Ingredients

  • 85g Coarse ground filter coffee
  • 700ml water

Process Steps

  1. Pour the water and ground coffee into a jar.
  2. Stir the mixture and leave to rest for 24 hours.
  3. Place a paper coffee filter over a jug and pour out the cold brew coffee onto the filter paper.
  4. Transfer the brew to a sealable jar to be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge.
  5. To serve, pour the cold brew coffee into a glass with ice and water. You can also add milk too.

Finding the most indie of coffees out there has become a popular trend in recent years for coffee lovers. So, in keeping with this modern craze, how about a coffee that doesn't need to be brewed? 

Eclipsed by iced coffee because of the Instagram influencers, the cold brew coffee is currently making a come back. Let us enlighten you about it...

What is cold brew coffee?

Glass of cold brew coffee with ice

Cold brew coffee is a style of coffee made without brewing, making it very unique. The ground coffee beans are steeped in water for hours, in order to extract the coffee. And if you haven't gathered from the name, no hot water is used, only cold!

It's often served with ice and without milk. Milk can be added to the cold brew coffee, although this is less common than compared to an iced coffee.

Cold brew coffee recipe - 5 steps

Making a cold brew coffee probably requires less effort than making a simple dissolvable coffee. Nonetheless, it's always good to follow a method, so take a look at our easy 5 step guide on how to make cold brew coffee.

Ingredients

  • 85g ground coffee
  • 700ml water

Tools

  • 1 jar
  • 1 jug
  • 1 sheet of coffee filter paper
  • 1 spoon

Method 

Barista making cold brew coffee

Step 1

Take a jar and pour in the water and coarsely ground coffee.

Step 2

Stir the mixture a little (not too much) and leave it to rest for 24 hours. The cold brew coffee can be left in or outside the fridge, it makes no difference.

Step 3

Place a sheet of coffee filter paper over a jug. Slowly pour the brew mixture onto the paper to filter out the ground coffee. This part may take some time, so be patient.

Step 4

Transfer the cold brew coffee into a sealable jar to be stored in the fridge. The brew will last for 3 days.

Step 5

To serve, pour the cold brew coffee into a glass with ice and dilute with water, to your preference. 50/50 water and coffee brew is the common ratio. You can add milk to this part, too, which makes a magical marbled effect, great for an Instagram pic!

Top tips for making cold brew coffee

Glass of iced cold brew coffee

Coffee - Use good quality coffee. We can't stress this enough! Coffee is so diverse and full of different choices, so take advantage of this. It's also easy to tell a poor quality coffee, so choosing wisely pays off. Head down to your nearest hipster coffee shop and see what they've got to offer (it'll probably be good stuff). This is going to add another dimension to your cold brew coffee. It's steeping for 24 hours, imagine all those flavours!

Coffee bean grinding - Don't over-grind the bean. This is one thing that can bring your cold brew coffee come tumbling down in disappointment. If the coffee beans are ground well, it will over-infuse the brew. Keeping the coffee grounds coarse means you get a smooth coffee taste, without a bitter bite.

Cold brew coffee vs iced coffee

Glass of cold brew coffee with milk

I'm sure by now you're wondering about iced coffees and what's the difference between cold brew coffee and iced coffee? They may seem similar, but you'd be wrong (sorry).

Cold brew coffee is done through steeping coffee beans in cold water. No heat is involved. However, with iced coffee (before it gets iced up) the coffee is brewed at double strength.

This means that cold brew coffee has a slight sweet flavour, naturally occurring from the steeping process. This is what makes it so popular these days. It's simple, smooth, sweet and easy to keep. Perfect if you've got a busy schedule and don't have time to brew any coffee. 

Iced coffee lacks this natural sweetness, so sugar or syrups are added to sweeten the taste.
 

Become a master of coffee on our barista course.

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