sure you use a coffee filter.
- You can use any type of coffee bean for cold brew coffee. Use your favorite coffee to give it a personal twist!
- Use whole bean coffee beans so the coffee grounds are fresh.
How To Make Cold Brew In A French Press
Taste of HomeWith its built-in filter, a French press makes cold brewing easy. Simply mix the coffee and water in the chamber and then, without pressing the plunger down, place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, slowly press the plunger down. Then pour the brew through a coffee filter to remove the fine sediment.
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Grind Your Coffee Beans Coarsely
One of the most important things, too, is to make sure that the texture of the coffee after grinding is coarse so that the powder does not pass through the filters and spoil your drink, and the steeping will be more effective.This leads us to another matter, which is the importance of grinding your beans yourself and then using them directly, first, to control the level of grinding, which should be coarse, unlike marketed powders that are too soft to be suitable for preparing cold coffee. Secondly, to preserve the freshness of the coffee and all the flavors, oils, and aromas it contains.
How To Make The Best Cold Brew Coffee
Making cold brew isnt a difficult process. When broken down into steps, it actually only requires three parts! Heres how its done.
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Expect Trial And Error
Establishing a cold-brew coffee business will likely take a lot of trial and error from perfecting your recipe to finding just the right packaging for your product. Different coffee beans will produce different tasting coffees and it will take some investigative work to find the right beans for your product.
At BottleStore.com, we offer free samples which allow you to test the look and functionality of your bottle choice without a hassle or excessive cost. With a large inventory of glass and plastic bottles to choose from, youll be able to try out different sizes and styles to ensure you are happy with your overall product. We also carry durable glass jars necessary for brewing the coffee in small and medium-sized batches.
The popularity and enjoyment of cold-brew coffee looks like its here to stay. If you have considered starting a coffee shop or a coffee production business, cold-brew coffee may be a great foot in the door. The simple process of making cold-brew can minimize the startup costs and be just the right building block for entering into the beverage industry.
Coarsely Grind The Coffee Beans
Using freshly ground coffee beans for any type of coffee absolutely ups your game. It delivers the best flavor regardless of how youre brewing it.
You do not want to buy preground coffee from the grocery store to make cold brew. Preground coffee is finely ground and ideal for coffee machines.
For cold brew, you need coarsely ground coffee. If you have a coffee grinder at home, set it on the coarsest setting usually the one designated for French Press coffee.
I have this coffee grinder and absolutely love it because I can choose the specific grind for any type of coffee Im brewing.
If you dont have a coffee grinder at home, buy the beans at a local coffee shop or roaster and ask them to grind the beans for you. There are certain grocery stores where you can purchase beans and grind them yourself, too. Again, be sure to grind them on the coarsest setting.
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How To Make Cold Brew Coffee At Home
It’s so easy to make your own cold-brewed coffee. If you make brewed coffee regularly, you have everything you need. Just keep a few glass jars or bottles on hand for storing the cold-brewed coffee, and you can have a cup any time you want.
The Correct Coffee To Water Cold Brew Ratio
Since were making cold brew coffee concentrate, well be using 1 cup of ground coffee to 3 cups of cold water. Creating concentrate will make it possible to store cold brew in the fridge, which can then be added to fresh water when youre ready to drink it. In total, youll be able to get 5 to 6 cups of finished, delicious cold brew from 1 cup of ground coffee.
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Remember To Dilute The Cold Brew Concentrate
One thing to keep in mind is that youre actually making cold brew concentrate. And this is pretty potent stuff. Only drink this straight up if you want to feel jittery and buzzy for the rest of the day .
Instead, what I recommend is serving this up over ice or diluting 50/50 with water. I also recommend adding your favorite milk, like almond milk, cashew milk or oat milk, for a deliciously creamy, and definitely thirst-quenching beverage.
Heres What Youll Need To Do :
How to make cold foam for coffee ingredients. 2) in a medium mixing bowl, add swerve/monkfruit and cream cheese. Add in vanilla paste and pumpkin pie spice. You have just made some delicious vanilla creamer you can use for all your favorite coffee drinks.
The ratio of protein to fat is optimal in nonfat milk, and cold foam doesnt work well with alternatives like coconut or oat milk. Why youll love this vegan vanilla cold foam recipe. For more information on how to froth your milk, see our frothing guide here.
It may, or may not, come as a surprise, but sweet cold foam is quite easy to make. To create sweet vanilla cream cold foam, just blend a small amount of the vanilla cream. On the other hand, if youre steaming milk for latte art, youll want to use higher fat milk like two percent which will produce the small bubbles that make for smooth foam.
Meanwhile the milk is foaming, add ice and cold brew coffee to a glass . Regular foam in coffee drinks is typically made by frothing milk with hot steam to form tiny microbubbles. 1 cup heavy whipping cream
It is super thick, rich, and a. Coconut cream, plant milk, vanilla extract, and maple syrup. Alternatively, you can use electric beaters.
Pour heavy whipping cream in a small glass thats tall enough that it can double in size. If you are using a milk frother, like the one i recommended above, add the cold foam ingredients to it. 1 cup coarsely ground coffee
Pin On Coffee
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How Do You Make Iced Coffee
Youll need a tall glass and a spoon long enough to reach the bottom of that glass.
Fill that glass full to the rim with ice. If you really want to get serious about your iced coffee, you can make ice cubes out of coffee too. Then you wont get that watered-down effect. And if youre into that flavored sort of coffee then go for it.
Pour room temperature coffee into the glass.
Fill it almost to the top.
Pour in the white stuff. Heres where you get to make a big decision. Do you want to go all out and make this a decadent treat? If so, then add cream or half & half. If you want to go a little lighter, use whole milk or fat-free half & half. And lighter still, use nonfat milk.
Take a moment to watch the swirls sink to the bottom and mix in with the coffee. Its a magical moment. ð
Add a couple spoonfuls of sugar or whatever sort of sweetener you usually add to your coffee. In the recipe notes below, I share how to make sugary simple syrup in case you prefer to use that instead of granulated white sugar.
Stir it all up!
Add a purple straw. If youre a straw person, that is. And drink up!
Best Coffee Grind Size For Espresso Cold Brew
The best coffee grind size for espresso cold brew is a fine/ medium grind size. This grind size comes close to the grind size of espresso but slightly coarser. The somewhat coarser grind size will get you a better extraction of the coffee.
The perfect coffee grind size for the espresso cold brew coffee looks like this:
As you can see from the photo above, the grind size looks quite similar to the grind size youd use to make an espresso, which is exactly what youre going for in this recipe.
Aim for a grind size between an espresso grind and a coffee grind used to brew AeroPress coffee. When I grind coffee for this recipe, I turn the coffee grinder knob three times to a coarser grind size starting from the espresso grind size.
I can describe the grind size as fine sea salt but with a bit more texture to it. Once you try grinding this coffee for yourself and feel the ground coffee yourself, youll know what I mean.
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Cold Brew Coffee To Water Ratio
If you were working at a coffee shop, youd most likely be using large amounts like 1 pound of ground coffee to a gallon of water. For the average family, though, thats way too much for a weeks worth of coffee.
A more conservative ratio is to use 1 ounce of coffee to 1 cup of water. You can double or triple that amount as needed.
If you dont have a scale, youll be happy to know that I found 1 ounce of coffee beans to equal around 30g. There wasnt a noticeable difference in volume between the ground beans and the whole beans. I started with 1/3 cup of whole beans and ground them to a medium grind. I measured again and found I had around 1/3 of a cup of ground coffee.
To simplify things, then, you can use 1/3 of a cup of ground coffee to every cup of water .
Caffeine Content In Cold Brew
Speaking of concentrate, because of the variance in strength of brew, many people report that cold brew can pack a stronger wallop in terms of caffeine content. But it’s not because cold brewing extracts more caffeine hot water actually extracts more. It’s brewing as a concentrate that produces a higher caffeine content per volume of liquid. But diluting it with water as described above will also dilute the caffeine content.
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Prepare To Wear Many Hats
As the owner of a startup, it should come as no surprise there is a lot of work to be done, even before the product actually launches. You will not only have to make all of the decisions about the brands image, you will also need to ensure your products are worthy of being sold. From bottling your cold-brew to getting it into the marketplace, there will be a lot going on. It will be vital to stay organized and work with others you can rely on and trust.
Does Cold Brew Have More Caffeine Than Hot Coffee
Usually yes, but thats a numbers game rather than a brewing one. Theres nothing inherent to cold brew that makes it a more caffeinated drink than the amount of coffee used to brew it.
Most hot coffee is brewed using 14-18 grams of water per gram of coffee. Cold brew is made using a tighter ratioWolczynski recommends starting with 12 ounces of coffee to 64 ounces of water, which is a much higher ratio of coffee to water.
Brewing coffee is all about using water to extract flavor out of ground coffee, and theres no magical process that extracts more caffeine when brewing with cold water. On that note, please feel free to make your cold brew with decaf coffee!
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Why Is Cold Brew Coffee So Much Better
We routinely make a batch of cold brew concentrate to enjoy throughout the week during the spring/summer months. Its become an essential part of our Sunday meal prep and one of my favorite ways to drink coffee. Heres why:
So now that you know why cold brew is awesome, let me tell you how to make it.