Get to Know Cold Brew: Coffee in A Hurry

by Catherine Halim March 15, 2022

Cold coffee is a refreshing solution during the day. Not only brewed hot, coffee is also delicious served cold. Cold brew coffee is a serving of cold coffee other than iced coffee such as iced americano, iced long black coffee, and so on.

Cold brew is a brewing method used to make ready-to-drink coffee drinks that can be enjoyed when the customer is in a hurry and doesn't want to wait for the coffee to be made. A glass of cold brew is also a great choice when the weather is hot. If you love coffee, you'll definitely love cold brew coffee!

What is cold brew coffee?

In general, hot brewed coffee is brewed using boiling water at a temperature of 90-100℃, filtered through a drip filter, and using an espresso machine. Hot coffee can be enjoyed immediately or by adding ice cubes and making hot coffee doesn't require a lot of time.

Cold brewing is a technique of brewing coffee grounds with cold water at a temperature of around 21 degrees Celsius. This coffee brewing process takes quite a long time because it uses cold water. The cold brew process lasts from 8-24 hours, depending on the coffee the brewer wants to produce. A long brewing time will create coffee with a smooth texture and soft aroma and the process makes delicious cold brew coffee.

Cold brew and coffee concentrate

What is the difference between cold brew and coffee concentrate? Cold brew is made with a certain dose of water and ground coffee beans, so that it produces coffee with a strong taste while coffee concentrate is made using more coffee grounds and less water when compared to cold brew. After the making of the cold brew concentrate is complete, the coffee grounds are filtered and the cold brew concentrate will be diluted with water when it is used. Some local coffee shops use cold brew concentrate to be more efficient when the coffee shop is busy.

Cold brew vs cold drip coffee

Although both are brewed with room temperature water, cold drip and cold brew have fundamental differences. As the name suggests, cold drip coffee is made by slowly dripping water on coffee. Cold drip generally uses a cold dripper.

Also read: Get to Know About Drip Bag Coffee and Why It's Different!

Cold-brew and iced coffee differences

Cold-brew coffee has a lower acidity due to the 8-hour soaking process that occurs in the process. This is certainly very good for those who have health problems related to acidity. Those who suffer from stomach acid also need not hesitate to enjoy a cold brew.

Low acidity

Cold Brew Coffee has a lower acidity due to the 8-hour soaking process that occurs in the process. This is certainly very good for those who have health problems related to acidity. Those who suffer from stomach acid also need not hesitate to enjoy a cold brew.

More caffeine

The amount of caffeine in the cold brew is higher when compared to regular coffee. The reason for the high caffeine in the cold brew is that cold brew uses a lot of coffee grounds when brewing. Usually, cold brew uses a 1:10 to 1:15 coffee and water ratio. In other words, if you use 10 grams of coffee, you use 100 ml of water.

Cold-brew & health

Basically, all types of coffee servings are based on regular black coffee. Cold-brew, espresso, and brewed coffee have different brewing techniques. A cup of black coffee without sugar has zero calories, contains no carbohydrates, fat, protein, and important macronutrients such as calcium and fiber. The calorific value will increase when the coffee is added with flavors or sweeteners.

Differences in brewing techniques cause differences in acidity between hot brewed coffee and cold brew, so cold brew can be a safe choice for coffee lovers who have digestive problems. Low-acid foods and drinks are also beneficial for other health such as bone health, reducing muscle mass loss, maintaining heart health and memory, and reducing the severity of hypertension and stroke.

Cold brew coffee recipe

The first thing to think about before making cold brew coffee is choosing the type of coffee bean. Good coffee beans for cold brew coffee recipes are arabica in light or medium roast.

Arabica was chosen because of its low acid content. Light and medium roasting levels make the coffee texture similar to tea, not too thick and the taste is soft. Use coarsely ground coffee beans. Finely ground coffee beans will make your cold brew coffee bitter and not rich in taste. Fine ground beans will also make the coffee look cloudy and gritty. Adjust your coffee grinder grind size to have coarse ground coffee beans.

To make your own cold brew at home, you can prepare

226 grams of ground Arabica coffee (coarse ground). Use robusta coffee for a deeper taste.
480ml cold water or room temperature water
1 cheesecloth or you can use cheesecloth
1 sealed glass or plastic container (you can use a large mason jar too)

How to make:

Mix ground coffee with cold or room temperature water in a bowl.
Close the container tightly and put it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. This is called steeping time. Steeping is recommended to be done between overnight 12 to 24 hours. You can find concentrates to feel softer than you'd like.
After 12-18 hours of steeping, separate the coffee grounds from the concentrate. The final product will taste stronger and more bitter when coffee grounds are added.
Store cold brew concentrate in an airtight container such as a glass or big mason jar for the next two weeks.
Add water to the filtered coffee in a ratio of 1:1, you can also add sugar, ice cubes, almond milk, and milk according to your taste.
Enjoy your cup of coffee

Also read: Learn How to Brew Drip Bag Coffee Easily!

Storing cold brew coffee

If you make cold brew coffee in a big batch, store your cold brew properly. Cold-brew is recommended to be stored in a closed container such as a glass or plastic jar in the refrigerator. Avoid storing cold-brewed coffee at room temperature because it will cause bacterial growth so your cold brew becomes stale. Cold-brew can be stored between 2-7 days while cold brew concentrate can be stored for up to 2 weeks. However, once diluted, cold brew concentrate can be stored for 3-4 days.

Remove the air from the storage container for the cold brew to last longer. Cold-brew stored in a kegerator (a refrigerator for storing beer and wine) can last longer. To enjoy a cold brew, you can add milk or water. However, coffee with added milk and creamer will be more easily stale and overgrown with bacteria. Drink your coffee within 2 hours after you add milk to your coffee. Cold-brew that has been mixed with milk can be stored in the refrigerator but will only last 1-2 days because the coffee will still go bad quickly when it is mixed with milk.

Look at your coffee, see if it's moldy, discolored, and smells not good. If your coffee has these signs, throw it away immediately and don't drink it. If stored properly, coffee will not cause food poisoning.

Too lazy to make cold brew? Come to Kisaku!

Making cold brew coffee requires a lot of time. If you're too lazy to make cold brew at home, just visit Kisaku Coffee. You can sit, relax, and enjoy your best coffee in town. Also, click here for Kisaku online!