8 Tips To Make The Best Cold Brew Coffee (Immersion Method)
8 TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST COLD BREW COFFEE (IMMERSION METHOD)
1. CHOOSE YOUR COFFEE WISELY
It doesn’t matter if you buy whole coffee beans or already ground coffee. What matters the most is that you choose a good quality coffee so that you can get the best out of it by cold brewing.
This doesn’t mean you should go and buy the most expensive coffee, instead, you should try different coffees until you find the one that best suits your tastes.
2. FIND THE PERFECT WATER-TO-COFFEE RATIO
One of the benefits of cold brew is its versatility, it can be consumed both hot and warm and in many different ways.
The regular ratio is 15:1 (water to coffee) this means that if you want to brew 1lt of coffee (1,000ml) you will need 67 grams of ground coffee.
This is only the standard for a regular cold brew.
If you want to make coffee concentrate it should be 10:1 or if you want to make a lighter coffee you could do it 18:1, my advice is that you should try experimenting until you find the right ratio.
3. CHOOSE THER RIGHT ROAST FOR YOU
Depending on the flavour you are looking for, is the type of roast that you will need to purchase. Darker roasts having a more bitter and smokey flavor and lighter roasts having a more fruity and floral flavour.
Also, the lighter the roast, the more caffeine it will have, this happens because high temperatures tend to burn the caffeine in darker roasts.
My advice is to try different roasts until you find the right one/ones for you.
4. MAKE SURE TO USE THE RIGHT GRIND
To optimize the coffee extraction while cold brewing, make sure to either buy coarse grounds or if you are grinding at home make sure to grind them coarsely. The texture should be similar to that of sugar.
In the image below you can see an example of some grounds to guide you. Remember, Coarse grounds and cold brew equals good extraction.
5. PATIENCE IS KEY
Depending on the method and coffee maker that you are using for cold brew, it will take between 4-24 hours to finish the brewing process. So you will have to be patient.
The difference between cold brewing and regular brewing is that cold brewing uses time instead of high temperatures for brewing, thus achieving a more balanced and less acidic beverage.
The good news is that you can brew a big batch for the whole week so that you won’t have to brew daily.
6. STORAGE
If you want to make the most out of your cold brew you should store it in your refrigerator, that way it will be fresh for up to 7 days.
If your coffee maker does not fit into your refrigerator, don’t worry. As soon as the coffee is finished brewing just pour it into smaller sealed containers and place them inside the refrigerator, that way it will stay fresh.
7. USE HIGH-QUALITY WATER
Unless you live in a place where tap water is top quality, you should filter it or use water from another source.
Since almost 99% of coffee is water, you should make sure to use water that can get the best out of coffee, otherwise, you risk hiding or ruining the flavors of your coffee.
8. USE YOUR FRENCH PRESS OR OTHER IMMERSION METHODS FOR MAKING COLD BREW
If you have a French Press, you could try the steeping method, using the ratio we gave you before; just place the coffee grounds in the french press, pour cold water, mix with a spoon and wait at least 16 hours.
You could use other basic methods like steeping in a mason jar or other sealed container and then filtering it, although it is not the optimal way to try cold brew, you should use it if you have curiosity and are not sure whether to get a cold brew coffee maker or not. Just remember that the result will be much better if you use a special cold brew maker.
CONCLUSION
As we said before, cold brew is a really versatile drink that works great for many formats like iced coffee, coffee cocktails, and even hot beverages.
Cold brew is really simple if you just have the patience to endure the brewing time. Trust me, we know it’s hard to wait for that much time, we also love coffee too much to be that patient. But if you can make it, it will be worth your while.
If you love Cold Brew but don’t like the time restraint, there is another option which is called Cold Drip, check out our tutorial and give it a try, it is much faster and some people say the resulting coffee is way better, but that’s up to you to decide.
Other than that my advice is that you make as many experiments as you like with the different variables such as water, type of coffee, different coarse grinds and extraction time. This way you will be able to find what you like the most and thus achieve your perfect beverage.