I turned on the weather forecast on my phone, and the screen was full of 30-degree temperatures. This time, summer and scorching heat are really coming! Why don’t you hurry up and arrange all kinds of iced coffee! ! !
When it comes to the most popular types of iced coffee at home, cold brew (cold brew) must be on the list. Make a pot before going to bed, throw it in the refrigerator, filter it and drink it immediately when you wake up. It can be called "good news for lazy people". But a friend sent me a question: Can I add some milk to the prepared cold brew?
Through the conversation, Front Street learned that this friend did not have a coffee machine at home, but the first thing she wanted to do when she got up every morning was to drink a cup of iced coffee with milk. Among the many simple versions of coffee, cold brew was the one she was best at, but she didn’t know how to add milk to the brewed coffee liquid to make it taste better.
So, can you add milk to cold brew coffee?
The answer is: Of course~ Filtered cold brew coffee is delicious, and milk is delicious, so there is no problem in tasting the two together. Furthermore, the addition of fresh milk can not only soften the impurities caused by coffee powder during low-temperature extraction, but also add a touch of smoothness and smoothness to the coffee, improving the drinking experience.
However, in order to have the aroma of coffee without losing the sweetness of milk, we have to find a harmonious ratio between coffee powder, water and milk.
How to make cold brew coffee with milk?
In fact, all coffee beans can be used to make cold brew, but because iced coffee is cool and mellow, you should give priority to medium-light roasted coffee beans for the best results. When making at home, buy cold brew coffee beans such as Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Blackberry, and Mozart, which can produce strong floral and fruity aromas. If you can't tolerate sour coffee, you can try beans with mostly nutty flavors such as Front Street Bird of Paradise and Front Street Queen's Manor.
Since the cold brewing process is carried out in a low-temperature environment, the extraction efficiency of cold water on coffee powder is relatively slow. Compared with hot water extraction, bitter substances are not easily released. Therefore, the grinding degree, powder-to-water ratio, and soaking time are not as rigorous as Pour over(V60) coffee. Usually, as long as it falls roughly within a range and the coffee beans are selected correctly, a cup of delicious iced coffee can be made in a few simple steps.
Take the daily cold brew production of Front Street as an example. The grinding degree of the coffee beans will be slightly finer than that of hand brewing, that is, the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve will filter 75 to 80%. The naked eye is about the level of fine granulated sugar, which corresponds to the 9.5 to 10 scale of EK43s. The hand-cranked coffee grinder, taking C40 as an example, is about 22 to 26 grids.
Next, pour the ground coffee powder into a clean container, which can be a special cold brew pot or a mineral water bottle. Add room temperature water at a ratio of 1:10 powder to water. Stir evenly and seal it with plastic wrap. Put it in the refrigerator to soak for more than 8 hours (within 12 hours is best). Finally, use filter paper to separate the coffee grounds, which completes the preparation for the cold brew part.
The powder-to-water ratio of cold brew is generally the issue that everyone is most concerned about. Front Street believes that if you taste it directly without adding anything else, you can use a powder-to-water ratio of 1:12 to 1:13, because the black coffee made in this range has the highest palatability and the aroma is more fully acquired. But considering that we have to add fresh milk at the end, we need to increase the concentration of the coffee so that it will not be "diluted" too much later. Front Street here recommends making it at a ratio of 1:10 to 1:11.
Finally, it’s time to pour the milk
In order to find a ratio with a better taste, Front Street did a small experiment with two cold brew coffees (Panama 90+ Gesha and Panama Levitra Estate) that were prepared in the refrigerator. He added ice milk to three equal cups of cold brew in the ratio of 1:1, 1:0.8, and 1:0.6 (Front Street used Guangming Fresh Ranch), that is, 100 grams, 80 grams, and 60 grams of milk were added to 100 grams of coffee liquid.
We found that the two coffees performed generally in the first group. Both were overly milky and had almost no coffee aroma in the mouth. The taste of the latter two groups is relatively balanced. The 90+ Geisha, which expresses the aroma of fermented wine, has the best taste in the 1:0.8 group, while the Levitra, which emphasizes the juice flavor, has the best flavor in the 1:0.6 group.
Therefore, Front Street believes that the amount of fresh milk can be judged based on the type of cold brew coffee beans. Dark roasted coffee with nutty and chocolate flavors is suitable for use at 1:1, wine-flavored and cocoa-flavored beans can be mixed at a ratio of 1:0.8, while cold brew made with acidic coffee beans such as berries and citrus and milk can be controlled at around 1:0.6.
If you don’t have a grinder, you can still make coffee with ear-mounted coffee pods
In addition to the steps mentioned above, a clever friend also thought of using a hanging coffee bag to make cold brew. As long as there is a refrigerator at home, in addition to the most important hanging coffee, a cup with a lid can be prepared immediately.
In terms of sequence, it is actually almost the same as the conventional cold brewing method. You also need to pay attention to the proportion of coffee powder, water and milk. For specific operations, you can refer to the graphic tutorial published by Front Street. However, since the filter paper has been changed into an ear-hanging bag made of non-woven fabric, it will take a little longer to wait for the coffee liquid to filter, so you need to be patient~
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
