Walk into your local coffee shop or neighborhood Starbucks and you’ll likely see cold brew on the menu – and if you’re an early customer, you might even get a cup. When my sister texted me a few weeks ago to tell me that she made her own cold brew and it was both delicious and easy, I decided to try it for myself.
Is it really as easy as Paige and Instagram make it look? Paige sent me The Ultimate Guide to Cold Brew Coffee from Wellnesting, which she used to make her version. All the details on how to make cold brew are in the guide, as are a few delicious drink ideas. Here’s 4 more little details you need to know to make the perfect cold brew:
1. You can use pretty much any coffee and it will turn out just fine. Most guides online will tell you that you need to buy whole beans from your local roaster – and if that’s your thing, go for it. It’ll taste great. But if all you have is Maxwell House grounds (that’s my whole family’s go-to), that works too. The beauty of cold brew is that it makes any coffee taste delicious.
2. Use cheesecloth to strain your grounds. Trust me on this. A paper filter just doesn’t do this job. The coffee drained slowly and I managed to rip a hole straight through the filter while trying to make the coffee strain faster.
3. This stuff is strong. Like really strong. I filled a glass with ice and had 1 part cold brew with 2 parts almond milk, and I was still bouncing my legs at lunchtime. If you’re sensitive to the caffeine in coffee, be careful with your first few cold brews and experiment to find what works for you!
4. Make more than just a single batch. Cold brew stays fresh in the fridge for a week and it’s perfect for summer – no need to turn on the coffee maker and use a million ice cubes cooling your hot coffee back down to a refreshing temperature. Plus it just tastes so good.