meansoybean

I can’t remember how, but I stumbled upon cold-brew coffee through one of my Google-tangents last week. The discovery was actually timely, since I’ve been looking for a decent coffee supply at the office. The free coffee at work leaves much to be desired; unlike the majority of my fellow office-dwellers, I can’t rely on cow milk/cream to make it palatable.

Though I can get coffee on the outside, I’d have to drive because this area of the island is a car-ridden sprawl. Tim Horton’s “coffee” tastes like flavoured water; obviously geared towards non-coffee drinkers. Starbucks uses push-button machines to make espresso, which is disappointing. And I would never put one of those Nespresso machines on my desk, since I find those individual coffee concentrate containers super wasteful.

So, yes, I thought, cold brew is what I’ve been looking for. I tested a 4:1 ratio (1/4 cup coffee grounds and 1 cup water) and let sit for 12 hours. The result was something that was just a teensy bit stronger than what’s served at Tim’s. For my second try, I was less strict on the proportions and put about 1 1/4 cups of Kenya AA in 4 cups of water for 24 hours. I ended up with a stronger coffee that tasted just fine.

Everything I’ve read says the end product should be “coffee concentrate” that should be diluted with water or milk. Hmm. I’ve read that people only use a few spoonfuls of the stuff at a time, which doesn’t make sense with my cold-brew. So I’m starting to think that my taste buds like strong coffee and, since I don’t want to suffer a heart attack, I’m consuming this batch in smaller quantities, mixed with a big splash of soy milk to taste. This means no large mugs, boohoo. I’ll also add that it’s true that this kind of brewing produces a less acidic coffee that, I find, doesn’t require as much sugar — if at all.

Of course, this means that the coffee and soy milk in the office fridge must be extensively labeled, complete with skull and crossbones. A girl’s got to protect her assets, if you know what I mean!