COOL BEANS

The first sip is a revelation. It looks like iced coffee, smells like iced coffee, but where was all the acidity? That unpleasant tang of over-roasted beans or burnt, then cooled coffee? Nowhere to be found, thank God. Without a doubt, it was the smoothest, purest cup of coffee (not just iced coffee, but pure, unadulterated coffee) I’d ever had. It was love at first sip.

Cold-brewed iced coffee isn’t new in the industry – it isn’t even new to Datz – but Tampanians are rediscovering these cool beans in a whole new way which is making our baristas very excited. We make our cold coffee with a contraption called a Yama cold-brew siphon—a 4-foot tower of twisting glass pipes and jars, which drips one drop per second for 13-16 hours to make a lighter concentrate that we believe retains more of the beans’ original character than other cold-brew methods. Plus, it’s just pretty cool to look at.

Don’t believe us… check out this video from Yama Cold Brew

HOW-TO: COLD BREW ICED COFFEE
Of course, we’d love it if you came by Datz to try our cold brew coffee, but since we are food lovers too,  here’s how you might do it at home, MacGuyver style. (This method requires some planning—it needs to steep for 12 hours—but fans of the smooth, nutty brew it creates say it’s worth the wait.)

Ingredients:
1 lb. coarse Kahwa coffee grounds (about 5 1/2 cups);
64 oz. (8 cups) room-temperature water;
1 gallon of cold water, milk or cream

Tools: long-handled spoon, 1-gallon jar, bowl or bucket, for brewing; very fine sieve, permanent coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth, 48-oz. carafe; ice-filled tall glasses

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Directions: Place grounds in a 1-gallon brewing container. Slowly pour 64 oz. of room-temperature water over the grounds, then stir with a long-handled spoon. Let steep at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours, stirring occasionally.

After 12 to 16 hours, filter the coffee concentrate into a 48-oz. carafe using a very fine sieve, permanent coffee filter or several layers of cheesecloth. Pour the coffee concentrate into ice-filled tall glasses, diluting it with cold water, milk or cream to taste, taking into account the dilution that will come from the ice as it melts. Cover the carafe and store unused coffee concentrate in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Looking for more iced coffee alternatives? Check out this story by tbt*s Janet Keeler

Tags: cold brew, cold coffee, Datz Tampa, iced coffee, YAMA, YAMA Cold Brew