How to make cold-brewed coffee at home – thirst-quenching goodness!

 It is often misunderstood that cold coffee and cold brew are the same things but they taste different and are also made differently. While some people prefer the taste of cold coffee a cold brew gives a completely different taste, so it is important to know the difference before your order. However, if you love cold brew this article will give you step by step details on how to make the best cold brew at home.

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Know the basics

While it may sound like a tedious and complicated task, making a cold brew does not require a lot of work or expensive instruments.  A cold brew will take about 12 hours to make so you need to plan it in advance as it cannot be made instantly. The difference in the steeping process for hot coffee and cold coffee is that hot coffee required ground coffee to be steeped in hot water for a short period. For example, if you are making one or two cups of cold coffee you are required to steep the coffee in hot water only for about 4 minutes to six minutes, however, with a cold brew you need to steep the freshly ground coffee in water for about 12 hours. While this simple method given below produces a richer and sweeter tasting cup of coffee, that hot coffee, with time you will be able to make it to your taste and be able to create a cup of coffee that is as good as the ones served in cafes that serve coffee in Sri Lanka.

 How to make it

If you are using a French Press the process is definitely easier than using other equipment but not having a French Press does not mean your cold brew will taste any different. You will need water, coffee, a glass or vessel to brew the coffee in, a strainer and a stirrer. As for the stirrer you can use a long spoon or a chopstick which you can find at the convenience of your home. If you do not have a grinder at home, to grind your coffee beans you can purchase ground coffee from a supermarket or an online coffee shop such as Fits Retail. Start the recipe by getting four cups of water and 1 cup of ground coffee. This will give you four servings and if you want to increase the number of servings remember to maintain the ratio of 4:1 water to coffee.

 Start the recipe

Take a glass jar and add the ground coffee and add the four cups of water into it. Stir the mixture well until it has mixed well. Cover the jar with a lip or with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to steep from a span of 12 hours to 24 hours. As a start, it is best to steep the cold brew for 12 hours and make it so you can adjust the steeping time as your requirement once you get the hang of the method of preparation. Take your strainer and filter the beans while pouring the mixture into another jar and make sure it does not overflow and the coffee beans pass onto the drinking jar. You can use a strainer or a clean piece of white cloth with a fine weave as a strainer for this task. Remember that you need to run it through a fine strainer to get the best outcome because if you end up mixing any ground coffee in your drinking jar that is definitely going to add a bitter unpleasant taste to your cold brew. You can store your cold brew in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to a week and drink it as and when you feel like you are in the mood for a cold brew.