Join us on an adventure with an extraordinary drink, perfect for quenching your thirst during the upcoming hot days!
What is cold brew?
Cold brew is a drink prepared through the process of maceration (Latin: maceratio – soaking).
Maceration is a process during which phenols (tannins), pigments – anthocyanins, and aromatic substances are extracted from coffee beans (seeds), skin, and pulp (cascara), tea, or fruits using cold water.
There is also carbonic maceration, where the water is saturated with carbon dioxide, giving the drink a slightly fizzy effect.
For coffee cold brew, we recommend lightly roasted coffees. If you prefer fruity and refreshing flavors, we suggest coffees from Africa (e.g., Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi). If you prefer sweeter tastes, choose something from Central and Latin America (e.g., Brazil, Peru, Colombia).
What do you need to make cold brew?
- Coffee, cascara, tea, or dried fruit (depending on what you want to make cold brew with)
- Scale
- Water – fresh, filtered
- Container (e.g., jar, bottle, etc.) or special equipment for making cold brew
- Spoon
For filtering, you can use: paper filter, very fine sieve, or cheesecloth.
How to prepare cold brew
For cold brew, lightly roasted or omni roast coffees are usually used due to their milder taste. If you prefer more intense coffees, you can prepare it with coffee roasted for espresso.
Grinding
It's best to start by grinding the coffee similar to how you would for a Chemex (a bit coarser than sugar). If you want to shorten the maceration time, grind the coffee more finely (this allows the water to soak into the coffee particles faster and absorb their components, or flavor). Conversely, longer time – coarser grind.
Maceration time
The longer the process, the more intense the flavor. This also increases the chance of excessive bitterness (quinic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeine). Minimum 8 hours, but no longer than 16 hours.
If you want to speed up the process, pour water at 30-40°C over the coffee, cascara, or dried fruit, wait for it to cool, and then put it in the refrigerator. This can shorten the time by 1-2 hours. You can also stir the cold brew every hour, as higher temperatures and turbulence speed up extraction.
Portion
7-8g of coffee per 100g of water. Grind the coffee. Pour it into a container and add the appropriate amount of water (e.g., 70-80g per 1 liter) and stir. Cover the container or seal it with aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator.
Maceration time
8-12 hours. For filtering, you can use: paper filters, very fine sieve, or cheesecloth.
