A Whole New Kind of Cold Brew

Prague’s cafes and independent brewers are jumping on board the cold-brew coffee craze just in time for summer. This is different from iced coffee, generally made hot and poured over ice to cool. Cold brew refers to an entirely different brewing method.

To make cold-brew coffee, fresh roasted beans are ground to about the same size used in a French press. Then they’re combined with cold or room temperature water in a sealed container for a long period of time. The temperature of the water and length of time can vary, and change the flavor.

F.H Prager, better known for their cider, brews their Café Zapatista cold brew with Mexican coffee beans and 5°C (41° F) water in a stainless steel tank for about thirty hours. Colt Brew prefers Guatemalan beans in 21° C (70° F) water in stainless steel for about twenty hours. After brewing, the grounds are filtered out of the liquid and it’s ready to drink. Just like with hot brewed coffee, some people prefer to add milk and sugar, while others take it black.

There are two man differences between hot and cold brewed coffee. First, cold brewing produces much less acidity, giving the coffee a smoother taste, and often bringing out subtleties from the beans. Many drinkers report tasting more citrus or chocolate-y notes in the coffee. Second, the caffeine quotient is higher – think energy drink more than morning cup. This might come in handy as summer nights get longer, but could also leave those with a lower tolerance feeling jittery.

What beverage isn’t more fun with booze? We asked some of Prague’s cold brew coffee pioneers for their ideas on creating cocktails with their products.

*serve in a margarita glass over ice

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