How to Cold Brew Iced Coffee - Brewing Ice coffee the right way!
photo credit :http://baristamagazine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/icedCoffee.JPG
Ice coffee is a great escape on a hot day. If you don’t feel
like drinking hot coffee in the morning you can pour some coffee goodness in a
cup with some ice, milk, and sugar and your off to the races. Many people when
they want to brew ice coffee make it in a coffee pot double strength and then
put it on ice. Starbucks brews
it’s ice coffee stronger and then dilutes with a little ice to chill it down
and is then served over ice. There is nothing wrong with brewing ice coffee
this way but there is a better way.
Cold brewing your iced coffee is an easy and delicious way
of creating an iced coffee drink. When you cold brew coffee you get all the
caffeine and taste out of your coffee with less oil and bitterness. Cold
brewing takes longer so if you only have a couple of minutes to make an iced
beverage this is not for you. If you are the kind of person that can plan ahead
then this could be just the ticket.
How to Brew
Cold brewing ice coffee is easy all you have to do is maintain
a 4:1 ratio of water to coffee. 4 parts water 1 part coffee. Easy right? Mix
the amount of water with the appropriate amount of coffee and let it sit on the
counter for 3 – 4 hours. Yes this delicious drink takes time but it will be
worth it, trust me. After brewing pour the coffee through a strainer to get all
the grinds out. You can even use a regular coffee machine and pour it right
through your coffee filter. Pretty good idea huh? Make sure it’s clean before
using. Open the top and pour your ice coffee right in the top and the filter
metal or paper will trap all the coffee grind and the coffee will go into the
coffee urn. Once you get all the grinds out you can washout the container and
pour the coffee back in. Store your iced coffee in the fridge to help keep it
fresh and delicious.
There you have it great cold brewed iced coffee. The mixture
might be a little strong so if you want to you can dilute it with some water
until it tastes right to you. You can add some sugar and milk to make it sweet and
creamy. You can also buy simple syrups to put in it because liquid sweeteners
work better than granulated ones. You can make your own syrup by heating water
with sugar in it and reducing it. Keep it in a air tight container however
because it will evaporate and harden.