Cold Brewed Coffee Extract
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:59 pm
Came across this because I'm sort of a coffee geek, have roasted my own for several years, have half a dozen coffee making devices including an espresso machine (a real one, not a steam boiler). Always looking for new ways to enjoy coffee.
Cold brewed coffee is considered by many the only correct way to make coffee that is eventually going to be drunk cold or iced. Coffee that's made with hot water deteriorates as it cools due to the acids and oils going acrid: drink a cup of coffee that's been sitting in the Bunn at work for a couple of hours and you'll know exactly what this means.
Cold brewed is made similarly to Sun Tea. Time rather than temperature extracts the caffeine and most of the flavor components from the coffee. However, the majority of the acids and oils do not get dissolved out of the grounds since temperature is required to release them.
You get a very smooth, almost cocoa-tasting cup of coffee that doesn't grind up your stomach if you drink a lot. Plus, it will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed jar for up to two weeks. At first it will taste a bit thin compared to a regular cup of drip coffee because you'll associate the oils and acid with full flavor, but after drinking it a few times you'll notice that the more delicate flavors open up because they're not masked by the stronger oil and acid flavors.
Why post this here? Because it also happens to provide an excellent coffee/cocoa taste to liquor and is extremely stable over time.
To try it, pour 1/3 of a cup of medium or coarse grind coffee into a glass jar. Add 1 1/2 cups of room temp or cold water. Stir, cover and let it sit overnight (I make it right before going to bed). When you get up in the morning, pour it through a coffee filter into a sealable second jar and you've got cold brewed coffee extract. Scale up the recipe if you like it, since it keeps so well.
It'll be twice as strong, roughly, as an ordinary cup of coffee. I dilute it 1 to 1 with water, heat it up in the microwave for a minute, and have an excellent cup of coffee in the morning, even if I used a cheap coffee to make it.
Lately I've been adding 20ml of coffee extract (not diluted) to 40ml of 125 proof UJSM, then dropping in a few ice cubes and letting it sit, blend and melt for a few minutes. Sort of a hillbilly Kahlua if you will, with no sweetness.
Next step is to pour it into the bottle and let it blend and age for some time. Vanilla bean, sugar, hazelnut, etc. can all go in over the top.
Trust me, after doing this you won't even consider the old "add instant coffee crystals to vodka" method of making homemade coffee liquers. Cold brewed coffee extract is simply superior.
Cold brewed coffee is considered by many the only correct way to make coffee that is eventually going to be drunk cold or iced. Coffee that's made with hot water deteriorates as it cools due to the acids and oils going acrid: drink a cup of coffee that's been sitting in the Bunn at work for a couple of hours and you'll know exactly what this means.
Cold brewed is made similarly to Sun Tea. Time rather than temperature extracts the caffeine and most of the flavor components from the coffee. However, the majority of the acids and oils do not get dissolved out of the grounds since temperature is required to release them.
You get a very smooth, almost cocoa-tasting cup of coffee that doesn't grind up your stomach if you drink a lot. Plus, it will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed jar for up to two weeks. At first it will taste a bit thin compared to a regular cup of drip coffee because you'll associate the oils and acid with full flavor, but after drinking it a few times you'll notice that the more delicate flavors open up because they're not masked by the stronger oil and acid flavors.
Why post this here? Because it also happens to provide an excellent coffee/cocoa taste to liquor and is extremely stable over time.
To try it, pour 1/3 of a cup of medium or coarse grind coffee into a glass jar. Add 1 1/2 cups of room temp or cold water. Stir, cover and let it sit overnight (I make it right before going to bed). When you get up in the morning, pour it through a coffee filter into a sealable second jar and you've got cold brewed coffee extract. Scale up the recipe if you like it, since it keeps so well.
It'll be twice as strong, roughly, as an ordinary cup of coffee. I dilute it 1 to 1 with water, heat it up in the microwave for a minute, and have an excellent cup of coffee in the morning, even if I used a cheap coffee to make it.
Lately I've been adding 20ml of coffee extract (not diluted) to 40ml of 125 proof UJSM, then dropping in a few ice cubes and letting it sit, blend and melt for a few minutes. Sort of a hillbilly Kahlua if you will, with no sweetness.
Next step is to pour it into the bottle and let it blend and age for some time. Vanilla bean, sugar, hazelnut, etc. can all go in over the top.
Trust me, after doing this you won't even consider the old "add instant coffee crystals to vodka" method of making homemade coffee liquers. Cold brewed coffee extract is simply superior.