What Cold Brew is and what it isn’t.

Have you ever tried cold brew? And it’s so good, right? Personally, for me, nothing hits the spot more. I wanted to kinda discuss what cold brew is and what it isn’t. As well as how you can make cold brew at home with a few recommendations from our Spotted Fawn Coffee Roasters Team! Nothing fancy required and super easy. The hardest part is waiting 24 hours to drink it…

What is Cold Brew? 

Cold Brew is coffee brewed by steeping coffee grounds in cold or room-temperature water. What you are left with is a concentrated coffee that is the sweet mother of all goodness. You can serve it over ice and your choice of milk, cream, water ect..  It’s different from drip or brewed coffee that’s made by percolating hot water over coffee grounds in a filter. Cold brew has become very popular because of its deliciously smooth flavor. It’s great for summer, but you can drink it all year round!

What is the best type of coffee to use for cold brew?

Dark roasts work well, we’ve also experimented with our own coffee ( of course, ) and found that most Colombian coffees do well as cold brew. (see the recipe to follow using our Colombian Coffee.) I’m not sure why Colombian coffee does so well with this, but I’m guessing something to do with lower acidity??

What do I need equipment-wise to make Cold Brew at Home? 

To make cold-brew coffee, you’ll need a few pieces of gear. But they are things that you’ll most likely already have in your kitchen! In contrast to making pour-over coffee,, making this recipe requires nothing special equipment-wise! Here’s what you need:

1. Coffee grinder or mill: To grind the coffee to a medium coarse grind. It’s easiest with an electric grinder since you’ll need quite a bit of grounds. Or you can use a handheld coffee mill does the trick — it just takes longer.
2. Water: Filtered water has the best flavour; but tap water should suffice too!
3. Large jar or pitcher
4. Strainer
5. Clean Towel

What Cold Brew isn’t.

Coldbrew is not syrup… Ok Rant: Nothing annoys more than places that use sugary syrups to mimic the flavour of beautful ingredients like matcha, chai tea, or cold brew. These things taste so good fresh and it really doesn’t take much more time to use the proper ingredients or preparation techniques. It’s up there with those artificially flavoured creams that aren’t even cream (you know the ones)….so bad for you!! Why????

So theres that…now we get to the goods: How to make Cold Brew at Home:

This cold brew coffee recipe is a straightforward and forgiving method. Just make sure to make it 24 hours before you’d like to drink it! Here are the major steps in our cold brew coffee recipe 

The Recipe:

1. Grind 1 ½ cups of coffee of your choice. Try our Colombian Coffee! Grind to a medium coarse or we can grind your coffee for you! Much like a French Press grind. 
2. Add 6 cups cold water and mix. Add the water to the coffee grounds in a large jar or pitcher, and give it a little stir. Do not use hot water as you will not achieve those smooth sweet notes that you’re after..cold water or lukewarm work much better.
3. Refrigerate and wait 24 hours! Here’s where the brewing magic happens: and you don’t need to do anything! Just wait while the coffee brews.
4. Filter the coffee. Pour the coffee into a strainer with a towel or cheesecloth placed inside, and filter it into a separate container. Then, your cold brew is ready to drink! It makes 9 servings: water it down with equal parts cold water and coffee concentrate.

How to make Cold Brew using a French Press

1. Grind the coffee: Grind 140 grams (2 cups) of coffee beans to a medium coarse grind.
2. Mix coffee grounds and water: Add the coffee grounds and 3 ½ cups filtered water to the French press. Stir several times with a spoon.
3. Refrigerate for 24 hours: Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for 24 hours. (You can cover it with the top but the plunger must be up, making it difficult to fit in most refrigerators.)
4. Plunge and strain: Place the lid on the French press and slowly press the plunger all the way down. Pour the cold brew concentrate into a large glass jar or pitcher.
5. Serve: To serve, dilute ½ cup cold brew with ½ cup water or milk. If serving with ice, use the ice with ½ cup cold brew concentrate with ¼ cup water.

To make the process even easier (yes… easier yet!) We have kits to get you started. Toddy cold brew kit is quick and easy and pretty inexpensive. You can find these in-store and online as well. We can recommend some great fresh roasted coffees to compliment your brew!