
How Cold Brew Changed the Coffee Business - david90
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/dining/cold-brew-coffee.html
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johnbrodie
I'm somewhat of a coffee snob, and have had quite a few _very_ expensive cups
of cold brew from both the best locally known shops as well as some of the
more "famous" shops in California.

At best, I can't tell the difference between cold brew bought from a shop
using "high end" beans and what I make at home with a bag of 12 O'clock Coffee
from the grocery store. The end of the article makes it seem like the beans
are important in cold brew, but from my experience, that's just not the case -
given you aren't using preground coffee, rubusto, or some other truly "bad"
coffee. It's the opposite of espresso, where the bean, it's freshness, the
grind, and the time all need to be within a fairly tight range to produce
something worth drinking.

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Terribledactyl
I'm a hobby coffee roaster and anytime I have an off batch (by espresso or
pour over standards), I add it to my cold brew bean bin and get very good
results. Can't really distinguish the bean beyond the degree of roast, and
mixing the beans achieves some consistency. The only times this has failed me
was exploring the very darkest or lightest roasts.

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yazan94
On a tangent, but where do you source your beans from?

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Terribledactyl
Usually from: [https://www.sweetmarias.com](https://www.sweetmarias.com) (or
their more commercial counterpart
[http://www.coffeeshrub.com](http://www.coffeeshrub.com))

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oasisbob
_Stumptown Coffee Roasters (which sells nitro cold brew, a coffee infused with
nitrogen so that it’s slightly fizzy, with the thick, creamy head of a good
stout)._

Ugh. This is wrong. The whole reason you push cold brew with nitrogen (vs say
carbon dioxide) is that nitrogen is nearly insoluble in aqueous solution, and
can pressurize the coffee on draft without carbonizing it or changing the
nature of the beverage.

We had Stumptown cold brew on tap at the office, and I put together our draft
system for us to dispense it. Maybe if you served it with a nitro faucet you
might get a bit of head, but with a normal faucet it didn't have any foam on
top, and it certainly wasn't slightly fizzy.

Starbucks has bought into the nitro-infused marketing wank for their cold brew
too, it's pretty silly. Wine draft systems (like Micromatic's) use nitrogen
for the same reason, but you don't hear the same BS about giving the wine a
smooth creamy texture because it's not appealing in that context. (And not
factual.)

Stumptown cold brew is delicious though - if its available in kegs in your
area and you want to put it on tap, design the system for wine (stainless-
steel everything and a nitro regulator) and you're in business.

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kasey_junk
I'm perfectly willing to believe that my own preference is informed by
marketing/hokum but I _very_ much prefer the Stumptown in the nitro can to the
Stumptown in a bottle with no nitro dongle.

If I were asked why, I'd say "mouthfeel" cause it does seem creamier. Is there
an explanation for that other than "magic words on the side of the can?"

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oasisbob
Hmmm, good question. Looks like for the nitro can they're using a nitro
widget, like canned Guinness uses. They're pretty controversial - were
discussed to death when they first came out.

I guess, hypothetically, when the can is opened you're releasing all the
nitrogen at once, and it could result in a short-lived physical change.

edit: I'm also seeing some reporting that some of Stumptown's products are
pressurized with nitrous oxide, and may not be 100% coffee. (eg, have dairy or
emulsifiers.)

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anotheryou
I love the cold-brew taste, but is there a way to make it taste strong without
risking a caffein over dose?

Last time I made some at home my heart kept racing...

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maxander
Decaf? Probably not at most cafes, but if you're making it at home.

Of course, the _better_ answer is to simply gradually increase your caffeine
tolerance until a pint of cold brew has no effect. :)

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TJSomething
Additionally, if you can find a caf and a decaf version of the same coffee,
you can brew half-caf coffee.

One thing is that you need to use high-end decaf. I've found that decaf using
the Mountain Water Process is good.

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randallsquared
The percentage of caffeine removed varies widely in "decaf". Some decaf has
almost no caffeine remaining, while other varieties basically are _already_
"half-caf".

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mrfusion
What's the best way to filter the grounds out of cold brew when you make it?

I tried pouring it through a coffee filter and strangest thing. None of the
liquid would go through? Do you needy or water to open the "pores" in the
filter or something ?

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firloop
Don't make cold brew that often but I have fine results with filling a french
press with coarsely ground coffee, room temperature water and sticking it in
my fridge for 18-24 hours.

When it's done I just use the metal filter in the french press to filter it,
but this is all assuming you're OK with a tiny bit of sediment at the bottom
of your cup.

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doppelganger27
I use the french press metal filter to catch the majority of the grounds, but
then pour through a paper filter to get the finer sediment out.

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lj3
Does anybody here know the difference between normal cold brewed coffee and
Black Blood of the Earth? BBotE tastes better to me (less bitterness, fewer
jitters, more caffeine) but I don't know why.

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sebbean
Iced Americannooos!!

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gncb
You can actually rush the processes and get great results.

[https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-
coffee](https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee)

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rgloeckner
thank you very much for the link! my favourite coffee roaster here in Germany
sells the traditional tools from Hario which is from South Korea. This seems
the most coffee crazy country in the world...

