How to Brew: Cold Brew

How to Brew: Cold Brew

The warm weather is coming and around here that means exactly one thing: cold brew!

Long-time customers of ours will know we love our Propeller Cold Brew cans, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to brew a batch yourself, with whatever beans you’re psyched about at the time. Luckily, there are a host of devices out there designed to let you do just that. We’ve tested many of them over the years and our favourite at the moment is the Hario Mizudashi - a well-built, simple to use immersion brewer.

Here’s our guide to making easy cold brew at home with the Hario Mizudashi.

The Recipe

  • Brewing Ratio: 1:11
  • Dose: 100 g
  • Grind: Medium-coarse
  • Brew time: 12-24 hr

The Method

  1. Weigh out 100g of fresh coffee. Any coffee can work for cold brew, but you might want to pick something that’s roasted a touch darker than what you usually like for hot-brewed coffee. Cold brewing won’t bring out as much of the roasty flavours, but the more deeply roasted coffee beans will be more soluble in cold water. We like espresso roasts for this.
  2. Grind your coffee medium-coarse. You’re looking for something just a little finer than kosher salt. (If you’re worried about your cold brew tasting weak, don’t fall into the trap of trying to grind very finely to increase extraction like you would in a hot brew. During the hours-long cold-brewing process, fine grinds will sink and pack together in a tight bed that brewing water can’t move in and out of. Instead, just add more coffee.)
  3. Pour the ground coffee into the Mizudashi’s brew basket and secure it to the brewing bottle.
  4. Slowly pour 1.1 L of cold, filtered water over the top of the coffee grinds and let it drip through. A gooseneck kettle like the Hario Buono is great for this! This will be very slow at first, before the coffee grounds are fully saturated, but keep at it until the bottle is full. You don’t want any coffee grinds sitting up above the water line.
  5. Let the coffee brew for 12-24 hours. Ideal brewing time will depend on your personal preference and brewing temperature. Brewing in the fridge will be slower and produce a very clean-tasting, but slightly weaker brew. Brewing at room temperature will be faster and produce a stronger, but slightly muddled-tasting brew that may not keep as well. Try 16 hours in the fridge for a first run.
  6. Remove the brewing basket, discard the coffee grounds, and store the brewed coffee in the refrigerator.
  7. Serve over ice, either black or with a dash of cream. This recipe brews a very strong cup, so the slight dilution of the ice will help it hit the perfect balance. If you want to sweeten it up a little, use simple syrup, since solid sugar won’t dissolve very easily.

 

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