What is cold brew? How is it different from cold coffee?

Cold-brewed coffee or cold brew is a type of brewed beverage that is prepared after coffee beans are left to soak in room temperature water for at least a day. There are various methods used to brew coffee but this method is the one that takes the maximum amount of time to prepare the coffee concoction. You can ground coffee and leave it in water for a day or so and store it in the fridge for making your daily coffee. The advantage of this method is that it extracts the bitterness of the coffee and you can enjoy a high caffeine drink with a less bitter taste. Cold-brew has a cold temperature while served and this coffee became a hit among the Japanese around the 17th and 18th centuries.

Cold-brew has widespread availability as they are served by brands like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. The price of cold-brewed coffee is higher than that of hot coffee as its preparation requires planning since its concoction has to be prepared at least a day before. Therefore, if the coffee shops or bars run out of cold brew coffee, then there’s no going back. You will have to wait for the next day to drink the same.

Cold-brew is definitely different from cold coffee. Cold brew coffee is made by soaking coffee beans in room temperature water for long hours and then mixing the concentrate with cold water or cold milk. Whereas when we make cold coffee, the coffee concentrate is brewed hot and then later, served cold by blending it with ice and milk. Cold coffee is often blended, which later results in the formation of froth over the container in which it is poured but froth doesn’t form over cold brews as it is not blended but just poured and mixed together.

Cold-brew is a beverage that consists mostly of pure coffee concoction, milk and ice but we can mix various food items while making cold coffee such as ice creams, cookies, sprinkles and whipped cream. The freshness of a cold brew remains for a longer time than cold coffee. In cold brew, your coffee concentrate is not diluted as much as compared to that of cold coffee.

You can also make a perfect cold brew at home. You just need to grind your coffee beans coarsely by blending them in a blender in short pulses. Do not make it into a fine powder. Now you can transfer the coffee grounds in a container and pour water over it. Stir gently with a spoon and make sure that the ground coffee has been soaked properly. Cover the container with a lid and let the coffee steep overnight. Strain the coffee through a strainer and store it in a refrigerator. Dilute the cold-brewed coffee with water and milk as per your preference and in the end, add ice to it and it is ready to drink.