Cold Brew How To

It’s hot and muggy here in the Midwest. So hot, in fact, that even 7am is too warm to sit out and enjoy a hot cup. Here’s how we cool it off.

So. Simple.

All you need is ground coffee, water, a container, and a filter. Because you are not heating the water, your brew time is considerably longer, but yields a super low acid, creamy smooth coffee. It's much milder in flavor that hot brewed coffee, but be careful because cold brewing can actually extract more caffeine from the grounds. Dilute this cold brew concentrate recipe to fit your preference.

There are MANY varying opinions on the right coffee to water brewing ratio. This is how we enjoy it:

1.  Add 1 cup ground coffee to any container
2.  Add 4 cups water

3.  Cover and Let Sit 6-12 hrs at room temperature

• You can brew in the fridge, but extraction takes longer the lower the brewing temperature
• You can let it sit up to 24 hours but some people experience more bitterness
• Coffee experts state that you have extracted all the best bits from the beans after around 6 hours at room temp, but play around!

4.  Filter off your grounds. I use 2 barriers: first a mesh strainer for large grounds, then pour through a regular coffee filter for super clean cold brew

5.  Dilute to taste when serving- this is extremely subjective. The resulting cold brew is concentrated, so you will need to dilute it to avoid stomach upset or over caffeination. Try a 4:1 coffee to water ratio over ice and adjust from there:)

6.  Store your concentrate in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

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Also, nothing beats honey as a sweetener in cold brew coffee. Check out our blog Benefits of adding honey to your coffee and HOW TO INFUSE HONEY at home

DRINK SMART. Think Smart.