Take it from us - a good cold brew is hard to come by, and even harder to make. While we can’t give away all of our brew secrets at Explorer, we want to make sure your cold brew standards are up to par, so that you’re enjoying the most delicious cold brew around, which is ours - of course, we’re only a little biased! Making cold brew at home can get messy and be inconsistent (that’s why we love our concentrate!), but here are some tips in case you’d like to give it a go yourself.
1. A Medium to Dark Roast
It can be very difficult to make a full-bodied cold brew using a light roast. Oftentimes, with a light roast, the cold brew will come out much thinner and less flavorful. At Explorer, we use a medium roast, for we find it has the best of both worlds when it comes to the light and dark roasts. It achieves the perfect balance of light, bright, and zesty, while also maintaining the deep flavor of a dark roast.
2. Coarse Bean Grind
With cold brew, when using a finer grind, you run the risk of over-extraction, as well as a more difficult straining process. The grind size for cold brew should resemble a coarse salt, so that each ground is roughly distinct.
3. The Right Bean to Water Ratio
A standard cold brew go-to ratio is one pound of ground coffee beans to one gallon of water. If you want a smaller batch - or a more refrigerator-space-friendly ratio - try using a quarter pound of beans to four cups of water. Be careful with your ratio because you might accidentally end up making a concentrate!
4. High Quality Beans
As with any brewing method, high quality coffee beans can take your brew to the next level. At Explorer, we use a single-origin washed coffee from the Sidamo and Yirgacheffe regions of Ethiopia. Our Arabica beans are the best of the best - they are in the top 3% of beans produced world wide, as well as 100% organic and specialty grade.
If you’d rather not get wrapped up in the nitty gritty of the cold brew process, our Explorer Cold Brew Concentrate is here to save you from the extra sweat!
Keep Exploring,
The Explorer Team