What is cold brew coffee? Why is it more expensive than iced coffee?

P.C.: Liquidline

Cold-brew coffee. Another coffee drink that takes seconds to sway the heart of millennials after just one sip. It is the highlight of the menu for many high-end coffee franchises around the world.

As you must be feeling bittersweet and recalling the hefty amount on the receipt of your last order of cold brew, why don’t we go ahead and find out the charming properties of this inexpensive yet delicious drink?

What is cold brew coffee?

Now, before you get confused, let’s be clear, cold brew coffee is not the same as your other caffeinated drink, iced coffee. Iced coffee is nothing more, but your regular drip coffee, poured over ice and served, whereas cold brew coffee is far more than that.

The essence of the cold brew coffee is its brewing time. Cold-brew coffee uses coarse ground coffee for its preparation. Coarse-ground coffee is soaked in cold filtered water for 12-24 hours. The grounds are then filtered out, and you are left with this high coffee concentration, ready to be served with milk or over ice. The reason behind using coarse-ground coffee is – the presence of chunks in it makes it a perfect choice for a balanced extraction.

The long steeping hours of the cold brew allow it to extract flavors such as coffee’s oils, caffeine, and sugars, resulting in a drink less acidic and less bitter than your regular drip coffee. The extraction of flavours helps this coffee achieve a slightly creamier profile, making it sweeter and smoother. Therefore, excluding the need of adding extra cream or sugar.

P.C.: Cookie and Kate

A high concentration of caffeine in cold brew coffee makes it slightly healthier than your regular drip coffee or iced coffee, though this applies only if you don’t load it with calorie-packed creamer and sugar. It is important to note that the experts suggest moderate consumption of caffeine in a day, so you may well stick with the 3-5 cold brew coffees per day. 

Now moving on to our next big question – why is it expensive than iced coffee?

Cold brew coffee is a high caffeine-concentrated coffee. Cold-brew coffee uses three times the amount of ground coffee beans compared to regular coffee. Hence, this makes this strong and prolonged caffeinated drink expensive than your regular drip coffee.

Where it is considered suitable to consume iced coffee only in few hours after it is brewed, the cold brew coffee, on the other hand, can be stored in the refrigerator and consumed for up to 12-14 days.

Doesn’t this caffeinated tastiness qualify to be a little expensive than your regular drip coffee?

If you wish to make your own cold brew coffee, choose medium-dark roast or medium roast coffee beans. Cold-brew coffee made with medium-dark roast brings out the nutty and chocolaty flavour, ensuring a rich and smooth drink. Nevertheless, you are more than free to go ahead and experiment with other formats based on your preference.

Be it medium-dark roast or dark roast format, at the Don Carlos store, we have a great selection of top-quality Italian whole roasted coffee bean options for you to choose from and make your own cold brew coffee at home.