You may have heard the term ‘Cold Brew’ floating around, especially on your local coffee shop’s menus and in fancy bottles in your local supermarket. But what actually is it?
Cold brew and iced coffee are NOT the same. They may have a similar serving temperature, however in order for a brew to be classified as ‘Cold Brew’ it must be brewed entirely with cold water - a method which produces an entirely different beverage to the iced coffees you may be used to.
With its ‘cool’ connotation (pun fully intended) and naturally sweet flavour, it’s recently become very popular - and it's easy to see why. Read on for a simple Immersion method and you'll always have a supply to hand.
YOU WILL NEED
- A large lidded jar, preserve jar or airtight container.
- 120g of coarsely ground coffee.
- 1 litre of cold water - we recommended filtered water for the best result.
- A stirrer.
- A set of scales, ideally digital and to a 0.1g accuracy.
- A brewer of choice and relevant filter paper - we're using a size 02 Hario V60. Alternatively, you can also filter your brew with a cheesecloth or kitchen paper.
METHOD
- Pop your jar or container onto your set of scales. Zero them and add 120g of your coarsely ground coffee.
- Zero your scales again and pour in 1 litre of cold water (preferably filtered) over your grounds. Take a note of the time you added in your water.
- Stir the brew together, ensuring all grounds are saturated with water.
- Seal your jar tightly and pop this to the side to brew for 8 hours.
- Once 8 hours have passed, unseal your jar and knock off any coffee grind from the top of your brew with a stirrer. Be careful not to stir up the grinds too much!
- Pour your brew through your filter into another vessel to filter out all the grinds. We tend to use a size 02 V60 and filter paper for ease, but any brewer with a filter paper will suffice. This may take a while to filter through, but it'll be worth the wait!
- Once filtered, pop your Cold Brew into a clean sealable jar. This can be kept in your fridge for up to 7 days. Enjoy over ice by itself, with milk as an iced latte or even get creative - we've heard it's pretty great in cocktails too.
