Mornings cannot be complete with something hot to drink such as coffee, chocolate, or tea to warm you up and let your energy rise from slumber, too. That was what used to be for most people.
However, in the emergence of modern coffee shops today, a huge innovation came to be in the preparation of the bestselling coffees around the world. Coffee shops like Starbucks brought about a great impact on this favorite drink. No more hot coffees to be served.
Say goodbye to your usual cup of plain black coffee drink. Adding cream or coffee mate is no longer what you can do to level up its taste.
No to hot coffee and yes to cold brew coffee!
That’s how a modern coffee would be like. Cold enough to suit the hot weather, the hot issues going on the world each day. and the hotness you are feeling about yourself. Yes! That’s a problem you can solve by drinking this ice-cold coffee which you can also prepare at home. Here is our guide on how to make cold brew coffee with a french press, how to make a cold brew concentrate, and how to make cold brew coffee in a mansion jar.
How to Brew Coffee at Home
Before you can proceed in making a cup of cold brew coffee, you must have bought first a pack a brewed coffee to use. On the other hand, when times come that you do not have one or have no time to buy some, choosing to prepare it at home is one great way. too. For a successful brewing process to be done at home, here’s a list for you to check out to find which one you can try.
1. Pouring over a coffee cone and paper filters – an old. popular brewing method that makes use of those two things and some hot water. In a container, position the coffee cone on top with the paper filter in the middle, too. Put the coffee on the paper filter and pour some hot water into it Because of the water’s added weight on the beans and its warmth, brewed coffee is successfully extracted and slowly drips off from the filter.
2. Pouring over Chemex flask and paper – Chemex is a specially made glass container that is used to contain the coffee mix. To achieve this, the coffee ground is placed in the Chemex paper and with hot water poured onto it. The process almost seems similar to the use of coffee cones, too.
3. Using a plunger or French Press – this is considered as the best among all these processes for its easy and manageable process. It was invented in 1929, offering a better way to maintain the flavorful tastes of the ground coffee which are mostly preferred by coffee lovers desiring for a delightful and strong drinking experience.
4. Using plunger or Aeropress – this method is a newly-invented one which was made only in 2005. Coffee grounds are placed at the chamber’s bottom. The hot water is also poured on that part and then let to steep for the set time. When extracting the coffee, a plunger is prepared and may be pressed any time after the steep time is over. The coffee comes across the filter before it goes to your cup.
5. Steaming in a stovetop coffee maker – created in 1933. this product uses steam pressure with boiled water underneath the chamber where the ground coffee is placed. Stovetop pots that are perfectly made can help with its better production through proper pressure.
6. Use vapor pressure in Siphon – this cute little coffee maker is an effective way also to extract coffee. The ground coffee is placed in the top chamber of the apparatus just above where the vapor pressure is located. The pressure forces the water to go up and cause the immersion of the coffee with the water. The paper filter waiting at the bottom is what shall receive the coffee ground that the pressure above pushes back.
Tips for Better Brewing Results
• Buy only fresh and whole beans because the freshness and taste of coffee are usually measured on how it looks on the physical, thus, includes its wholeness. Your coffee experience can only be as good as the beans you use to prepare it with so be careful about buying coffee beans and make sure that it is always fresh and whole.
• Vacuum-sealed jars are the best-recommended ones while mason jars are the mass’ favorite to be used for the storage of coffee beans. With these containers’ storage quality, coffee beans are sure to be kept as good as new.
• Timing in the grinding of coffee beans matters very important for. again, keeping them fresh, too. Grinding it just before you brew the beans would ensure its full flavors to come out.
• Measuring the amount of coffee must be based on weight and not of the volume. Usually, coffee makers prefer to include the same amount of coffee with the measure of water in brewing. This is to be certain that the blending is perfectly made. too.
• Set the coffee maker’s temperature right. Letting your coffee brew at a certain temperature is sometimes not observed by some automatic drip machines. They skip a crucial step in the brewing process and that is to reach an optimal temperature.
How to Prepare a Cup of Cold Brewed Coffee
All the websites online can provide you with the necessary steps in preparing a coffee shop-like brewed coffee. That means anyone can try it. too. anytime they like because it is just so easy to do. With some very basic tools and equipment and not much skill, your first ever cup shall be made successfully.
There is no secret in this one and all that you need to prepare are your taste buds. Specifically, here are the steps you must perform to make you own homemade cold-brewed coffee:
1. Grind it right – coffee beans, if brewed especially, needs to be ground perfectly in a way that it shall fit well into your preferred taste. The appropriate one is to have it large enough so as not to become bitter if stored overnight in the fridge. If using a small grinder at home, however, grinding the beans in batches is recommended, too.
2. Pour in more water than coffee – based on your taste, decide how much of coffee you would like to have but make sure you put in more water into the container of your brewed coffee. You must ensure the ground coffee and water are evenly blended. Use a long-handled spoon to do this.
3. Let it steep overnight – the appropriate steeping time for cold brew coffee is 12 hours at least. After mixing the water and ground coffee beans, cover the jar with a lid before letting it stay overnight inside the refrigerator or just in the counter. The steep time is also 12 hours.
4. Strain the coffee – use a cheesecloth or any other cloth that can separate the large particles of coffee from the end product. Pour the drink into a larger container with the cloth placed on top.
5. Transfer the coffee into a smaller container and just let it stay there for a week. Store it inside the refrigerator.
6. Serve and enjoy your cup of cold brew coffee – taste your very own homemade cold brew with your choice of milk or water with ice for a thirst-quenching drink. Otherwise, let it warm inside the microwave for a few minutes.
Tips for a Successful Preparation
Although everything seems simple to do. still, here is a list of effective ways to be sure of a victorious mixing of this drink. Come and find them out so you can also apply them to your next coffee-making project.
• Be sure that the coffee beans to be used are not finely ground – mixing coffee that is finely ground, smaller than sugar particles, may bring an extremely sour taste to this concoction. Such kind of coffee can taste very bitter as well as dusty when consumed.
• Filtered water is key in making your coffee tastier and smoother. It makes your drink sweeter to taste as it seems cleaner, too.
• Steep for only 12 hours. This time can be shorter but not longer. If you are someone who likes to taste that sourness of coffee. 12 hours or less is the best so water gets infused with coffee. However, letting the mixture sit for 15 hours or longer, there is a great possibility that the bitterness shall disappear and you will be left with a flavorless one.
Types of Good Coffee Strainers
The process of straining the coffee mixture so the brew can be extracted is an essential part of the process that is simple to solve. Two of the best cloth types to be used for straining it include:
• Old-style hanky – something like cocktail napkins can be used as an alternative to a cheesecloth. It has to be larger than the size of the container which has the mixture so that it can completely catch the coffee from the other container. Using this material, too. lets you just wash it to be used again on your next brewing activity.
• Thin paper filters – the paper to be used as a filter has to be thin enough so as not to prolong the straining process any longer anymore.
Best Things About Cold Brew Coffee
1. Cold-brew coffee can be just as strong as your ordinary hot coffee – it is based greatly on three important things such the type of coffee bean used, the length of steep time, and the manner of dilution that one does with the preparation of this cold coffee. Oftentimes, dilution works the most effective as it is the easiest to manage, too.
2. Cold-brew coffee has less acid – because it contains more water than a normal cup of hot coffee, the chance of consuming too much caffeine becomes less. too. Also, drinking coffee straight must be avoided or else, you’ll be staying awake all night not able to sleep due to coffee’s strong caffeine content.
3. Cold-brew coffee can be heated up and drink warm – if you are missing your usual hot coffee but you also do not want to waste your cold-brewed coffee in the refrigerator, simply put that cup inside the microwave and let it heat up again.
4. Cold-brew coffee is easier to prepare than drip coffee – cold brew coffee requires 12 to 18 hours of steeping which is a little longer time than if using finely ground coffee beans.
5. Cold-brew coffee beans that are coarsely ground make the best-tasting drink – because this kind of coffee beans are still big enough to be easily crushed and extracted of all its delicious flavors, until the time that its steeping time is over, the flavor stays intact.
Iced-cold Brewed Coffee vs. Hot Coffee
Now that you already know how to nicely prepare brewed coffee both hot and cold, the next question you might be asking yourself is which one is better for your health and other aspects of your daily life. Read on and find out more about that.
First among the main reasons ice-cold coffee is better is that drinkers get rid of having their lips and tongues become burnt from the oh so hot coffee every time. There is absolutely no more need to wait for your coffee to cool down.
Second is that iced-coffee has less acid in it because of the increased amount of water used. The more coffee contained in a cup. the higher the acid is present as well. The ice used. too. turn into the water later on so it adds up to that. too.
Third, more flavor is enjoyed which was fully developed and maximized when the coffee ground was left to steep before making a cup of cold-brewed coffee. Even though more water is poured onto the coffee ground, the taste of bitterness remains especially if the preparation was done right.
Fourth, diet-conscious people are welcome to try this drink. One iced coffee measuring 16 ounces in a cup is not to cause any worry gym-goers as it contains only five calories and zero carbohydrates that both can cause weight gain.
Fifth, an extra dose of caffeine shall be yours as well. This is because of the ratio between water and coffee being 1:60 compared to the 1:20 if using drip coffee. Many things can happen with such a high amount of caffeine in your system.
Another good trait of cold brew coffee is that it is allowed for those with sensitive stomachs. Drinking a cup of this cold drink shall never cause them to suffer from acid reflux.
As an antioxidant, cold brew coffee is also a champion for those who consume it as an anti-aging element. Antioxidants are properties that are scientifically proven to help protect the skin from being harmed by chemicals as well as of the sun’s strong UV rays.
Cold brew coffee is also guilty of enhancing a person’s mood along with activating one’s alertness and intelligence. It is for such reason that coffee is mostly recommended for adults.
For students who drink coffee, the secret benefit they get which some of them are not aware of is that it helps regulate the blood flow in one’s mind for better functioning of the brain. Cognitive functions include being smart, alert, active, creative, and motivation on almost everything.
And lastly, you’ll stay trendy and in fashion. It’s high-time for ice-cold coffee drinkers to show off their love for it. It looks old school and very traditional, although still classy, to be drinking hot coffee while your friends are savoring some cold-brewed coffee on your side.
Important Reminders on Drinking Cold Brew Coffee
While it is an extremely popular drink for many great reasons and purposes, cold brew coffee may also have its downside that drinkers should be aware of and how to manage it well.
1. Anything too much naturally turns out bad and which affects your body greatly. Drinking too much and too often is never a good habit to develop especially if you are already experiencing sleepless nights. Coffee in general may lead you to suffer from difficulty in sleeping because of consuming a lot of caffeine. Moderation may be the key so you would not have to restrain yourself from drinking cold brew coffee.
2. Coffee’s laxative appeal to your stomach may become worst during or after having drunk a large amount of coffee. You may observe your tummy always feeling the need to poop which is not normal for anyone to feel.
3. For regular coffee drinkers, consuming three to four cups may not be causing you anything between the two abovementioned conditions simply because you had grown immune to it. However, later on. the possible reaction of your body would be the feeling of shakiness or sometimes nausea and heartburn, too.
The Bottomline
In conclusion, coffee generally is a delightful drink to have in the morning or at any time of the day. Be it warm or cold or iced, it shall remain like that for always to those who love coffee so much. Cold-brew coffee may be the trending one today, but the classic taste of black coffee with sugar will never be replaced not forgotten. Sip a little, savor, and enjoy your cup of homemade cold brew coffee today! If you’re looking for more guides, we have why does coffee make me sweat, and the best dark roast coffee review!
