Cold brew coffee is steadily gaining popularity as the world’s favorite coffee because of its taste and caffeine content of cold brew can satisfy any coffee lover. Hence, although hot coffee is still the most well-known coffee, cold brew coffee is rising in every café and home as it is easy to make yet incredibly delicious.
Anyone who has tried making cold-brewing coffee will know you can produce a lot of coffee with a quite simple process. Hence, storing your homemade coffee can be a problem. With this article, you will get everything you need to know about the storage of cold brew coffee in fridge or room temperature?
Contents
What is cold brew coffee, its recipe, and how to brew?
If you find this article, you may have already been a fan of this smooth and tasty drink. Yet, for those who come across this article and wonder about this drink and the hype around it, let’s take a moment to explain the wonder of cold brew.
One popular misconception about this drink is that cold brew is the same as iced coffee. However, the two drinks are completely different. While iced coffee is the traditionally brewed coffee served with ice, cold brew coffee has a distinct brewing process that extracts more coffee and caffeine in a longer time.
Normally, coffee is brewed with hot water. When coming in contact with hot water, coffee grounds will extract coffee much faster, making this process convenient and popular ever since coffee existed. However, the downside of this process is that the fast extraction may not extract all the caffeine in coffee, making coffee taste bitter and have lower caffeine content.
Hence, for those who love coffee with a higher content of caffeine, cold brewed coffee is the ideal option. To make this coffee, the coffee ground will be brewed with cold water, which takes a much longer time for the coffee extraction to happen (around 8-12 hours) yet allows the extraction process to be much more thorough. Hence, cold brew coffee will have a higher content of caffeine.
Thus, since coffee does not meet hot water, there will be no bitter taste when it comes to this drink. Hence, for those who dislike coffee for its bitter taste, cold brewing can be a great reintroduction to coffee.
Cold brew coffee is delicious and versatile. You can pair it with any kind of milk you want or simply dilute the concentrated form in water and enjoy a cold brew alone. Hence, you should give this coffee a try if you have never tasted cold brew.
Further reading: 10 Best Starbucks Iced Coffee Drink: 2021 Updated List
Fridge or room temperature, how to store cold brew?
Brewing it in fridge or room temp? Making cold brew can be an easy and convenient process if you know all the steps. All you have to do is to put roast coffee grounds and water in a mason jar and let the coffee steep for the required time. The only rule that you have to keep while making cold brew is to not put hot water in contact with your coffee ground. Hence, you can never fail with cold brew.
Yet, if you are a beginner, you may want to learn to store your cold brew in different places during different processes.
Storing cold brew in the brewing process
You can leave your cold brew coffee in the fridge of your counter during the process. Yet, remember the time difference. The process will be much faster at room temperature compared to that of the fridge. You will need to brew your coffee for 24 hours in the fridge and 12 hours at room temperature. Hence, if you need cold brew fast, you should leave it at your counter overnight to save time.
Storing cold brew after the process (save time)
If you do not consume your cold brew right after the coffee is done with brewing, you have to put your cold brew in the fridge.
Thus, keeping your cold brew in the fridge after the making process will enhance the stability, texture, and aroma of your cold brew coffee. Hence, you should always keep your cold brew in the fridge after its process.
FAQs
Does cold brew need to be stored in the refrigerator? (keep cold to store longer)
Yes, if you want your cold brew to last for a long time and do not drink it immediately after the coffee extraction process, your cold brew must be refrigerated. Once your cold brew is done with the coffee extraction process, it can easily be spoiled at room temperature.
How long does cold brew last?
Cold brew coffee can last around 7-10 days in your fridge or up to 2 months in your freezer. Hence, if you want to prepare a batch of cold brew coffee for a busy week, you can make a huge jar of cold brew and consume it throughout the week conveniently.
What can I do to make my cold brew last longer? (important cold brew tip)
You should pay attention to the container of your cold brew coffee. You may see the image of cold brew in a mason jar a lot. This is because a mason jar or a glass bottle is the best way to store your cold brew in the fridge. These jars can maintain the quality as well as the taste of this coffee.
It is best to refrain from using plastic bottles because plastic particles can be mixed with your coffee during the long storing process, making your coffee taste off and even become unhealthy.
Another tip to store your cold brew for longer is to store your cold brew in its concentrated form. In other words, you should add nothing to your cold brew until you drink it. If you already add milk or water to your cold brew, you should consume it within 2 days and keep it in the fridge at all times.
Can you freeze cold brew?
Yes, you can freeze your cold brew in the fridge if you want it to last for much longer. Yet, since the freezing process can change the composition of food, your cold brew may have an altered texture and taste after the freezing process.
Conclusion
Now you have had everything you need to know about whether you should store your cold brew coffee in fridge or room temperature. You can store your cold brew in both the fridge and your counter during its process. Yet, once this process is done, you should always put your cold brew in your fridge to maintain the best quality of your cold brew for a long time.
You need to know:
