- Coffee prep
The ultimate cold brew recipe for at home.
Cold-brewed coffee? Traditionalists may ask: “What’s all this fuss about?” Well, a cold brew is not just “cold coffee”. Apart from the temperature, it is a very fine, fruity, and low-acid coffee that is the perfect choice for iced coffees without the billions of calories or as a base for coffee cocktails. It just needs a little preparation.
Kristin Oldenburg
Cold brew: so simple, so delicious.
The trick with cold-brewed coffee is the long extraction time: You have to let it steep for at least 12 hours – or even longer – so that the fine, fruity aromas can be released from the coffee. But that’s the most time-consuming part of cold brewing.
And this is how it’s done:
- Grind 3.5 oz of coffee, e.g. Mount Hagen Arabica, relatively coarsely – coarser than for a French press coffee. Pour 34 fl oz of cold water over the coffee grounds and stir well. You don’t need a cold brewer for this, just use a glass carafe that you can seal well – with plastic wrap if necessary.
Tip: If you want to mix your cold brew with juices or tonic later, it is better to make a concentrate: In this case use 7 oz of coffee with 34 fl oz of water. - Put your cold brew in the fridge for 12 hours or more.
- Then filter the coffee with a normal hand filter or a Chemex.
Done.
The cold brew tastes delicately fruity and has very few bitter substances. It is therefore a real treat on its own. But if you enjoy experimenting, try it with tonic, lemon, or orange juice. Add a few ice cubes: A wonderful refreshment for hot summer days.
And what is an ice brew?
An ice brew is a hot (!) brewed coffee in which half of the water is replaced by ice.
How it‘s done:
- Pour 1.2-1.4 oz of medium-fine ground coffee, e.g. Mount Hagen Barista Crema, into a hand filter.
- Put 10 oz of ice cubes into the coffee pot
- Place the hand filter on top and brew with 10 fl oz hot water.
The coffee cools down very quickly, tastes like its hot counterpart, but is ice cold and very refreshing – an iced coffee without the billions of calories.
Ready for summer.
