Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Adventures in Cold Brewing


I've written earlier posts about making a good cup of coffee. Over the years, I've gravitated from Melitta pour over to an Aeropress. Cold brew coffee is the new rage. Cold brew coffee has less acidity than hot brewed coffee. Experts say that this method brings out more of the subtle flavors of coffee.

The basic principles of coffee making are the same no matter which brewing method is used. Start with good clean water (I have an ROC unit in my home), high quality coffee, and freshly ground with a good quality burr grinder.

I recently received a Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew coffee maker (1000 ml model). My first batch was a mixture of French roast beans and medium roast Peruvian beans. I used a medium-coarse grind. I put the coffee in the filter basket and poured cold water through the filter into the carafe. I left the carafe on the kitchen counter for about 16 hours. 

I drank the coffee this morning. It was delicious. I noticed very low acidity and a slight chocolate finish. I'm not a big fan of iced coffee but this is a perfect solution for iced coffee.

One of the advantages of this method is the fact that you are creating coffee concentrate which can last for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. 

Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Iced Coffee Pot/Maker (1000ml, Red) is available from Amazon for around $20.00.