1. Grinding setting
When your coffee beans are ground too finely, it goes without saying that the coffee tends to be bitter and rusty, but for cold brew coffee or other cold drinks, a clean, sweet and juicy taste is the best combination, so make Don't grind too finely for cold brew coffee, maybe use a medium or medium-fine grind similar to the cupping test.
2. The amount of coffee powder
The amount of ground coffee you use depends on how you want your cold brew to be served: with milk, straight, on the rocks, or want something lighter? The amount of powder will control the taste, and as long as the wrong ratio is used, it will not have a good taste.
If you use 1 liter of water, the taste of brewing with 60-80 grams of powder may be more refreshing, so if you use this ratio of cold brew coffee with other ingredients, it may be too weak. If you use 80-120 grams of powder, it may be thicker and the taste will be smoother. If you drink it with some milk, it may have a good effect.
3. Water temperature
If you like the sweetness of coffee, try to use a higher water temperature at the beginning of making cold brew, first use hot water pre-infusion to bring out the sweetness and then cold water steeping, or add half the amount of hot water to brew first and then add half cold water. But if you want a more acidic cold brew, you can use cold water throughout the brewing process and put the coffee directly in the refrigerator for extraction.
4. Extraction time
Extraction time is also a key factor in the making of cold brew coffee, affecting the aftertaste of the coffee. This part is especially important when you are roasting a fuller, darker coffee. An 8-16 hour steep will produce a juicy feel and a refreshing aftertaste with less bitterness. A 16-30 hour steep, on the other hand, produces a darker, thicker, sweeter coffee with each passing hour, but can also lead to a drier finish.
5. Production Tips
Since cold brew coffee takes at least half a day to make, don’t just use one recipe at a time, you can use two to three recipes, compare the flavors when you’re done, and choose your favorite brewing method.
Cold brew coffee, like hot coffee, can pay attention to many small details, and these small details can add up to a big impact on the flavor of the final product. However, with cold brew coffee, a whole new set of rules comes into play. Considering the above four stages, you can make cold brew coffee the way you like.
Finally, I would like to add that cold-brew coffee is delicious, and the choice of raw materials (coffee beans) is more critical. It is recommended to try the hand-brewed premium beans that you usually like to find your favorite cold-brew recipe