Summertime is iced coffee time!
I do enjoy a hot cup of coffee, but in the Summer I prefer a delicious iced coffee. As I generally limit my coffee consumption to 1-2 servings a day I like to make those cups as enjoyable as possible.
I enjoyed delicious iced coffee from a coffee shop. I was puzzled why their iced coffee was so much better than my own attempts even if I purchased their beans. It turns out that this coffee shop used a cold brewing extraction method to make the coffee.
I thought this would involve complicated machinery or advanced techniques so I never looked into cold brewing for myself. It turns out that is a very easy, low-tech brewing option. Cold brewing methods vary from very simple to sophisticated industrial strength extractions. I will show you a very simple method using equipment you may already have on hand.
Disclosure: I received compensation including the OrJoeCoffee Ceramic Burr Manual Coffee Grinder featured in this post for mention on this blog. All opinions and experiences described are my own and were not pre-approved. I frequently feature products that may interest and benefit my readers.
I apologize! I just noticed I have a coffee grind in my teeth in the embedded videos. I suppose that is a slight occupational hazard when brewing and testing coffee!
Benefits of Cold Brewing Coffee:
- Cold brewed coffee often tastes smoother and less bitter as it involves a different chemical process than traditional hot brewing
- Cold Brewed Coffee has a lower acidity, this is one reason it tastes sweeter but other benefits are that it may be more gentle on the teeth and the stomach.
- If you are interested in cold coffee it is perfect as you do not need to dilute your coffee with melting ice! (unless you want to!)
I like this quote from an article from The Daily Beast that explains why cold brewing has the above mentioned benefits:
Remember that first time you drank coffee, as a kid, and the taste didn’t quite live up to that amazing smell? Cold-brewing does a lot to close the smell-taste gap. Taste is in the chemistry, and exposing coffee grounds to hot water releases oils that won’t dissolve at lower temperatures. These oils are full of acidic compounds that give coffee its famous bitter bite. But along with that bite comes acid-shock, which anesthetizes the tongue and prevents the taster from perceiving the subtle nuances in coffee’s flavor. Sure, that acid may be nice in a hot cup of coffee, but for iced coffee, it’s a detriment; it doesn’t let you perceive coffee’s luscious fruitiness. (Quote source: Coffee’s Dirty Little Secret via The Daily Beast)
People use a cold brewing method to make hot coffee. Usually the extraction is more concentrated than regular hot coffee made from a drip or French press. People typically dilute the coffee with hot or cold water, milk, or a milk alternative such as coconut milk. So these techniques are not limited to iced coffee, however making a better cup of iced coffee was my motivation to try this method.
How To Cold Brew:
There are expensive brewing systems available for cold brewing. Or you can go as simple as a mason jar and a strainer. I used a French Press as I have a couple and I don’t own any coffee filters or fine enough strainers.
- Start with ground beans. The better the beans the better your brew will be. For extra goodness, start with freshly ground beans. Depending on the source, you may use a coarse grind like you would use for a French press or a slightly finer grind like you would use for a drip coffee. I used a ceramic burr grinder from OrJoeCoffee.
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Put the appropriate quantity of ground beans in your container, I used the same amount I would normally use.
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Fill the container with unheated water (many prefer unheated filtered water)
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Leave your coffee alone for about 12 hours (or more) to infuse, I have tried infusing at room temperature and also in the refrigerator. Either works, but room temperature seems to make a more concentrated infusion.
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Strain the coffee when ready, this is super easy using a French press. Or you can strain your coffee through a coffee filter.
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Store your infused cold brew coffee in the refrigerator.
Other Options To Make It Yours:
A Bonus Tip: You can also make coffee ice cubes to avoid diluting your coffee flavor (this works for iced tea too!). You can even make iced coffee from coffee iced cubes by blending several cubes into your milk of choice (or water if you prefer black coffee). You may notice I used a couple of ice coffee cubes to chill my iced coffee from room temperature.
You can flavor this coffee however you prefer (or drink it plain). Some of my favorite flavors include:
- Vanilla extract with agave to sweeten
- Unsweetened cocoa with agave to sweeten
- Ground cinnamon and nutmeg
Featured Product: The OrJoeCoffee Ceramic Manual Burr Grinder:
I used the Manual Coffee Grinder from OrJoeCoffee to prepare the beans. With cold brewed coffee, I think the beans are the most important aspect. I started with freshly ground beans and I think that made a difference.
The OrJoeCoffee grinder is adjustable to make the best grind for a variety of machines (not just cold brew, you can use it with a French Press, reusable K-cups filters, drip, Moka pot and more.
Below is a more detailed video review of the OrJoeCoffee Manual Coffee Grinder:
Where To Purchase The OrJoeCoffee Manual Coffee Grinder:
The OrJoeCoffee Manual Ceramic Burr Coffee Grinder is available on Amazon — their their product listing here
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