Brewing is the final stage of the coffee-making process. It’s the part when you finally extract those delicious flavour notes and aromas from the roasted and ground coffee beans to make the drink we all love so much.
There are many different traditional brewing methods, like pour-over and French press, but cold brew has gained a lot of ground (literally) these past few years. In this week’s brewing guide, we’ll show you how to make the most delicious cold-brewed coffee using NOC’s most popular beans.
All about cold brew
Brewing is a process of extraction in which water dissolves the chemical compounds present inside roasted coffee beans. Many variables influence the extraction process – and therefore the overall quality of the brew prepared. Of all these variables, temperature is one of the most critical.
In cold brew, as you have probably guessed by now, the extraction is made at a low temperature, as opposed to all other brewing methods that require hot or boiling water. As a rule, the lower the temperature, the longer it takes to extract the flavours from coffee beans, so cold brewing takes a lot longer than other coffee-making methods.
Figuring out the best coffee-to-water ratio, the ideal brewing temperature and, most importantly, the optimum brewing time can be a daunting task, which is why we share with you up front exactly what you need to do to get great results from day one.
Ingredients and equipment
Before we show you the full list of ingredients, a quick comment on proportions: the coffee-to-water ratio depends on the type of beans used. If you use NOC’s single-origin beans, the correct proportion is 1:12 – this means 12 parts of water for every 1 part of coffee beans. For example, if you use 1L water (1,000g), you will need 80–85g coffee beans.
The following list contains all the things you’ll need to make 1L cold brew. You can scale up or down the amounts of water and coffee, but the steps of the process remain exactly the same.
You will need:
- 1L filtered water
- 80–85g NOC single-origin coffee beans (or 70–75g NOC house-blend coffee beans)
- coffee grinder
- scale
- cold-brew coffee maker
- small glass jar to weigh the beans (optional)
Ingredients and materials for making cold brew
Step-by-step guide
Step 1: weigh the coffee beans on the scale.
Step 2: grind the beans to a medium to coarse grind.
Step 3: put the weighed ground coffee into the filter of your cold-brew coffee maker.
Step 4: pour the filtered water into the coffee maker.
Step 5: reinsert the coffee filter with the coffee grounds and seal the coffee maker.
Step 6: chill for 18–20 hours, and you’re set – serve and enjoy!
Keep an eye out for more brewing guides from us here at NOC!
