When the temperature hits triple digits, we reach for a frosty one! Since 2015 we’ve been brewing our own cold brew, evolving from brewing and bottling by-hand to building one of the first commercial cold brew spaces in Spokane. The beauty of cold brew coffee is the simplicity of the recipe. There is also a more complicated and delicious way to brew coffee in the specialty coffee industry. We’ll put both recipes down below for you to try out at home.
Cold brew coffee is simply coarsely ground coffee and room temperature water that brews a concentrate that can be diluted with your choice of water or milk. The most common recipe is to take a gallon of water to a pound of coffee, steep for 18-24 hours, then strain. While this is the simplest recipe, we find that there is an unpleasant “cold brew taste” that ends up tasting more like a coffee-liqueur than iced coffee. By brewing a portion of our cold brew with hot water and chilling it with cold water, we find more of a silky, sweet, iced coffee that’s ready to drink without any dilution needed. In other words, we prefer a hot water bloom first, then added cold water.
Don’t take our word for it though, try these recipes out for yourself and tell us what you think!
Things you’ll need:
1 dope bag of Roast House Coffee ground coarse (like a French Press)
1 paper filter
1 gallon filtered water
A bucket or massive bowl that can hold a gallon of water
Traditional Cold Brew Recipe
1 pound of coarse ground coffee (we like to use Peru Rutas del Inca for a chocolatey brew)
1 gallon of room temp filtered water
- In a container, pour all your water and coffee. Give it a nice stir and let sit for 24 hours on the countertop.
- After 24 hours, filter the coffee and water through a paper filter for a clean brew or a strainer for quicker filtration.
- Dilute to your taste, we typically dig equal parts cold brew concentrate to water or milk over ice.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Fancy Pants Cold Brew Recipe
1 pound of coarse ground coffee (we like to use Ethiopia Mormora for a fruity and floral cold brew)
1.5 gallon of filtered water
- In a container, pour all your coffee and ½ gallon of hot water just off the boil (212 F). Give it a nice stir and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Pour the remaining gallon of room temp filtered water and let it sit for 24 hours on the countertop.
- Filter the coffee and water through a paper filter for a clean brew or a strainer for quicker filtration.
- Enjoy over ice straight up!
- Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
