Brew Guide: Cold Brew Coffee

The coldbrew is a beloved method of brewing iced coffee for several reasons. While it’s a test of patience when you’re craving that thick, refreshing, ice-cold drink, it’s a very forgiving and highly rewarding way to brew. The result is a smooth and flavorful and seemingly sweeter cup. Less or no added sugar? This is one way to try black coffee! Today, we’re talking about how to coldbrew from home (and really, anywhere!).

What makes coldbrew different than iced coffee? Traditional iced coffee here at Penstock is the iced pourover method, which we also shared about previously on the blog. We never pour hot batch brew coffee over ice because it’s not brewed for ice dilution the way the iced pourover method is. Furthermore, we don’t recommend setting out day-old coffee to cool and chill over ice because the coffee oxidizes and flavor profiles change quite significantly.

You may wonder, “Why is coldbrew often less bitter?” The answer lies in the tannis that are present in hot coffee, which get extracted when you brew with hot water. In cold-brewed coffee, the tannic acids have not had as much of a chance to extract (assuming a medium roast; dark roasts will always give up their tannis very easily, but let’s save that for another day), so that is how you end up experiencing that “smoother” cup. The verdict is still out on whether total acidity is actually lower, especially depending on your water content, how you dilute, and “fix” your drink. Anecdotally and from experience, we believe it is. Even so, many people prefer the taste and smooth experience of a coldbrew, and you should experiment yourself.

So let’s get to it!

What You’ll Need:

• Great whole beans. We use The Tulgey Wood blend at the Shop.

• A grinder that can grind coarsely (The Baratza Encore does great on ~level 35)

• Scale

• An airtight brewing carafe (we’ll be using a 1-quart mason jar but you can multiply this recipe to as big as a 5-gallon tub!)

• 2 cheese cloths

• Cold filtered water

• Long-handle spoon

Steps:

1. Always ensure your mason jar and cheese cloths are clean.

2. “Double-bag” the jar with cheese cloths. Coldbrew is great for its rich infusion but with that can also come coffee sediment. Double filtering helps the final coldbrew to drink as smooth as possible.

3. Grind 100g of coffee on a coarse setting and pour directly into cheese cloth.

4. Pour 20 oz of cold filtered water into the jar.

5. With a spoon, stir gently to ensure all the grounds are fully saturated.

6. If using a small cheese cloth, tie off the top. If there is excess cloth hanging over the lip of the jar, tighten the lid over it.

7. Set aside in room temperature for 24 hours.

8. After 24 hours, remove the cheese cloths and give a gentle squeeze to drain. Now we have coldbrew concentrate!

9. To properly dilute the concentrate, add 10 oz of cold filtered water to the jar.

10. Serve chilled and enjoy!