Cold brewed coffee
It was October when I first moved to England, and one of my earliest memories was the changing colours of the leaves…and the shocking amount of tea people drink here.
The etiquette around tea is also something the British don’t joke about, it is close to a crime here to get up to make yourself a cup of tea and not ask whether anyone else in the room wants one.
I think this strong tea culture froze the progress of coffee. Literally, freeze dried coffee is what you’ll get if you ask for one.
It looks like they left that for the continent to deal with.
Growing up in Brazil there were no other alternatives but to have coffee in the morning and a little shot in the afternoon to keep you awake in the heat. I only drank tea when I was ill, and to this day I cannot get on board with the drink. I felt I had little choice but to give in to instant coffee and I couldn’t stomach it. But beggars can’t be choosers and grew to accept the taste.
My search for a good brewed coffee continued. Homemade because I just couldn’t afford the Lavazza from my local coffee shop every morning. And then I got a lovely Bodum coffee filter for Christmas. So now I have unleashed this coffee monster that’s been repressed inside me and have been indulging on all different coffee flavours and origins.
In my enthusiasm for unchartered coffee territory I bought several packs, including one just because it had tropical mountains painted in the package, not realising it was too coarsely ground for my filter.
But when you have lemons you make lemonade, or chilled coffee.It turns out coarsely ground coffee is the perfect ingredient to make chilled coffee.
Sorry, not chilled, cold brewed. Chilled coffee can get watery and bitter, a coffee brewed with cold water turns out sweeter. The deep taste hit me like a cold slap in the face.
Add half and half and a spoon of sugar for a nice refreshment drink. I have also used it with chocolate buttercream and in cocktails.
Cold brewed coffee
50g coarse ground coffee
400ml water
Cheese cloth
1. Pour cold water over the coffee in a large sterilised jar
2. Stir gently until well combined, then cover and leave it brewing overnight, for at least 12 hours
3. Strain coffee through a piece of cheese cloth, repeat it a couple more times until there are no grinds left in the liquid
4. You can keep the coffee in a sterilised jar, in the fridge for 4-5 days.
