Been craving some cold brew to help beat heat this week? We sure have been. Summer at Armeno definitely means keeping a lot of Dark Roast Blend handy to make the refreshing Armeno cold brew that you know and love. We mainly stick with this blend, a combination of french roasts from three different regions, because it has a flavorful full body and smooth finish that appeals to a wide variety of tastes.
Curious what else makes a good cold brew? One good choice is our Sumatra Takengon Viennese Roast. This sweet and mild brew is just dark enough to guarantee that the flavor of the beans will still shine through, but is a lovely, lighter alternative to the Dark Roast Blend. Another good choice is Double Bourbon Barrel Blend, especially if you like to sweeten up your iced coffee, since its oaky, vanilla sweetness comes through nicely even while drinking it black.
Want to make some cold brew yourself? Though we use an industrial-size Toddy as our cold brew method, and offer both a smaller Toddy and the Coffee Sock in-store, you can DIY with any large mason jar and filter (cheese cloth, pour-over cloth filters, etc). The beauty of cold brew is that you don’t need anything particularly fancy to do it, just some coarse coffee grounds, water, a fridge, and some time!
What’s the difference between cold brew and iced coffee? Typically, iced coffee involves, well, exactly what it sounds like: adding ice to coffee. Though delicious, the ice can water down the flavor and strength of the brew over time. Plus, since you’re brewing the coffee hot first, that higher temperature pulls more acidity into the brew. Cold brew, on the other hand, doesn’t involve brewing hot coffee at all. Instead, you steep the grounds in cold water from the get go and let it sit in the fridge overnight (12-16 hours is typically recommended). This dulls the acidity while keeping that strength and quality of flavor intact each time you pour a refreshing glass. Yum!