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What is the difference between Cold Brew and Iced Coffee?
We are sticking with the summer drink theme and following up our last blog post on the Espresso Tonic with the difference between two of the most popular cafe drink choices: Cold Brew and Iced Coffee. Although these are both cold coffee drinks, there are some key differences between the two coffee drinks.
Difference in making Iced Coffee and Cold Brew
Iced Coffee is simply regularly brewed coffee on the rocks (served over ice). Making Cold Brew isn't as easy. Good things take time! To make Cold Brew start by steeping coarse-ground coffee in cold water for at least 12-hours. The longer you let it sit, the stronger flavor your Cold Brew will have. After you are done steeping, filter out the grounds. You then mix the coffee-concentrate with milk or water. Serve it over ice and you are good to go!
Difference in flavor between Iced Coffee and Cold Brew
Iced Coffee will have a lighter and thiner taste due to the melting ice. It is brewed double strength and tends to be more acidic and bitter than a Cold Brew. This is because Iced Coffee uses heat instead of time to extract the caffeine, oils, and sugars from the coffee. Cold Brew is never exposed to heat and will have a smoother, sweeter, and chocolatey taste to it. You can still add milk to either and the ice will tend to water down both drinks.
Why is Cold Brew more caffeinated than Iced Coffee?
Another big difference is that the Cold Brew concentrate is 2X as caffeinated as regular coffee. This is because Cold Brew does not use heat in the brewing process, which would extract caffeine. Because Cold Brew has less acid than Iced Coffee, people that need to cut back on caffeinated or acidic drinks due to health reasons may choose Cold Brew over regular coffee, if they can't cut out coffee completely from their diet. It's believed that Cold Brew origins date back to 16th century China, so this drink has been around for a while!
Check out our friends at Humblemaker Coffee Co. for perfectly balanced cold-brew coffee shots, along with their single-origin beans delivered to your door.
