Video: How Good Can Cold Brew Coffee Get?

*Apologies for the extra notification here: there was an issue with the ad-free version of the video going out which is why we're resending this post.

I wasn't sure I'd ever make this video for a few reasons: I've never been the biggest fan of cold brew, and what I might enjoy more may not align with what folks who enjoy cold brew would prefer.

What changed was that we focused on a problem worth solving: cold brew recipes tend to be very wasteful. Coffee is expensive, and any recipe that has you underextract on purpose is (to me anyway!) bad.

I will admit that we had hoped to find something more in the testing we did. We experimented extensively with techniques like gas flushing to improve flavour preservation, but it only added more cost and inconvenience for no noticeable benefits. Other antioxidants (that people could readily access) just made the taste weird. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the comparative tasting at the end; it was nice to have both my expectations met and confounded!

The discovery of beer finings came as a surprise to us, mostly because it didn't seem like other people had previously explored this topic. I was also pleased that the best one we tested wasn't derived from animals. It's a fun addition, but I wouldn't claim it as essential to the recipe. It is just a nice improvement, for not very much money.

If you regularly drink cold brew, I hope you'll give this technique a try. I also hope it encourages you to explore new coffee options that fit your budget and your preferred taste profile. If you do try it - let us know how it goes!

Our Cold Brew Recipe:

• 75g coffee, ground to a fine mokapot or AeroPress setting, or around a 250 micron burr gap. (If you're worried, then I'd err on the side of slightly finer than slightly coarser)

• 1L water suitable for filter coffee, room temperature

• 10 drops of fining agent - optional (we chose the Mangrove Jack’s Liquid Beer Finings - other fining agents do work, use the recommended dose from the package)

• Stir to make sure everything is completely mixed. You can be heavy-handed with your stirring here.

• Put a lid on your container and leave for 12 hours in the fridge, for the grounds to settle.

• Gently pour off the liquid into a carafe. Take care to stop pouring when close to the coffee sediment

A link to the fining agent we used: https://mangrovejacks.com/products/liquid-beer-finings https://mangrovejacks.com/pages/stockists

Our new pour-over setup still life print from TensHundredsThousands: https://geni.us/THT-Still-Life