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At this point, anyone that likes coffee has likely heard about cold brew! However I am sure many people haven’t quite tasted it for themselves yet. That may be because they aren’t ready to make it at home, or just can’t quite take the risk of not enjoying a $5 cup of coffee they are buying at their local shop.
I have had my fair share of cold brew coffee, ranging from bottled, to home made, to fresh cold brew from a coffee shop. So will you like cold brew? I think you will like cold brew for sure! It offers a lower acidity, bitterness, and a colder coffee that I think a lot of people will like.
Now, I have seen a lot of “experts” talk about how cold brew is not a real coffee, or that it doesn’t taste great. However for the normal person, who doesn’t know all of the science behind a cup of coffee, cold brew is a great drink, specifically later in the day.
What does cold brew taste like?
A straight cold brew coffee tends to be a stronger type of coffee drink. Because it has been sitting in grounds for over 12 hours generally, it has had time to thoroughly extract the coffee and is an incredibly even taste, but also strong.
However my favorite part of cold brew, is the fact it has such low acidity. Extracting coffee with hot water tends to bring out the acidity of coffee beans, however if you are at colder temperatures it doesn’t bring that out. It leaves an awesome cup of coffee, that I like to drink later in the day, and generally in the afternoons.
Does cold brew need sugar?
Because cold brew doesn’t have much acidity, I find that sugar and milk are just not needed as much.
Of course I normally don’t drink coffee with sugar anymore, so this isn’t a great test, however I am sure those that do normally want sugar in their coffee, tend to find they won’t need it with cold brew.
Do you use regular coffee for cold brew?
One of my favorite things about cold brew, is that you can easily make it at home with pre-ground coffee and a french press! This makes it incredibly cheap, and easy to brew your own.
I have found that you really can use any type of coffee, however you just want to make sure it is a courser grind, as espresso grind likely won’t work out very well, and likely would over extract.
Recommended Gear
- Takeya Patented Deluxe Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew Cans
- OXO Brew Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker
Cold Brew vs Nitro Cold Brew
Now, if you have found that you like cold brew coffee, and want to try something more, nitro cold brew is going to be your next step!
Nitro cold brew makes the drink extremely smooth to drink. It personally is my favorite style of cold brew!
Other types of cold brew
If you like a little extra taste in your coffee, a cold brew with something added to it might just be what you are looking for!
I have had quite a few different flavors, and recommend you try them out!
Another thought, if you want to make cold brew at home, and make it easily, I have really enjoyed Driftaway’s Cold Brew! It is a bit expensive, but is hands down some of the best coffee I have ever had, not just cold brew, but coffee in general.
Conclusion
When it comes to people that already enjoy coffee, cold brew is an awesome coffee to drink. I have found it is easier to drink in the afternoons, and is extremely smooth.
This means a lot of people that may not even like hot coffee, will find they enjoy cold brew.
