Cold Brew Coffee: Elevate Your Travel Game
For those who love both coffee and adventure, cold brew coffee is a game-changer. It’s not just about the delightful aroma that fills your car, but the complex flavor profile that unfolds over time as you are driving and keep enjoying that wonderful flavor. Unlike traditional coffee, cold brew boasts a smoother, less acidic taste with a lingering finish that keeps you invigorated throughout your journey.
The cold brew method extracts flavor from beans using only cold water (< 20 C/70 F) and a very long brew time. This way, most of the harsh bitters and oils in roasted coffee are not dissolved which results in a coffee with a softer balance of flavors.
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Unleashing the Magic of Sumatra: Indonesia Sumatra Organic
The key to an exceptional cold brew lies in the bean selection. I highly recommend the Indonesia Sumatra Organic beans from Boot Koffie, but you can also find these at Whole Foods and in various online shops. These beans, grown in the rich, volcanic soil of Sumatra in Indonesia, yield a full-bodied, medium-dark roast with a distinct chocolatey undertone and subtle spice notes. This unique character sets them apart from the milder Colombian varieties.
Crafting the Perfect Cold Brew
Achieving the perfect cold brew is an art form and highly subjected to your personal tastes. Here’s my preferred recipe:
- Ingredients:
- 67.5 grams coarsely ground Indonesia Sumatra Organic coffee beans
- 750 ml filtered water
- Brewing Process:
- Combine the ground coffee and water in a container. (5-10 min)
- Steep in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.
- Filter through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth. (5 min)
- Savor your expertly crafted cold brew.
While 12 hours yields a flavorful brew, the full spectrum of flavors (particularly the chocolate notes) emerge after a 24-hour steep. Depending on your personal style, you can vary the brew time accordingly. If you like it, that was a good recipe!
A Word of Caution: The Caffeine Kick
Cold brew coffee is known for its potency, packing upto 2-3 times as much caffeine as an espresso or drip coffee. Opt for smaller servings to enjoy its benefits without overdoing it.
Also consider the beans you are using: Robusta beans have 2x the caffeine of Arabica beans! Cold brew is ideally suited for Robusta beans, in my opinion, because the lack of heat means you don’t extract as much of the bitters.
For convenience, I recommend the small, glass, reusable sample bottles available at identipack.com, for instance. Mine serve 50-60ml of coffee.
They’re perfect for pre-portioned servings, allowing you to enjoy your cold brew on the go. As a bonus, you can conveniently open a bottle by yourself, while everyone else in the car is sleeping p[eacefully!
In Conclusion
Cold brew coffee elevates your travel experience. Its alluring aroma, complex flavor profile, and sustained energy boost make it the ideal companion for those on the move. Explore the world of cold brew with the Indonesia Sumatra Organic beans and discover a new level of coffee enjoyment.
Equipment & Gallery
Below you can see a set of photos of how I prepared my cold brew. The brewer I use is the simple, elegant but great Hario Filter-In-Coffee bottle, available everywhere for approx 30-40 Euros. There is a larger version, but be careful: it holds so much cold brew you will need to notify your physician of what you are doing! (A joke, do not drink a liter of cold brew!)
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