COLD BREW

Cold brew season is here! The days are getting longer and hotter, and while we still need our coffee fix, sometimes a hot coffee just doesn’t cut it. When you’re in a hurry you can always grab a refreshing cold one at your local Temple cafe, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make amazing cold brew at home.

If you have never made cold brew before the idea may sound a bit intimidating. You might have seen wild brewers that look like chemistry sets or think you don’t have the space for large, bulky containers sitting on your counter for hours on end. Luckily, cold brew doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need any special equipment; just a container (a glass mason jar will do), a coffee filter, coarsely ground coffee, and water.

Unlike traditional iced coffee (which is brewed hot and chilled), cold brew is made using only cold water. The brew method often results in a coffee with lower acidity, heavy chocolate notes, and a nice round body. Using cold water also means everything happens a little more slowly. Because of this, cold brewed coffee is really forgiving. Grind size and time, while still important, don’t have as big of an impact as they do on regular brews. It’s still best to use filtered water, grind your coffee fresh, and weigh out your ingredients for more consistency. But if you don’t have all the coffee gear yet, just focus on the things you can control and you’ll still get good results. That’s the great thing about cold brew.

When I make cold brew, I like to use a standard 32oz mason jar and an Alto Cold Brew Filter. The pouch design makes it easy to fill and seal the bag for brewing, and the high quality filters removes more sediment, leaving you with a vibrant and crisp brew. Simply add your coffee to the pouch, tie it up, drop it in a jar of water and set it in your fridge for about 24 hours. Once it’s ready, pull the pouch and dilute your coffee to the strength you enjoy. That’s it! Delicious cold brew at home.

You can make it as easy or as complicated as you want. If it’s your first time, start with our Capital Cold Brew Blend. It was designed with cold brew in mind and has a nice balance of chocolate, sweet, and citrus notes. Feel free to get wild and try it with any of our single origin coffees as well. You never know what you will enjoy until you try it.

If you want a detailed recipe you can check out our brewing guide here.