Cold Brew Twist... Make it Dirty

This addition makes a killer cold brew

Summer is in full swing which means most people are drinking more cold brew than hot coffee these days.

Myself included.

I’m a total coffee purist and rarely like additives. Great coffee speaks for itself and should be enjoyed.

On the rare occasion, tho, I like to switch it up and indulge with a few luxe items.

On top of your standard cold brew with an ice cube, I find a splash of homemade caramel syrup with a dash of 1/2 & 1/2 is extremely satisfying and makes for a special treat to be savored.

This works especially well fruit forward coffees that have great natural acidity including some Kenya and Ethiopia coffees.

If you still have July roasts from the Octopod Premium coffee mailout, the Colombian from Luis Vicente would also crush 🙌 Tasting notes of chocolate, pineapple and passion fruit.

You get the idea, but first things first.

Cold Brew at Home

Are you making cold brew at home?

You should be.

It’s nearly completely hands off and the magic of time does the work for you.

Here’s my current home process

Brewer: Toddy is what I use, they have a bigger (original) model that is great for larger batches. (more info on my favorite coffee brewers)

I use this and have enough cold brew for 5-7 days so I’m brewing ~1x a week.

This will make a concentrate that you dilute down.

Some people say 1x or 2x dilution.. truth is it all depends on your beans and the extraction so I go by my own taste. (they have a smaller maker that will give about 400 ml of concentrate... if you're an occasional drinker; just will brew more often if you really get into it).

Grind: use a coarse grind like between a filter pourer and French press… espresso and fine grinds will clump, clog your filter and fuck up your extraction.

I go ~18 hours but you can try anywhere form 12-24.

Quality beans are most important.

The long cold extraction produces a lower acid and smooth mouthfeel meaning aromatics have nothing to hide behind. Last month I made a cold brew that was like juicy cherries and choclate… literally bursting out of the glass.

I use 12oz ground coffee to 7 cups re-mineralized water. (Water is also extremely important; I’ve written on that in a recent substack with easy options)

Dirty Cold Brew

So once you have your cold brew and favorite 1/2 & 1/2 all you need is to make this simple delicious caramel-vanilla syrup which is ready in 15 mins.

You can scale up the recipe if you want more but I think only a dash of this is necessary. It is really tasty though and can pour over ice cream, fresh fruit and yogurt, etc.

Salted Caramel-Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup of water (divided)

3/4 c white sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

Method:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and ½ cup water. Heat over medium-high heat until it begins to simmer, swirling the pan occasionally if necessary but avoid stirring with a spoon.

Once the sugar is completely dissolved, reduce heat to medium, Continue to simmer for ~10 minutes until a light golden amber color appears.

While the sugar syrup is cooking heat the remaining water in a microwave or kettle. Adding hot water will help avoid crystal formation. 

Once the light golden color appears, remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully stir (or whisk) in the remaining hot water into the caramel syrup. 

The syrup may splatter so be careful. 

If any syrup hardens, continue whisking and return to med-low heat if needed until dissolved. Stir in the salt and vanilla extract, making sure the salt is dissolved.

Cool to room temp then store in an airtight container.

Final Assembly:

Take your cold brew concentrate and dilute (see above), add a dash of salted caramel-vanilla syrup and splash of 1/2 & 1/2 to taste.

Sit back… relax… savor the simply luxury of a great dirty cold brew 🙌

Stay tuned for the reveal of August roasts for Octopod Premium Coffee… don’t miss it!