Cold brew coffee is rapidly becoming the drink of choice amongst the legions of young coffee aficionados. Sales of cold brew coffee in the United States are growing exponentially year-on-year. The years of 2016 and 2017 were considered by many to be the era that cold brew coffee blossomed into the mainstream stardom it is enjoying now. And now, we’ll make you fall in love with cold brew over and over again.

For starters, home-made cold brew coffee is:

• Easy to make
• Readily available for busy mornings
• Can be easily heated if you want hot coffee
• More affordable than café-made brews
• Can be smooth, slightly sweet, and very refreshing thanks to Christopher Bean’s premium ground beans

Helpful tip: You can make your cold brew coffee during weekends, then store it in the fridge and have them every morning. No boiling water. No hassle using a coffee maker.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COLD BREW COFFEE

As a rule of thumb, cold brew coffee is very different from iced coffee. Iced coffee is simply regular brewed coffee that is served over ice, either mixed with add-ons like milk or cinnamon or left plain.

Here are some fun facts you probably didn’t know about cold brew coffee:

COLD COFFEE IS STRONG.

Well, it depends on a lot of factors – including the beans used, how long you steep the beans and the method of dilution. Dilution is the factor that is the easiest to control. We don't recommend drinking the cold concentrate straight—it’s highly caffeinated!

COLD-BREW IS NOT AS ACIDIC AS THE REGULAR BREW.

If regular coffee like espresso or cappuccino upsets your stomach, cold brew might not. To suit the level of the coffee’s acidity according to your taste, we highly recommend you make the cold brew yourself.

COLD-BREW TAKES LONGER TO MAKE THAN HOT COFFEE.

Coffee steeping takes about 12 to 18 hours to soak up the coffee's color, flavor, and caffeine. Contrary to hot brew, cold steeping brings out fewer of the coffee's bitter compounds, hence a sweeter taste and smoother texture.

YOU CAN USE ANY VARIETY OF COFFEE TO MAKE COLD BREW.

Any variety by Christopher Bean will work, and you’ll find that it tastes less bitter when it is steeped cold instead of hot brewed. Fun tip: it’d be fun to compare a glass of cold brew coffee with hot coffee of the same variety.

COLD BREWING IN 3 EASY STEPS!

STEP 1: GRIND YOU BEANS

It's best to use coarsely ground coffee. You can either do this manually or ask your coffee provider to grind the coffee beans for you in their coarsest setting.

STEP 2: MIX THE COFFEE AND WATER

You can make your cold brew in a French press, but any food-safe vessel will do. Preparing cold brew coffee is as easy as preparing any coffee drink—just gently stir your ground coffee with cold water.

Tip: We recommend a 6:28 ratio for your cold brew coffee—6 ounces of coarsely grounded coffee beans and 28 ounces of cold, preferably filtered, water.

Let it steep in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

Recommended Steeping Time: Steeping time depends highly on how strong you want your cold coffee to be. Some suggest overnight or around 12 hours, others steep their coffee at least 18 up to 24 hours. Do what works with your schedule.

Your concentrate may taste a little bitterer after steeping for a longer time, but dilution will help. It may be extra-strong, so you might want to add some extra water on that concentrate.

STEP 3: FILTER YOUR COLD BREW COFFEE

If you used a French press, simply push the stopper down and pour out the filtered brew. Otherwise, if you used a food-safe container, line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and pour the mix through into another container. Or better yet, you can try our excellent coffee filters made from all-natural materials.

THE BEST COFFEE FOR COLD BREWING

All coffees by Christopher Bean are brilliantly roasted for either regular or cold brewing. The good news is we can help you save time by not brewing coffee ever again! Cold brew or hot brew, our Liquid Coffee Concentrate tastes absolutely great—just like your favorite ground coffee. Made from 100% Arabica coffee, our Liquid Coffee is available in regular, decaf, and cold brew style. To learn more about Liquid Coffee Concentrates, please visit this page.