’tis the season…for cold brew!
I know – not hot compared to most parts of the country! It does cool overnight and as the temp goes up, the dewpoint goes down and humidity is typically in the mid-twenties, i.e. feels like no humidity, but not as dry as the southwest.
But all is relative and I, like my Mama “run hot”, so humidity or not – upper 80’s/low 90’s is HOT.
The A/C has been out and on since July 3. Well, it is on late morning through late evening.
It IS the season for cold brew coffee!
Years ago, as in more than 20 – when I lived in Los Angeles, California and spent most work days on the UCLA campus – I often walked to a nearby coffee shop early afternoon and bought what they called an iced mocha. It was frothy, but not slushy. The coffee was strong enough to stand up to the milk and slight bit of chocolate. It was not super sweet. I thought it was perfect and up until several years ago when Pioneer Woman published her iced coffee method ( Perfect Iced Coffee ) – I’ve not had anything that came close to that iced mocha.
That post also introduced me to Café Bustelo Espresso. Although I do sometimes make this hot in the Chemex, I mostly use it to do the cold brew. The ratio I like for the cold brew is 1 oz. coffee to 4 cups water.
I usually make the brew in a largish pitcher: 3 oz coffee with 6 cups water, stir and let it sit at least overnight but I like to start it one morning and filter it the next.
Then… 8 oz cold brew, 2 oz milk*, a scant tsp of maple syrup, a splash of vanilla extract and 4 ice cubes go in the VitaMix.
The 4 ice cubes…well, I found that if I add more than 4, I get granita instead a drink – 4 is the perfect number to get a frothy mix.
For an iced mocha, I add 1 tablespoon of Hershey’s dark with the other ingredients.
It’s good – the first time I made this, I thought immediately of the Iced Mochas of days gone by. I don’t like the heat and cannot help myself counting the days until Fall, but a little cold brew in my day keeps me slightly less grumpy :) !!
***Update So, since posting this I’ve made a “spicy” iced mocha: Above with the cocoa plus 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper and 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Also forgot to note that in all of the mixes, I add a pinch of salt. Sounds funny, but a pinch of salt in most things amps the flavors.
***The milk – I don’t use a lot of milk unless I’m making cheese and the local dairy’s smallest whole milk container is 1/2 gallon which I just do not use before it goes bad. I started using the Peak Dry Whole milk 2 winters ago and it is wonderful. I mix up slightly less than 2 cups (350 ml) and store in a mason jar – perfect for my use for several days.
