7 ms·

How Cold Brew Changed the Coffee Business

39 points by david90 9y ago

johnbrodie 9y ago
I'm somewhat of a coffee snob, and have had quite a few _very_ expensive cups of cold brew from both the best locally known shops as well as some of the more "famous" shops in California. At best, I can't tell the difference between cold brew bought from a shop using "high end" beans and what I make at home with a bag of 12 O'clock Coffee from the grocery store. The end of the article makes it seem like the beans are important in cold brew, but from my experience, that's just not the case - given you aren't using preground coffee, rubusto, or some other truly "bad" coffee. It's the opposite of espresso, where the bean, it's freshness, the grind, and the time all need to be within a fairly tight range to produce something worth drinking.
- mc32 9y ago
  >It's the opposite of espresso, where the bean, it's freshness, the grind, and the time all need to be within a fairly tight range to produce something worth drinking If true, it's little wonder coffee companies would love cold brew since it's less expensive to deliver to the end customer --that and that it prolongs the drinking season --but this is no surprise if one recognizes the popularity of cold teas in much of the tropics and semi tropics.
- bigredhdl 9y ago
  I agree. I'm kind of a coffee snob too, but my coffee expenses went down considerably when I started cold brewing versus hot brewing. Not only can you use a less expensive bean, but you can often use less beans overall.
- jghn 9y ago
  I've become a huge fan of the Dunkin Donuts cold brew for similar reasons.
- aabaker99 9y ago
  my favorite shop would actually use the beans that were about to expire for their cold brew specifically for this reason. they could no longer use the beans for espresso but they still made the best cold brew I have had to date.
- nkrisc 9y ago
  As far as taste goes, I've noticed the biggest difference from pour over brewing methods. Now I can't say for certain I would be able to tell in a blind taste test (same beans, different method) but the best coffee I've had has always been pour over. There's a chance it's just the beans, though.
- Terribledactyl 9y ago
  I'm a hobby coffee roaster and anytime I have an off batch (by espresso or pour over standards), I add it to my cold brew bean bin and get very good results. Can't really distinguish the bean beyond the degree of roast, and mixing the beans achieves some consistency. The only times this has failed me was exploring the very darkest or lightest roasts.
  - yazan94 9y ago
    On a tangent, but where do you source your beans from?
    - Terribledactyl 9y ago
      Usually from: https://www.sweetmarias.com https://www.sweetmarias.com (or their more commercial counterpart http://www.coffeeshrub.com http://www.coffeeshrub.com)
- clairity 9y ago
  i don't consider myself a huge coffee snob (i'm fine with cream and sugar laden starbucks after all) but i dislike the taste of cold brew. it's more astringent and lifeless than just about any regular coffee to me, so maybe that explains it. plus, i'm just not hipster enough to drink it. =)
anotheryou 9y ago
I love the cold-brew taste, but is there a way to make it taste strong without risking a caffein over dose? Last time I made some at home my heart kept racing...
- maxander 9y ago
  Decaf? Probably not at most cafes, but if you're making it at home. Of course, the better answer is to simply gradually increase your caffeine tolerance until a pint of cold brew has no effect. :)
  - a012 9y ago
    it's funny because decaffeinate process is basically like cold brew process
    - morley 9y ago
      Plus, decaf from a good roaster is indistinguishable (at least to my limited palette) from normal coffee. It's definitely no longer the 70s where the only decaf option is watery Sanka.
  - TJSomething 9y ago
    Additionally, if you can find a caf and a decaf version of the same coffee, you can brew half-caf coffee. One thing is that you need to use high-end decaf. I've found that decaf using the Mountain Water Process is good.
    - randallsquared 9y ago
      The percentage of caffeine removed varies widely in "decaf". Some decaf has almost no caffeine remaining, while other varieties basically are already "half-caf".
  - baldeagle 9y ago
    Does anyone else think that the bitter tastes in the decaf are just all wrong? I've heard that caffeine has a bitter taste and I think that I like it... but it could just be in my head.
mrfusion 9y ago
What's the best way to filter the grounds out of cold brew when you make it? I tried pouring it through a coffee filter and strangest thing. None of the liquid would go through? Do you needy or water to open the "pores" in the filter or something ?
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  Your grind was probably too fine. If you have a grinder at home try using a more course setting. Some grocery shops have grinders in the coffee aisles with adjustable settings. Alternatively you can use cheesecloth, a press, or a pour over filter. I typically use the pour over filter which provides the best results for my grind size + is reusable.
  - mrfusion 9y ago
    So you use a filter like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6HTDCC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6HTDCC You don't put a paper filter inside that?
    - nxsynonym 9y ago
      Yup - just like that one.
- lanewinfield 9y ago
  I use a cold brew "machine," which is just a plastic vat with a felt filter and a cap on the bottom. The instructions has you layer water and beans separately. Don't know its effect, but it works well and the coffee is great. https://www.amazon.com/Toddy-T2N-Cold-Brew-System/dp/B0006H0JVW https://www.amazon.com/Toddy-T2N-Cold-Brew-System/dp/B0006H0...
  - matthewmcg 9y ago
    I've been using this machine for a while and, yes, it is actually very important to add the coffee such that it gets wet but floats undisturbed above the water. If you stir the pot or, worse, put the ground coffee in first, it takes a verrrryy long time for the coffee to drip through the filter after it is brewed. It is literally a drop every few seconds rather than the slow stream you get when you set it up correctly.
sebbean 9y ago
Iced Americannooos!!
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
gncb 9y ago
You can actually rush the processes and get great results. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee
- rgloeckner 9y ago
  thank you very much for the link! my favourite coffee roaster here in Germany sells the traditional tools from Hario which is from South Korea. This seems the most coffee crazy country in the world...
oasisbob 9y ago
Stumptown Coffee Roasters (which sells nitro cold brew, a coffee infused with nitrogen so that it’s slightly fizzy, with the thick, creamy head of a good stout). Ugh. This is wrong. The whole reason you push cold brew with nitrogen (vs say carbon dioxide) is that nitrogen is nearly insoluble in aqueous solution, and can pressurize the coffee on draft without carbonizing it or changing the nature of the beverage. We had Stumptown cold brew on tap at the office, and I put together our draft system for us to dispense it. Maybe if you served it with a nitro faucet you might get a bit of head, but with a normal faucet it didn't have any foam on top, and it certainly wasn't slightly fizzy. Starbucks has bought into the nitro-infused marketing wank for their cold brew too, it's pretty silly. Wine draft systems (like Micromatic's) use nitrogen for the same reason, but you don't hear the same BS about giving the wine a smooth creamy texture because it's not appealing in that context. (And not factual.) Stumptown cold brew is delicious though - if its available in kegs in your area and you want to put it on tap, design the system for wine (stainless-steel everything and a nitro regulator) and you're in business.
- kasey_junk 9y ago
  I'm perfectly willing to believe that my own preference is informed by marketing/hokum but I very much prefer the Stumptown in the nitro can to the Stumptown in a bottle with no nitro dongle. If I were asked why, I'd say "mouthfeel" cause it does seem creamier. Is there an explanation for that other than "magic words on the side of the can?"
  - oasisbob 9y ago
    Hmmm, good question. Looks like for the nitro can they're using a nitro widget, like canned Guinness uses. They're pretty controversial - were discussed to death when they first came out. I guess, hypothetically, when the can is opened you're releasing all the nitrogen at once, and it could result in a short-lived physical change. edit: I'm also seeing some reporting that some of Stumptown's products are pressurized with nitrous oxide, and may not be 100% coffee. (eg, have dairy or emulsifiers.)
- stbtrax 9y ago
lj3 9y ago
Does anybody here know the difference between normal cold brewed coffee and Black Blood of the Earth? BBotE tastes better to me (less bitterness, fewer jitters, more caffeine) but I don't know why.

39 points by david90 9y ago

I'm somewhat of a coffee snob, and have had quite a few _very_ expensive cups of cold brew from both the best locally known shops as well as some of the more "famous" shops in California. At best, I can't tell the difference between cold brew bought from a shop using "high end" beans and what I make at home with a bag of 12 O'clock Coffee from the grocery store. The end of the article makes it seem like the beans are important in cold brew, but from my experience, that's just not the case - given you aren't using preground coffee, rubusto, or some other truly "bad" coffee. It's the opposite of espresso, where the bean, it's freshness, the grind, and the time all need to be within a fairly tight range to produce something worth drinking.

mc32 9y ago
>It's the opposite of espresso, where the bean, it's freshness, the grind, and the time all need to be within a fairly tight range to produce something worth drinking If true, it's little wonder coffee companies would love cold brew since it's less expensive to deliver to the end customer --that and that it prolongs the drinking season --but this is no surprise if one recognizes the popularity of cold teas in much of the tropics and semi tropics.
bigredhdl 9y ago
I agree. I'm kind of a coffee snob too, but my coffee expenses went down considerably when I started cold brewing versus hot brewing. Not only can you use a less expensive bean, but you can often use less beans overall.
jghn 9y ago
I've become a huge fan of the Dunkin Donuts cold brew for similar reasons.
aabaker99 9y ago
my favorite shop would actually use the beans that were about to expire for their cold brew specifically for this reason. they could no longer use the beans for espresso but they still made the best cold brew I have had to date.
nkrisc 9y ago
As far as taste goes, I've noticed the biggest difference from pour over brewing methods. Now I can't say for certain I would be able to tell in a blind taste test (same beans, different method) but the best coffee I've had has always been pour over. There's a chance it's just the beans, though.
Terribledactyl 9y ago
I'm a hobby coffee roaster and anytime I have an off batch (by espresso or pour over standards), I add it to my cold brew bean bin and get very good results. Can't really distinguish the bean beyond the degree of roast, and mixing the beans achieves some consistency. The only times this has failed me was exploring the very darkest or lightest roasts.
- yazan94 9y ago
  On a tangent, but where do you source your beans from?
  - Terribledactyl 9y ago
    Usually from: https://www.sweetmarias.com https://www.sweetmarias.com (or their more commercial counterpart http://www.coffeeshrub.com http://www.coffeeshrub.com)
clairity 9y ago
i don't consider myself a huge coffee snob (i'm fine with cream and sugar laden starbucks after all) but i dislike the taste of cold brew. it's more astringent and lifeless than just about any regular coffee to me, so maybe that explains it. plus, i'm just not hipster enough to drink it. =)

anotheryou 9y ago

I love the cold-brew taste, but is there a way to make it taste strong without risking a caffein over dose? Last time I made some at home my heart kept racing...

maxander 9y ago
Decaf? Probably not at most cafes, but if you're making it at home. Of course, the better answer is to simply gradually increase your caffeine tolerance until a pint of cold brew has no effect. :)
- a012 9y ago
  it's funny because decaffeinate process is basically like cold brew process
  - morley 9y ago
    Plus, decaf from a good roaster is indistinguishable (at least to my limited palette) from normal coffee. It's definitely no longer the 70s where the only decaf option is watery Sanka.
- TJSomething 9y ago
  Additionally, if you can find a caf and a decaf version of the same coffee, you can brew half-caf coffee. One thing is that you need to use high-end decaf. I've found that decaf using the Mountain Water Process is good.
  - randallsquared 9y ago
    The percentage of caffeine removed varies widely in "decaf". Some decaf has almost no caffeine remaining, while other varieties basically are already "half-caf".
- baldeagle 9y ago
  Does anyone else think that the bitter tastes in the decaf are just all wrong? I've heard that caffeine has a bitter taste and I think that I like it... but it could just be in my head.

mrfusion 9y ago

What's the best way to filter the grounds out of cold brew when you make it? I tried pouring it through a coffee filter and strangest thing. None of the liquid would go through? Do you needy or water to open the "pores" in the filter or something ?

nxsynonym 9y ago
Your grind was probably too fine. If you have a grinder at home try using a more course setting. Some grocery shops have grinders in the coffee aisles with adjustable settings. Alternatively you can use cheesecloth, a press, or a pour over filter. I typically use the pour over filter which provides the best results for my grind size + is reusable.
- mrfusion 9y ago
  So you use a filter like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6HTDCC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K6HTDCC You don't put a paper filter inside that?
  - nxsynonym 9y ago
    Yup - just like that one.
lanewinfield 9y ago
I use a cold brew "machine," which is just a plastic vat with a felt filter and a cap on the bottom. The instructions has you layer water and beans separately. Don't know its effect, but it works well and the coffee is great. https://www.amazon.com/Toddy-T2N-Cold-Brew-System/dp/B0006H0JVW https://www.amazon.com/Toddy-T2N-Cold-Brew-System/dp/B0006H0...
- matthewmcg 9y ago
  I've been using this machine for a while and, yes, it is actually very important to add the coffee such that it gets wet but floats undisturbed above the water. If you stir the pot or, worse, put the ground coffee in first, it takes a verrrryy long time for the coffee to drip through the filter after it is brewed. It is literally a drop every few seconds rather than the slow stream you get when you set it up correctly.

sebbean 9y ago

Iced Americannooos!!

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

gncb 9y ago

You can actually rush the processes and get great results. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee

rgloeckner 9y ago
thank you very much for the link! my favourite coffee roaster here in Germany sells the traditional tools from Hario which is from South Korea. This seems the most coffee crazy country in the world...

oasisbob 9y ago

Stumptown Coffee Roasters (which sells nitro cold brew, a coffee infused with nitrogen so that it’s slightly fizzy, with the thick, creamy head of a good stout). Ugh. This is wrong. The whole reason you push cold brew with nitrogen (vs say carbon dioxide) is that nitrogen is nearly insoluble in aqueous solution, and can pressurize the coffee on draft without carbonizing it or changing the nature of the beverage. We had Stumptown cold brew on tap at the office, and I put together our draft system for us to dispense it. Maybe if you served it with a nitro faucet you might get a bit of head, but with a normal faucet it didn't have any foam on top, and it certainly wasn't slightly fizzy. Starbucks has bought into the nitro-infused marketing wank for their cold brew too, it's pretty silly. Wine draft systems (like Micromatic's) use nitrogen for the same reason, but you don't hear the same BS about giving the wine a smooth creamy texture because it's not appealing in that context. (And not factual.) Stumptown cold brew is delicious though - if its available in kegs in your area and you want to put it on tap, design the system for wine (stainless-steel everything and a nitro regulator) and you're in business.

kasey_junk 9y ago
I'm perfectly willing to believe that my own preference is informed by marketing/hokum but I very much prefer the Stumptown in the nitro can to the Stumptown in a bottle with no nitro dongle. If I were asked why, I'd say "mouthfeel" cause it does seem creamier. Is there an explanation for that other than "magic words on the side of the can?"
- oasisbob 9y ago
  Hmmm, good question. Looks like for the nitro can they're using a nitro widget, like canned Guinness uses. They're pretty controversial - were discussed to death when they first came out. I guess, hypothetically, when the can is opened you're releasing all the nitrogen at once, and it could result in a short-lived physical change. edit: I'm also seeing some reporting that some of Stumptown's products are pressurized with nitrous oxide, and may not be 100% coffee. (eg, have dairy or emulsifiers.)
stbtrax 9y ago

lj3 9y ago

Does anybody here know the difference between normal cold brewed coffee and Black Blood of the Earth? BBotE tastes better to me (less bitterness, fewer jitters, more caffeine) but I don't know why.