Recipe: Cold Brew

The classic recipe to beat the heat is cold brew, and the truth is that it is a perfect drink to prepare in large quantities in advance. Cold brew is a coffee that is prepared cold by soaking coarsely ground coffee for a long period of time with water at room temperature or cold and then straining it.

What happens with cold brew ?

Cold brew uses time instead of temperature to extract, and the extraction can last from 8 to 24 hours, depending on the recipe. As it is extracted slowly and at a lower temperature, the flavor obtained is more mellow and less acidic.

On the other hand, when coffee is extracted at high temperatures, soluble solids dissolve better, as do molecular bonds. That is, high temperatures extract more organic compounds from the coffee. On the other hand, cold brewing is much less effective in this regard, which means a lower yield of some coffee compounds, particularly acids and some oils. These compounds, known as volatiles, add depth and aroma to a hot cup of coffee but tend to disappear once the coffee cools.

It is said that cold brew has more caffeine than other methods, and this is true to some extent. The truth behind this is that since cold brew is brewed with a higher proportion of coffee than water, the coffee/water concentration can have significantly more caffeine than the same volume of coffee brewed at a higher temperature. But keep in mind that cold brew is usually served with ice, so it is diluted.

Iced coffee vs cold brew .

Another method to beat the heat is to drink iced coffee . The fundamental difference is that iced coffee is a coffee made with a traditional method, such as espresso, and ice is added. Typically, iced coffee has more body than cold brew , although the flavor dissipates as the ice melts. In terms of flavor, iced black coffee can be a little more bitter than cold brew , although you can always make an iced latte by adding cold milk.

Recipe

Here is the recipe we use at Hola Coffee with our Cruz del Chalpón coffee:

• 90g coarsely ground coffee (similar to kosher salt)
• 1l of filtered water

1. Add the liter of filtered water to the 90 grams of coffee in a jug.
2. Shake and make sure all the ground coffee is in contact with the water.
3. Cover the jar, either with a stopper or with a napkin secured with a rubber band.
4. Let it infuse for 18 hours at room temperature or 24 hours in the refrigerator.
5. Once infused, strain the coffee with a strainer. Once strained, we like to filter it using a V60 filter, but if you don't have a filter on hand you can do it with a napkin. To do this, cover the strainer with a napkin and wet the napkin with hot water to remove any possible papery smell and taste. Get rid of that water and proceed to filter the coffee.
6. Serve over ice, alone or with milk.

Here we leave you a video with the step by step:

Niki