Social media has been a fantastic outlet for the millions of people who want to share photos of their dog, their vacations, their dinner, and of course, THEIR COFFEE. It’s a fact that every time you go on instagram, you are likely to see an artsy pic of somebody’s oat milk cappuccino or cuppa cold brew. Cold brew coffee has been pretty popular over the last few years and it is not dying out anytime soon. But what exactly is it and why is it so amazing?
What makes it so great?
Cold brew is different from drip coffee, it is a form of coffee that is brewed cold and is kept cold for serving. Warning, it takes a longggg time to brew, so don’t try and make it monday morning before work, it will be very disappointing. It is brewed for 12-15 hours, yes HOURS. Although this sounds like a hassle, it actually has a purpose. This method makes the coffee sweeter, more full bodied, and less acidic. So, you can make a batch on the weekend, and then have coffee ready every single morning, without the wait, saving time to sing in the shower. C’mon don’t deny it, I know you’re belting out “Hello” by Adele into your shampoo bottle.
Apart from being delicious and very aesthetically pleasing, what are some benefits of giving cold brew a try?
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- Cold brew contains just the amount of caffeine you need. Yep that’s right, it can have more or less caffeine than regular coffee depending on how you like it. While making the concentrate, you can brew it for different amounts of time depending on how strong you want it. Go crazy, amp up the caffeine till you’re running circles around yourself if you so desire. This is helpful to know, especially for those long busy days. Due to the long steeping time, the coffee to water ratio is about 1:60 compared to normal drip coffee at 1:20. You are making a cold brew concentrate, so you can dilute it as much as you want to fit your needs (or how many emails are stacked in your inbox on Monday).
- Better for sensitive stomachs. For all you IBS sufferers who have a love hate relationship with coffee, this should be wonderful news. Studies have found that cold brew is slightly less acidic than regular hot coffee, making it easier on the stomach. Also cold brew contains crude polysaccharides, which are carbohydrates that boost the immunity of your digestive system. This can decrease gut irritation, and high acidity in the stomach.
- May lower risk of heart disease. Certain compounds in cold brew may reduce risk of heart disease, for example chlorogenic acids and diterpenes in the coffee act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, caffeine, phenolic compounds, magnesium, trigonelline, quinides, and lignans are all compounds in cold brew that increase insulin sensitivity and stabilize blood sugar and lower blood pressure. Whew, that’s a lot of big words, but in a nutshell, it can help your heart work properly!
- Environmentally friendly. When you brew your own coffee, and store it for the week, you are using less items that require throwing away. Think about it, if you’re making coffee everyday, that’s 7+ coffee filters or ‘pods’ going into the landfill, not to mention the disposable coffee cups and money you’re using if you buy coffee out each day. If you brew it all in one jug, with one filter on sunday, you save 6 days worth of waste. It may not seem like a big deal but every little bit of help counts when it comes to saving our planet.
HOW TO MAKE IT:
- First, purchase your choice of roasted coffee beans locally or online and coarsely grind them. (depending on whether you’re going to drink it with milk, you can choose dark to light roast. Light roasts are better without milk)
- Add 8 ounces (226 grams) of grounds to a large jar and stir in 2 cups (480 ml) of water.
- Cover the jar and let the coffee steep in the refrigerator for 12–24 hours.
- Place cheesecloth into a fine mesh strainer and pour the steeped coffee through it into another jar.
- Discard the solids that collect on the cheesecloth or save them to use as plant food or shower scrubs etc. The liquid that remains is your cold brew coffee concentrate!
- You’re ready to go! Pour your coffee into a cup and add milk and sugar if desired!
* tip: add cinnamon or nutmeg to spice your drink up!
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/coffee-and-blood-pressure
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/improve-insulin-sensitivity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6003581/