A couple of years ago I took my first sip of cold brew and my life was changed.
Since then, it’s become my go to Starbucks order. I like to try it at all the coffee shops I go to. It has become a part of me. I will never forget one time when I went to place my very simple order (a venti cold brew with a splash of soy milk and toffee nut syrup) and the barista had the audacity to explain what cold brew is to me.
In that moment, I realized I know everything there is to know about it, to the point where I can tell if they make it wrong. This gets more embarrassing… I can even tell WHAT they do wrong. (To note: Starbucks cold brew acts more as a concentrate and they add water to it. It’s just a little scary when you know the coffee to water ratio is off.)
In honor of my pure love for the smoothest brew of coffee there is, I just had to write an article explaining why it’s so great and what makes it stand out against a regular iced coffee. There is a little bit of science involved, but don’t worry I will make it easy to understand.
A typical iced coffee is just coffee that was brewed hot and then was placed in a fridge. If we’re all being honest, coffee is pretty acidic. That is because of the temperature of the water used to brew it. The reason for this reaction is the compounds and oils from the coffee bean. These oils are what give coffee flavor when the bean is introduced to water. What can cause a full flavored but acidic cup of coffee is when the water is too hot for the beans. It is the oxidation and degradation of the beans. It’s like when iron rusts when exposed to too much oxygen.
This is where cold brew saves the day. Cold brew is made with cold water over a longer period of time. We are talking, like, 20 hours long, just grounds and water sitting together in a fridge. This allows the grounds time to soak and slowly release the goodness that comes from within. Once the mixture comes out of the fridge, it goes through a substantial straining process.
Because this is such a slow process, there are often twice as many grounds used for the brew than traditional hot coffee. This is the reason why cold brew is significantly more expensive than a regular iced coffee.
The end result to this long process is deeper flavor and smoother texture. It’s had time to do its thing. I’m pretty bias to cold drinks and I drink them all year round. I will always stand up for a drink that has been loved and cared for in the making process. It’s not too late to jump on this cool, smooth bandwagon.
Here’s a link to how to make your own cold brew at home: https://spoonuniversity.com/recipe/how-to-make-your-own-cold-brew-coffee