Indie Cold Brew - Independence Coffee Co. Review
Temperatures have stayed above 100 degrees in Texas for several days, making it difficult to enjoy a cup of hot coffee. Cold brew coffee is the best way to beat the heat. If you are in a similar predicament, Independence Coffee (roasters of Jet Fuel, one of my favorites) created an easy to use cold brew kit that can help simplify your cold brew routine!
We snagged the Madalyn’s Backyard Pecan blend from their Indie Cold Brew line up. It comes with 6 pre-measured cold brew ready pouches and easy to follow instructions to make a cold brew concentrate. Per their brewing instructions you use 1 pouch, which weighs about 59-60 grams (I usually brew using 50 g), and add 16 oz of cold water to it. Then put it in the fridge and let it steep for at least 12 hours.
Using only 16 oz of water created a cold brew concentrate that could then be separated for two or three drinks and diluted. After steeping, we yielded about 12 oz of coffee, which we split into between the two of us. Before we diluted, I tried a sip of the concentrate and it was strong! The coffee was bitter and the pecans were very aromatic but overpowered by a coffee aroma.
We diluted it on a 1:1 ratio, equal parts coffee and water. This helped balance out the bitterness and left us with an enjoyable earthiness that wasn’t watered down. It has a strong pecan flavor that tastes pleasantly dry at times. I picked up elements of a nutty sweetness at the back of the sip, where Mr. Brew tasted more of a grassy element. Drinking it black was very smooth and enjoyable.
When we added a splash of milk to test out the impacts of creamer, it reduced some of the earthy-nuttiness that we tasted. The coffee was more subdued and let more of the sweet-nuttiness emerge instead.
Although it was simple and easy to use, I prefer using the freshly ground whole beans and brewing a full French press, rather than creating a concentrate first.
However! If you don’t drink a large quantity of coffee, this is a great method of brewing! The concentrate can easily be separated into three equal servings (per package recommendations) and saved for later. For a lot of busy people, the ability to prepare the drink ahead of time in this way will reduce the stress on their coffee routine.
Barista Tip: Pour your cold water over the grounds pouch rather than putting the grounds in after measuring the water. This helps to saturate all the grounds, reduces your need to stick your fingers in the brew, and helps to begin the steeping process right away.
Don’t let the heat get the best of your caffeine kick this summer!
Cheers,
Mrs. Brew
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