With all the different types of coffee out there, cold brew coffee certainly is one of the most unique ways to prepare a cup of coffee. As the name suggests, it is a cold cup of coffee – but take note, as it is very different from your usual iced coffee you can get anywhere. Cold brew coffee is prepared very differently, and coffee enthusiasts would even go as far as to get a cold brew machine to prepare them. Simply put, cold brew coffee is chilled coffee that is made by steeping fresh coffee grounds with cold or room temperature water for hours. This slow brewing process makes the coffee more concentrated, less acidic, and more flavourful. Since there is not heat involved, the coffee grounds do not lose any flavour nor caffeine, which can bring about a unique take on coffee.
Is Cold Brew Coffee Healthy?
Cold brew coffee, just like other types of coffee, is generally good for you in moderation. While the effects of coffee vary from person to person, having one or two cups a day is good for alertness and blood flow. It can energize your body and mind, helping you stay focused and awake during a long day. Coffee consumption is also linked to lower chances of heart disease, liver cancer, and even disorders.
Conversely, too much cold brew coffee can result in jitteriness, insomnia, increased blood pressure, and headaches. Consuming too much caffeine also disrupts your sleep cycle, which can be bad in the long run. Therefore, experts suggest no more than 5 cups of coffee a day, if you are someone who enjoys drinking a lot of coffee.
Pros And Cons of Cold Brew Coffee
Good – Cold Brew Coffee Is Less Acidic Than Regular Coffee
Cold brew coffee is generally less acidic than regular coffee. When you prepare cold brew coffee, the slow process of steeping the coffee grounds with room temperature water does not cause a lot of acid to be released from the coffee grounds. As the two compounds are allow to slowly mix and break down, acid does not get released as much.
In comparison, when making regular coffee, you use hot water to quickly dissolve the coffee grounds. This breaks down the coffee quickly, releasing a lot of acid in your drink. While it might not have a big impact on taste, too much acid can be bad for your body, as it can cause bloating, heartburn, and even vomiting. This is why health experts do not recommend more than 5 cups of regular coffee a day. However, with cold brew coffee, you can drink more of it, as it does not contain that much acid.
Good – Cold Brew Coffee Is Stronger Than Regular Coffee
Cold brew coffee is said to be stronger than regular coffee, because of the way it is prepared. Since cold brew takes a long time to steep, conventional recipes call for one part of coffee grounds to anywhere between four to eight parts of water. This makes cold brew coffee more concentrated, as regular coffee has the mixture be one part coffee grounds to up to twenty parts of water. While it does ultimately boil down to how much you use in preparation, cold brew coffee is usually more concentrated than regular coffee.
Bad – Cold Brew Coffee Takes Very Long to Prepare
One downside of cold brew coffee is the preparation time. Cold brew coffee takes anywhere between 12 to 18 hours to fully prepare, as compared to a minute or two when making instant coffee. This is due to the intricate brewing process of cold brew, needing to slowly steep the coffee grounds with room temperature water. Since there is no heat in the brewing process, the coffee grounds need a lot of time to break down while it sits in the water.
Taking it out prematurely will result in the coffee grounds not fully dissolving, and you will end up with powder in your mouth if you try to drink that early cold brew. Be patient, and let the mixture slowly mix over a couple of hours. This also means that if you want to prepare cold brew in the morning, it is best to start making it the day before. When you wake up, simply take it out of the fridge, pour it over ice and milk, and serve!
Bad – Cold Brew Coffee Only Works When Chilled
As the name suggests, cold brew coffee is usually drunk chilled or over ice. After all, it is prepared cold to begin, and no heat was ever involved. Technically speaking, you could heat up your cold brew coffee to make a cup of hot coffee, and it would still taste alright. However, the very essence of cold brew coffee is the slow, intricate process of steeping the coffee grounds with cold coffee, without having heat break down the chemicals in coffee. Plus, why would you want to spend hours making cold brew only to heat it back up, when you could have made hot coffee in minutes to begin with? Thus, cold brew coffee is best cold, and not really suitable if you prefer hot coffee.
How Do You Store Cold Brew Coffee? Best for Keeping Coffee – Hario Coffee Bottles
In order to brew and keep your cold brew coffee, you will need a container or cold brew coffee bottle specifically suited for making cold brew. The Hario V60 Cold Brew Filter-in Coffee Bottle works best for this, for many reasons. It has a filter inside the bottle, which you can pour the fresh coffee grounds in, and let it steep in cold water in the bottle. Once it has fully finished mixing, simply pour to serve! Its ergonomic design makes it really easy to store in the fridge, and even carry it around if you are planning to have your cold brew on the go.
The Hario V60 Cold Brew Filter-in Coffee Bottle comes in many colours, and has a storage capacity of 22oz. It is made of high-quality heatproof glass, which helps in keeping your cold brew coffee cold for a long time. The filter is also very easy to clean, and you can even put it in the dishwasher along with your other dishes. Get yourself the Hario V60 Cold Brew Filter-in Coffee Bottle today, and you will find that making cold brew coffee is really simple.
