Cold brewing coffee is a beautiful thing. It’s easy to do at home, and it’s easy to alter ratios and times to get sweet, syrupy notes that can even resemble a liquor taste. Given the right recipe, you can make your cold brew taste like bourbon for a great coffee mocktail or an edgier morning vibe.
It’s easy to cold brew in all kinds of containers, including French presses and Mason jars. Here’s how you do it:
- Get a groovy, medium-roast coffee like our espresso blend Nizza or our fruity Ethiopian Ardi.
- We’re using a 1:4 coffee to water ratio, so depending on the size of your cold brewer, measure out 170g (or 2 cups) of coarsely ground coffee (think sea salt).
- Pour 680g (or 3 cups) of room-temperature water over the grounds, evenly wetting them through and gently stirring out clumps.
- Cover the mixture and leave on the counter for 8-12 hours. No need to refrigerate while it’s brewing.
- After about 10 hours, filter the ground out through a Chemex filter or cheese cloth Cold brewing in a French press makes this part easy, but you’ll get a heavier body on it. Filter through a Chemex filter to get a really clean taste and body for your bourbon-style cold brew.
- Once filtered, stick your cold brew in the fridge. When it’s cold, it should have sweet, bright notes and a distinct liquor taste. If it’s more round and chocolate-y, try decreasing your brew time to closer to 8 hours.
- If you’re feeling really fancy, serve it on a large ice cube with an orange wedge on the side. A dash of simple syrup and you’ve got an Old-Fashioned coffee mocktail.
Pro tip! If you’re more of a Manhattan drinker, make it a blend of Ardi and Nizza for a fruity, complex flavor.