Cold Brew Coffee 101
What is cold brew coffee?
Unlike traditional brewing method (pour overs or Keurig), cold brewing coffee replaces heat with time. Ground beans are in contact with room temperature water for certain period of time, usually between 12-24 hours. Cold brew coffee is much less acidic compared to hot coffee because cold water dilutes acid for easy to drink.
Cold brew coffee is NOT iced coffee
There is misconception about cold brew is same as iced coffee. We will discuss the two major differences between them, which are grind size and water temperature.
For the cold brew method, we recommend using coarse ground about the size of bread crumbs. Coarse ground will make coffee less acidic and perfect for cold brew. Often times, cold brew use room temperature water around 60F˚ or in the refrigerator at 35-50 F˚. Iced coffee is brewed with coffee maker then you add ice and any additional flavor, such as sugar or cream. For the iced coffee, the ground size may differ from medium to medium-fine. Just like any other traditional brewing method, iced coffee uses water temperature around 170-210F˚. The table below will give you quick insight of the difference between cold brew and iced coffee.
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Cold Brew |
Iced Coffee |
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Ground Size |
Coarse (bread crumbs or coarser) |
Medium to Medium-fine |
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Water Tempt. |
Room temperature around 60F˚ Brew in refrigerator at 35-50F˚ |
170-210F˚ (close to boiling or boiling point) |
How to make cold brew coffee?
Similar to hot brew coffee, cold brew coffee has number of different ways to make one. The equipment can vary depending on how much you are brewing. Here in this blog, we will go over step by step to make small batch of cold brew coffee at home with French Press.
- Equipment & Ingredients
- French Press (standard 8 cups)
- Fresh Coarse Ground Coffee
- Clean Cold Water
- Scale
Road to make cold brew coffee…
Before you go, take a look at this table to make your cold brew
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Coffee (1oz = ~28g) |
4 oz |
8 oz |
12 oz |
16 oz |
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Water (240ml/cup) |
6 cups |
12 cups |
18 cups |
24 cups |
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Yield (approx.) |
5.75 cups |
11.5 cups |
17.25 cups |
23 cups |
Source: “The Ultimate Guide to Cold Brew Coffee and Serving Coffee on Draft” by Kegoutlet.com
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Step 1: Measure our freshly roasted beans according to your desirable ratio.
(in this picture, we’ve only used 2 oz of coffee to show you the steps) |
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Step 2: Grind the beans on your burr grinder, ground size should be close to bread crumbs. |
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Step 3: Add measured coarse ground coffee to the bottom of French Press |
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Step 4: Add cold/room temperature water over the ground gently. |
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Step 3: Stir to make sure all the grounds are wet. |
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Step 4: Leave it for 14-16 hours at room temperature |
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Step 5: Press and strain into a jar or a bottle to store your cold brew in the refrigerator. |
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Step 6: Enjoy!! |
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Quick reminder, Lanna will be launching cold brew coffee in April. House of Pendragon will have our nitro cold brew on their tap at both their new location in downtown Fresno and Clovis (Nees and Willow).