This post is a bit of a departure from the sort of thing I normally talk about on here - but hey, it’s my blog, my rules š.
Recently, I’ve been getting into making cold brew coffee and tea. I discovered cold brew on my quest to figure out the best way to make iced coffee at home. I had tried using normal drip coffee, a moka pot, instant coffee, but nothing tasted quite right to me. That is until I found this video showing how to make cold brew coffee. I gave it a shot and was immediately convinced that this is what I was looking for. It tastes great, it’s cheap, and it’s super easy to make. Now, cold brew coffee is something I regularly prepare as part of my weekly routine. (Pro tip, if you love cardamom like me, try throwing a couple of crushed green cardamom pods in while steeping your cold brew coffee, you’ll thank me later.)
Moreover, cold brew tea is something I discovered even more recently. On one of my trips to the United States, I had the opportunity to try what they call “Sweet Tea”, which is different from the iced tea that I know in Canada. Interested in making it at home, I tried a few different recipes but again, none of them tasted quite right. I was finally able to achieve the taste I was looking for by cold brewing black tea and sweetening it with sugar. I’ve also experimented with cold brewing jasmine and green teas, with some success.
Recipes
Interested in how I make my cold brew? These are the methods I use:
Cold Brew Coffee
Use a ratio of 1:5 coffee grounds to water (by volume) in a jar or other container. Refrigerate for 18 hours, shaking occasionally. Once fully steeped, strain using cheesecloth, then using a coffee filter. Transfer to a bottle and store in the fridge for ~2 weeks (it usually doesn’t last this long so I haven’t had a chance to see when it actually spoils).
Note: The cold brew I make here is very concentrated and should be diluted. When I make mine, I usually take some cold brew, add some milk, ice, and simple syrup, all to taste.
Black Tea
Use 1 tbsp of loose leaf black tea per 250ml (1 cup) of water. If you don’t have loose leaf, you can just cut open some tea bags (or just do your best guess, the exact ratio isn’t particularly important). Let steep at room temperature for about 8 hours, or overnight. Strain and transfer to a bottle, store in the fridge.
Jasmine/Green Tea
Same ratio as black tea - 1 tbsp tea per 250ml (1 cup) of water. Again, steep at room temperature. For this tea, I would steep it for slightly less time, maybe 6 hours. I still need to do more experimentation to get this right.
A Note About Measurements
Coffee and tea snobs are probably huffing and puffing about my use of volumetric units in these recipes, and rightfully so. Measuring by volume is much less accurate than measuring by weight. The thing is, in my experience precision isn’t particularly important for these recipes. Unlike baking, where precision is crucial, these recipes can be adjusted to your own taste and preference. Feel free to use them as a starting point and develop your own.
A Note About Sweeteners
Traditionally I’ve used sugar-based sweeteners in these drinks (regular white sugar or a sugar-based syrup). Recently, however, I’ve been trying out stevia and have been pleasantly surprised. I find it works particularly well in coffee, where the notorious stevia aftertaste isn’t as noticeable. I’m still playing around with different options, but definitely consider using stevia if you haven’t already tried it.