So what’s the hype around cold brew coffee? Is it really better than your daily double-double? Isn’t cold brew coffee just hot coffee gone cold? Let’s explore the two coffee rituals and see which brewing method carries the most benefits in both technique and taste.
Technique
The most common method of brewing coffee is with hot water. Traditional hot brew involves pouring heated water onto a bed of coffee grounds; in seconds, the coffee beans are separated into a dark elixir that dutifully fuels your morning stagger into work.
Cold brew coffee appears to be more complicated than hot brewing – but it’s really not. The cold-brew method simply steeps coffee grounds in cool water for 12 – 24 hours to complete its “coffee magic.” Add milk, cream, ice cubes, sugar or anything else that tickles your taste buds. (Cold-brewed coffee has also been found to be the “secret ingredient” in a number of cooking recipes you’d never suspect). Click here to get an excellent collection of cold brew coffee recipes.
Taste
Centuries old, the cold-brew method has since been revived and popularized in thousands of Starbucks cafes, boutique coffee shops and throughout a rabidly devoted coffee culture. Coffee lovers have also rediscovered cold-brewed coffee’s smoothly mellow (sometimes described as “chocolaty”) tones as distinguished from the bitterness generally associated with hot brew. Because the cold-brew method doesn’t use heat, it side-steps extraction of any bitter acidic compounds to render a sweeter better-tasting coffee.
Coffee lovers treasure coffee’s distinct aromas. Unfortunately, along with the delectable aromas thrown off by hot coffee as aromatic compounds are released at higher temperatures, so go the subtle flavors that “stay put” in cold brew. As if that weren’t enough, hot coffee’s remaining flavors often find themselves masked by the remaining bitter acidic compounds triggered by heat.
The Verdict
Hot brew coffee is quick and easy, especially if you need a quick buzz. The flip side – cold-brewed coffee tastes much better. Cold brewing offers advantages beyond flavor. It stores well and robust batches can be made in volume. Make a half-gallon of cold brew concentrate, throw it in the fridge, and you’ll have coffee for a week. Simply dilute, add cubes, cream, vanilla – whatever. Just pour and go! Some aficionados even make their own “faux cappuccino,” nuking a little milk in the microwave to a boil (thereby sweetening it as baristas do) and cooling it down with just the right amount of cold-brew coffee concentrate to create a hardy, but mellow, day-starter.
What’s so special about Madesco Cold Brew Coffee Filters?
If you use a converted nut-milk bag to steep your coffee, the grounds sneak through. What’s more, Madesco’s specially-tailored raw cotton weave doesn’t unravel like twine materials. If you use paper filters they take forever and you wind up removing aromatic coffee oils called diterpenes – organic compounds in unfiltered coffee that promote health with their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory characteristics. Madesco’s reusable filter pouch traps the grounds, preserves the oils, and delivers a cold-brew that’s never bitter.
Why not try cold-brew coffee for yourself? Click here to get started with your two pack cold brew coffee filter set! Happy brewing!