Guide

All cold coffee? Trend drink cold brew

27.7.2018

Translation: machine translated

Cold brew coffee has arrived in Switzerland at the latest since the big coffee company with the green logo started offering it. Because it is extracted with cold water, cold brew is said to be less bitter and sour. I tested two types.

In principle, cold brew is very easy to brew: Pour water over the coffee, leave to stand for several hours, filter out the powder, that's it. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, there are various methods of making the cold brew. The main differences are the "immersion" method and the "coffee dripper". "Immersion" means that the coffee powder is extracted in water for hours. With the dripper, on the other hand, water drips onto the powder and extracts the coffee drop by drop. So much for the theory. The practice is more complicated. How much coffee powder do I need? What grind should my coffee powder have? How long should I extract the coffee?

Cold brew maker (left) vs. dripper (right)

Learning from the master

I need help and I'm getting it from a star of the Swiss coffee scene: Emi Fukahori won the supreme discipline "Barista" at the Swiss Coffee Championships in 2015 and has been running Kaffee Mame in Zurich since the end of 2016 together with her partner Mathieu Theis (who recently came third at the World Barista Championships). At Mame, I find out for myself what cold brew should taste like. Emi offers me a cold coffee with floral notes, perfectly balanced, not too bitter, not too acidic. "Cold brew is relatively easy to make," says the Japanese-born brewer. "You need 10 grams of coffee for every 100 grams of water." In the coffee world, water is also measured in grams and not millilitres.

"You set your grinder to the coarsest setting, so I wouldn't experiment too much. Leave the coffee to infuse for eight hours and then taste it. If it's too flat and too watery, leave it to extract for a little longer." Of course, the beans are essential. Beans that are roasted too dark, as used for espresso, are too bitter. Medium or light roasts are better. "You have to experiment a little. Everyone likes their coffee differently, I can't give you a patent recipe". The expert also recommends the coarsest grind and 10 grams per 100 grams of water for the dripper. Because every dripper has different properties, I should stick to the recipe provided. It just takes as long as it takes for the water to drip completely through the coffee. With the master's tips and a sinfully expensive pack of coffee in my luggage, I set off on my "cold brew" mission.

Master of her craft: coffee in all its forms is a passion for Emi Fukahori.

My first Meth coffee lab

I set up my test lab in the office and feel like Walter White on Breaking Bad. The Coffee Dripper could just as easily be used to produce drugs in a fucked-up caravan. The Cold Brew Maker, on the other hand, is much more harmless. It works like a large teapot, the coffee goes into the sieve and then floats in the water for 8 hours. I ground the coffee at home, on the coarsest setting. 100 grams for the standard method, 60 grams for the dripper. I have it with me in a plastic grip in proper style. If you're going to use Methlab, then do it properly.

There really is coffee in these bags. I swear!

Cold brew maker

Nothing can really go wrong with this method. I put the coffee in the filter and slowly pour a litre of water over the powder. All I have to do is make sure that I don't pour in water too quickly, otherwise it will overflow.

Always pour well: Cold brew is prepared with cold water.

In the first few hours, cold brew looks more like iced tea. — Always pour well: Cold brew is prepared with cold water.

Coffee Dripper

Here, too, I first put coffee in the filter and then the tank goes on top. Here, I first have to make sure that the valve is closed, otherwise the water will run out of the bottom too early. I have to open the valve slowly and adjust it so that about one drop of water per second falls onto the ground coffee. The dripper needs a lot of love, I have to keep adjusting the valve because less and less water finds its way onto the coffee. If only it paid off...

Ice-cold reckoning

While the coffee in the dripper was "already" ready to drink after four hours, I stuck to the eight hours recommended by Emi for the cold brew maker. The shorter dripper version is darker in colour. It is also amazing how different the two variants taste. While the classic cold brew is very balanced between bitter and sour, the bitter notes dominate in the dripper without being too much. I can't identify a clear favourite - both variants have their appeal. Or as the motto of Emi's "Mame" says: "The best coffee is the coffee you like".

I like them both: cold brew in the Bereiter (left) and from the dripper (right).

French presses

Dripster cold brew dripper

0.50 l

French presses

WMF Cold Brew Coffee Time

1.20 l

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Simon Balissat

Teamleader Editorial

Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.ch

When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.

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