By now, you may have discovered that cold water process brewing of coffee produces a lower acidity brew. That’s great news for people suffering from acid reflux or other gastrointestinal ailments. But what is the cold water process all about and how do you perfect this technique at home?
It is really a very simple coffee brewing method and is more or less just an adjustment from your normal routine.
HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF :
Step 1: Grind your coffee beans to a coarse setting.
Step 2: Place your coarsely ground coffee in a container and add cold water. A good rule of thumb is approximately one pound of ground coffee to nine cups of cold water.
Step 3: Let coffee grounds and cold water steep for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature. Many prefer to let their mixture sit overnight. There is no need to stir.
Step 4: Separate the ground coffee beans from the water to create a liquid coffee concentrate. There are a variety of techniques and appliances to assist in filtering the mixture, including paper filters, metal sieves, French presses and commercial products such as the Filtron unit. I have even heard of people scooping the grounds out with a perforated spoon, albeit somewhat messy. Pick the filter method best suited to your needs.
Step 5: You now have a coffee concentrate able to produce multiple cups of coffee. Pour a small amount of concentrate in a cup and add hot water to produce a wonderful mug of low acid coffee. Simply experiment with the dilution ratio of water to concentrate to perfect the preferred taste. A good starting point would be 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water. From this point, it’s a tasting game. Adjust concentrate versus water as appropriate.
Step 6: Store remaining concentrate in the refrigerator for future use.
That’s it! You have now completed the cold water process brewing of your coffee beans. Most individuals find the taste comparison between hot brewed and cold brewed coffee very different. Because the acidity is lower, you may find a sweeter, smoother coffee without the “bite” (but without the heartburn as well!). Many of the subtle underlying flavors which are produced only by high temperatures will be deficient, as a cold brew process will extract a different chemical profile. Now it’s your turn to give it a shot!
The corporate direction of Starbucks for the last several years has been questionable at best, but Starbucks and Groupon…well that’s just interesting.
There is just something about “corporate retail coffee” that just makes my skin crawl. Nobody can deny the success of corporate coffee, but doesn’t it just seems cold and “less connected?
My notion is…they push a button, add several oz. of hot milk, and then ask me to hand over my legal tender.
I suppose that’s why I quietly question the cups real value.
It’s easy to pick on the big guys, and in some small way (very small)…we all wish for that level of success, but what about when they do something right?
Okay, they are still “corporate”, and perhaps some day the taste of the culture will change, but let’s face it…this Groupon move is priceless, and the social media value will be overwhelming.
Through the combined efforts of JumpinGoat Coffee Roasters and Ken Landers, the San Rafael Sustainable Coffee Initiative (SRSCI) is off the ground and running. With the goal of restructuring the current seed-to-cup value chain that exists in coffee farming, the SRSCI aspires to positively impact the lives of the Costa Rican coffee farmers, implementing the four pillars of sustainability: social, cultural, economic and environmental. With current co-op methods ineffectively aiding the farmer, the SRSCI is laying the foundation for direct trade from the San Rafael coffee farmer to the consumer. The astonishing facts of the current value chain demonstrate a net profit for some Costa Rican farmers of $0.39 (39 cents!) per one pound of coffee. Compare this to the average $250 net profit the coffee retailer receives for the SAME one pound of coffee. JumpinGoat Coffee Roasters and the SRSCI believe the consumer should have the choice to go directly to the source, the Costa Rican farmers themselves. The San Rafael Sustainable Coffee Initiative opens this window for choice, offering direct communication with the farmer, direct purchase and revealing a world of possibilities for the consumer and the farmer that do not exist in the current market. JumpinGoat will be returning to Costa Rica with the Costa Rica Eco Tour scheduled for January 2011 to further investigate coffee at its source, the SRSCI’s venture in coffee sustainability measures and how to accomplish this with the other local coffee farmers. Coffee and non-coffee industry personnel are encouraged to join.
For those of you who have already tried or who are thinking of trying home roasting of your green coffee beans, the Behmor 1600 coffee roaster may be for you. Go ahead and get rid of those old popcorn poppers and heat guns or whatever concoction you’ve rigged for roasting and try something better! The award-winning Behmor 1600 coffee roaster was designed to enable anyone the means to roast green coffee beans from the comfort of their home. The design is simple enough to appeal to your everyday-Joe who is interested in trying home roasting and yet advanced enough for the more roaster-savvy enthusiast. According to Joe Behm, the inventor of the Behmor 1600, he wanted to create an affordable, user-friendly home coffee roaster that anyone could use. The end result is an indoor machine that can efficiently roast 1/4, 1/2 or 1 pound of coffee with minimal noise and smoke.
With any home coffee roaster, they come in all sizes, shapes and price ranges. The Behmor 1600 coffee roaster tends to resemble an older model microwave or toaster oven and generally this unique look (for a coffee roaster) can be a little misleading. However, once reviewing the easy-to-use functions and actually trying it out, you’ll be impressed with the results. With built-in profiles, and self-explanatory keypads, the roasting process is simplified. As well, the access door window allows you to view the development of the bean as it progresses. The roaster was designed to produce a lighter roast profile or something in the range of a medium or medium-dark roast (also known as Full City or Full City Plus). The maximum roast darkness is 10 seconds beyond the second crack. Since the bulk of home roasters use high quality green beans and tend to prefer lighter roasts, this limitation isn’t generally an issue; however, if you prefer a really dark roast, you may need to consider a different method of roasting than the Behmor 1600 coffee roaster. For the adventurous spirit, in some cases, you can roast 1/2 pound at the 1 pound setting in order to achieve a darker roast, but be prepared to reap the repercussions of experimenting!
The advantages of home roasting are vast. The concept of drinking the highest quality of coffee at an enormous savings in cost is probably the most notable. Then of course, you’ve got the freshness, the quality control, the convenience and the environmental benefits that home roasting offers. For those of you interested in home roasting, whether just starting out or already accomplished roasters, the Behmor 1600 coffee roaster is a great way to go.
What comes to your mind when you think of gourmet flavored coffee? Mmmm….maybe one of the all-time favorites like Hazelnut or Irish Crème pops into your head. But what about some of the newer alternatives? You can find just about any flavor you desire, from White Chocolate Mousse to Kiwi Syrup to Georgia Pecan and even Banana Nut Cream. And at what point does coffee quit being coffee? Are you drinking some coffee with a little crème or are you drinking crème with a touch of coffee? The good news is that as the consumer, you can drink whatever you like and decide for yourself when you want to quit calling it coffee.
The idea of gourmet flavored coffee probably seems like a new concept; however, flavoring coffee dates back to the very beginning of coffee history. Looking back on the history of coffee, you can see where cultures regularly added nuts and spices, including cinnamon, cardamom and even pepper to enhance the flavor of the coffee. The difference today is that with modern science and technology, one can create almost any synthetic flavor conceivable. The flavors themselves are acquired from either the natural plant itself or are created artificially by copying the natural oil and aromatic flavor components of the desired taste. The synthetic flavor agents are chemicals which have the same chemical structure that the naturally occurring flavor has. Some examples of naturally occurring flavoring oils include various nuts, berries, spices, cocoa beans and vanilla beans. The number of different compound combinations required to achieve some of these subtle flavors is dizzying. Next time you purchase gourmet flavored coffee, read the label to see if it is “naturally” or “artificially” flavored.
The flavoring process is usually performed to the roasted bean itself before it is ground, although you can flavor the ground coffee bean by blending in a dry form of the flavoring agent. When flavoring the whole roasted bean, the concoction of oils is added very gradually to the beans usually through a spray mechanism to thoroughly and evenly coat all of the beans, avoiding spraying too fast or too much to decrease the chances of concentrating the flavor in any one spot. The beans are then agitated for a set amount of time to ensure an equal and uniform coating of the oils is achieved. The beans will display a glossy finish when the process is complete and ensures a balanced dispersion. On the other hand, the dry form of flavoring includes mixing the ground coffee with the powdered form of flavoring for a period of time, usually at least 24 hours. The natural moisture in the coffee promotes cohesion of the flavoring and color with the coffee grounds. In a nutshell (pun intended), that’s how you get gourmet flavored coffee.
Gourmet flavored coffee is all about enhancing the natural flavor of coffee and making the cup more inviting by adding complimentary flavors that the individual consumer prefers. The possibilities are endless as new flavors take root in the imagination. Whether you choose flavored or non-flavored coffee or whether you add syrups or flavored creamers, I think all of us can agree that a fresh cup of coffee sure makes the day go smoother.
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