So it's summer and many people are coming to our coffee trailer and asking the question, "What is cold brew?" Now, cold brewing beverages isn't new and to those of us in the know, as it were, in the coffee and tea space might find it odd that many people still don't know what cold brew is and what makes it different from a regular iced coffee.
Simply put, cold brew is a method of extraction that uses cold water and long steep times to brew rather than hot water and a short steep time. It can be used both for coffee and tea, though most folks associate it with the former more so than the latter, to the point where the very term is automatically associated with coffee almost universally.
Cold brewing coffee results in a cup that has more flavor, a rich, smooth mouth feel, and considerably less acid. This is especially good for people with sensitive stomachs. With tea you also get more flavor and body as well.
Cold brewing is relatively easy but can be a bit messy. For those who wish to avoid cleaning an apparatus we offer cold brew kits which consist of two 4oz sachets of coffee. Simply place one into a half gallon container (or both in a one gallon container) and steep for 12-16 hours. Then remove the sachet and dispose of it.
Recipes for cold brewing coffee vary but we find that 4oz of coffee per half gallon of water makes for a very tasty ready to drink brew. To make a concentrate simply add half the water.
Recipes for cold brewing tea vary depending on the tea in question. As a general rule of thumb we recommend adding 1g of tea per 100ml of water. Steep times will vary greatly depending on the type of tea in question. For example, we recommend steeping our Organic Mao Feng green tea for between 3-4 hours while our Baxter Blend is best after steeping 14-16 hours. As for our Cascara Chai and Mount Chase Chai, we recommend steeping it for at least 12 hours but at home we just let it steep until we've drank the entire pitcher as it just keeps getting better the longer it steeps.
In an unrelated aside, we have recently been using custom packaging for tea and smaller coffee shipments. We get them from Sticker Mule (https://www.stickermule.com/custom-packaging) and would love to get your feedback on them. You can message us on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), Minds, and Truth Social.