A Brief Overview Of Cold Brew Coffee

The brew that you get by using coffee grounds with cold water is termed as the cold press coffee or cold brew. When you use cold water instead of hot water in the brewing process, you may expect a slower process. This is mainly due to the fact that the grounds will need to be soaked in the cold water for a longer period of time in order to produce a brew that has the same intensity and flavor as the coffee that is brewed traditionally with hot water. Notably, cold brew is not iced coffee that is commonly prepared by pouring coffee over ice. Simply put, cold press coffee is produced cold whereas iced coffee is brewed in the conventional way and then it is made to cool down.

You may be wondering why you may want to spend extra time in preparing a brew that has the same strength and flavor as the traditional coffee. While taste and aroma matter a lot, goodness is what defines your overall coffee experience. The prolonged brewing process and a high water-to-bean ratio facilitate the maximum extraction of vitamins and minerals that make coffee a healthy beverage. Hot water speeds up the brewing process, but it fails to capture the holistic health benefits of coffee as it works by heating different compounds in an uneven manner.

Interestingly, some coffee lovers simply like the taste of the cold brew which is not only noted for its flavor, but also for its lesser degree of bitterness and lesser intensity of acid. If you are someone who wants to make the most out of coffee consumption in terms of nutrient-intake or if you are affected by a sensitive stomach that gets worse by traditionally-brewed coffee, you may want to try out cold press coffee.

Cold brew is expensive and so you may want to prepare it at home. Grind coffee beans in your grinder and make sure that the output has a consistency similar to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Keep the grounds in a glass jar and add water to it in a 4:1 water-to-coffee ratio. Stir the mixture gently and leave the jar undisturbed for 18-24 hours either in your refrigerator or under normal room temperature. After the brewing process gets completed, use a sieve to strain the solution into a bowl to separate the larger grounds. Clean your sieve and use a piece of muslin cloth over it to strain back the liquid into the jar. Repeat the process twice or thrice to remove residues. Add milk, cream or sugar depending on your taste and refrigerate the remaining coffee. Whether you believe or not, your cold brew may remain good for as long as a month if you store it properly.