Easy, At-Home Pumpkin Cold Brew
Cold brew is a popular drink year round. Whether you need something cold to beat the heat or something refreshing and creamy for a cool morning, cold brew is the way to go.
Being that it was still hot and humid in mid-October, we made some pumpkin cold brew for ourselves. (Funny enough, as soon as we started making cold brew it dropped below 70 degrees… nice and cool for South Texas. Still delicious and enjoyable!)
There are two methods of brewing when it comes to cold brew: making a concentrate and brewing ready-to-drink coffee.
Cold brew concentrate has to be mixed with additional water or milk later on so that the coffee isn’t too thick and dark. We wanted to avoid the additional mixing and make a cold brew that we could pour and enjoy right away.
The Ingredients
For a small batch of cold brew coffee that is just right for two people (probably even 3 or 4 people depending on your typical consumption), you’ll want to have:
½ cup of coffee grounds (50 grams for a full French press)
4 cups of cold water (~32 oz of cold water for a full French press)
In honor of October and pumpkin lovers everywhere, we used our Pumpkin Spice Coffee grounds from HEB in our cold brew.
The Taste
We steeped the coffee two different ways to get a better insight into the taste profile!
12 Hours: We steeped the first batch overnight for twelve hours and filtered it using our French press. It held the same great vanilla and cinnamon spice flavors that we enjoyed in the hot coffee. The twelve hour steep was really easy on our stomachs and did not leave behind that acidic discomfort that hot coffee can occasionally leave.
Mr. Brew and I also added a little bit of creamer (plain half & half) to our cold brew and it made the coffee even creamier. It mixed well and took out the sharp coffee flavor that the plain black cold brew has.
24 Hours: This brew definitely has a stronger coffee flavor, even with half & half. With the hot coffee and the 12 hour steep, I was able to smell the pumpkin instead of taste it. After the 24 hour steep I can taste more of the pumpkin blended with the vanilla and spice. It is really refreshing and creamy!
Your turn!
Grab your favorite coffee and grind/weigh out 50 grams of it. Place in a French press or a glass jar. Fill with cold water to the top (approximately 32 oz). Cover and set in the fridge for at least twelve hours. Then press (or strain), pour, and enjoy! This is an easy way to reduce the acidity in your coffee as the cold steep process releases less acidic compounds than a hot brew.
Cheers,
Mrs. Brew