Cyxelsid
Member
So, since carbonation is a no-no, and carbonated beverages were my go-to, pre-surgery, I have been getting a little bored! When I get bored, I either get naughty or I get creative... this time, I got creative and began experimenting with tea and coffee! Below are some recipes I have developed for cold brew coffee, cold brew coffee concentrate, and cold brewed iced tea. I just thought I would share what my experiments have yielded... as summer is coming fast, pour yourself a cold one and enjoy the sunshine!
Cold Brew Iced Coffee and Concentrate
Why is cold brew so popular? When you brew coffee or tea with hot water, the heat releases tanins, which makes your coffee and tea bitter and more acidic. To boot, the heat will also breakdown the caffiene in coffee. So, in short, cold brewed coffee is less bitter, less acidic, and far more potent.
The one downside to cold brewed coffee, is time. Where you can get a piping hot cup of coffee in 3-4 minutes (even without a fancy one cup coffee maker), it will take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours for a good cold brew. In my experience, slower is better.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a fancy one-cup coffee maker that uses pods (no name dropping here!), they often have an "Iced Coffee" feature. Now, I am not sure what the difference between that setting and the regular setting is, but supposedly the coffee is stronger than the regular setting. So when the hot concoction is poured over ice and gets watered down, it tastes right. And to a point, it works. But it still uses hot water to brew, so you get the same flavor profile as a regular cup of coffee, just colder.
So, how do you make cold brew? Well, frankly, it could not be easier! I make my cold brew coffee with either a french press, or this cold brew pitcher I bought for $24 on Amazon. The nice thing is that this pitcher has mutliple uses, not just coffee. But we will discuss that later. For now, just know that this pitcher comes with an ultrafine wire mesh filter, specifically for coffee.
So, you just take your favorite high quality coarse ground coffee (I recommend not using the cheap bulk coffee like Foldgers), put between 1/2 cup and 1 cup (depending on how strong you want it) of coffee in the filter, screw it on to the pitcher lid, and then slowly pour 4 cups of room temperature water into the filter. You want to pour slow, and potentially stir the coffee grounds in the filter, because you don't want a ball of dry coffee in the center.
Now, here you have a choice... you can either put the cap on the pitcher and set it on the counter for 6-8 hours at room temperature, or you can put it in the fridge for 24 hours. I personally prefer the latter option, as I find it gets a much richer flavor, and packs a big caffiene punch! You can also play with the times, getting your coffee just the way you like it. The other benefit of brewing the coffee in the fridge is that, when it is done and you pour it over ice, the ice doesn't melt as fast, watering down your coffee. Although that isn't necessarily bad, if you want the smooth flavor of cold brew, but don't want to be bouncing off the ceiling in a caffiene induced episode.
For me, I love pouring 10 oz of cold brew coffee over ice, and then adding 2 tablespoons of sweet cream. Because the coffee is not bitter, I find I need less cream and no sugar. DELICIOUS! My wife prefers flavored creamers, with hazelnut being her favorite.
If you want the cold brew with a FRACTION of the caffiene, try using a high quality coarse ground decaf coffee. You can also use any other flavored coffee you like, such as vanilla nut. Just make sure it is high quality and coarse grind.
My next experiment was to add spices! I love holiday spices, so I followed the same recipe above, but added a tablespoon of my ground spice mix, consisting of nutmeg, cloves, all spice, and cinnamon. It was like Christmas in June!
So, I know what your thinking... I just want a cup of coffee in the morning! Well, think of this, for the investment of 5 minutes of your time this morning (the time you would have spent making your coffee anyway), you could have made your cold brew for tomorrow, and actually save yourself time tomorrow! But do you have to do this EVERY DAY? Maybe not... this is where concentrates come in...
The concentrate is exactly the same as the regular cold brew, just much much stronger. Cold brew concentrate is to cold brew, as cold brew is to hot coffee! And as with any concetrate, you can store much less of it in your fridge! So spending 5 minutes on Sunday morning, can yield you enough cold brew to last you the whole week!
Now, I like to make my concentrate in a french press. Why? Because we are going to use a 2:1 ratio of water to coffee. It makes a thick soupy mixture, and the french press is much better at filtering out the grounds.
I use a small 350 ml french press I bought on Amazon for $10 (although I am going to buy me a larger one). So I combine 1/2 cup of coarse ground coffee and 1 cup of toom temperature water. Place the lid on the french press, but do not push the filter down. Then, again, you can just set it on the counter for 6-8 hours or put it in the fridge for 24 hours. When the time is up, slowly push the filter down, and pour the concentrate into another container. When you are ready to have a cup of coffee, just use a 2:1 ratio of water/cream to concentrate. So. For a 12 oz iced coffee, pour 4 oz of concentrate over ice, then 8 oz of either water or creamer into the glass, and stir.
The concentrate, and the previous cold brew, will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Voila! You have iced coffee in hand at all times! You can an also consider placing some cold brew into ice trays and making cold brew ice cubes. This will help even more with keeping your coffee from getting watered down!
Stay tuned for Part II, where I tell you how I make cold brewed iced tea, flavored with your favorite fruits!
Cold Brew Iced Coffee and Concentrate
Why is cold brew so popular? When you brew coffee or tea with hot water, the heat releases tanins, which makes your coffee and tea bitter and more acidic. To boot, the heat will also breakdown the caffiene in coffee. So, in short, cold brewed coffee is less bitter, less acidic, and far more potent.
The one downside to cold brewed coffee, is time. Where you can get a piping hot cup of coffee in 3-4 minutes (even without a fancy one cup coffee maker), it will take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours for a good cold brew. In my experience, slower is better.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a fancy one-cup coffee maker that uses pods (no name dropping here!), they often have an "Iced Coffee" feature. Now, I am not sure what the difference between that setting and the regular setting is, but supposedly the coffee is stronger than the regular setting. So when the hot concoction is poured over ice and gets watered down, it tastes right. And to a point, it works. But it still uses hot water to brew, so you get the same flavor profile as a regular cup of coffee, just colder.
So, how do you make cold brew? Well, frankly, it could not be easier! I make my cold brew coffee with either a french press, or this cold brew pitcher I bought for $24 on Amazon. The nice thing is that this pitcher has mutliple uses, not just coffee. But we will discuss that later. For now, just know that this pitcher comes with an ultrafine wire mesh filter, specifically for coffee.
So, you just take your favorite high quality coarse ground coffee (I recommend not using the cheap bulk coffee like Foldgers), put between 1/2 cup and 1 cup (depending on how strong you want it) of coffee in the filter, screw it on to the pitcher lid, and then slowly pour 4 cups of room temperature water into the filter. You want to pour slow, and potentially stir the coffee grounds in the filter, because you don't want a ball of dry coffee in the center.
Now, here you have a choice... you can either put the cap on the pitcher and set it on the counter for 6-8 hours at room temperature, or you can put it in the fridge for 24 hours. I personally prefer the latter option, as I find it gets a much richer flavor, and packs a big caffiene punch! You can also play with the times, getting your coffee just the way you like it. The other benefit of brewing the coffee in the fridge is that, when it is done and you pour it over ice, the ice doesn't melt as fast, watering down your coffee. Although that isn't necessarily bad, if you want the smooth flavor of cold brew, but don't want to be bouncing off the ceiling in a caffiene induced episode.
For me, I love pouring 10 oz of cold brew coffee over ice, and then adding 2 tablespoons of sweet cream. Because the coffee is not bitter, I find I need less cream and no sugar. DELICIOUS! My wife prefers flavored creamers, with hazelnut being her favorite.
If you want the cold brew with a FRACTION of the caffiene, try using a high quality coarse ground decaf coffee. You can also use any other flavored coffee you like, such as vanilla nut. Just make sure it is high quality and coarse grind.
My next experiment was to add spices! I love holiday spices, so I followed the same recipe above, but added a tablespoon of my ground spice mix, consisting of nutmeg, cloves, all spice, and cinnamon. It was like Christmas in June!
So, I know what your thinking... I just want a cup of coffee in the morning! Well, think of this, for the investment of 5 minutes of your time this morning (the time you would have spent making your coffee anyway), you could have made your cold brew for tomorrow, and actually save yourself time tomorrow! But do you have to do this EVERY DAY? Maybe not... this is where concentrates come in...
The concentrate is exactly the same as the regular cold brew, just much much stronger. Cold brew concentrate is to cold brew, as cold brew is to hot coffee! And as with any concetrate, you can store much less of it in your fridge! So spending 5 minutes on Sunday morning, can yield you enough cold brew to last you the whole week!
Now, I like to make my concentrate in a french press. Why? Because we are going to use a 2:1 ratio of water to coffee. It makes a thick soupy mixture, and the french press is much better at filtering out the grounds.
I use a small 350 ml french press I bought on Amazon for $10 (although I am going to buy me a larger one). So I combine 1/2 cup of coarse ground coffee and 1 cup of toom temperature water. Place the lid on the french press, but do not push the filter down. Then, again, you can just set it on the counter for 6-8 hours or put it in the fridge for 24 hours. When the time is up, slowly push the filter down, and pour the concentrate into another container. When you are ready to have a cup of coffee, just use a 2:1 ratio of water/cream to concentrate. So. For a 12 oz iced coffee, pour 4 oz of concentrate over ice, then 8 oz of either water or creamer into the glass, and stir.
The concentrate, and the previous cold brew, will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. Voila! You have iced coffee in hand at all times! You can an also consider placing some cold brew into ice trays and making cold brew ice cubes. This will help even more with keeping your coffee from getting watered down!
Stay tuned for Part II, where I tell you how I make cold brewed iced tea, flavored with your favorite fruits!