I am pretty much just looking for an excuse to share this homemade cold brew because it’s amazing. Whether you want to turn it into a protein drink is up to you.
This is a concentrate, so when you are ready to drink it, you can add liquid to your preference. I think somewhere around a 1:1 water to concentrate ratio might work for most. I like to just drop a couple of ice cubes in and let that take care of the dilution.
To make this a protein cold brew, just add protein. Make sure you have a nice powder that blends well and tastes great.
This is something that you’ll need to brew overnight, or make in the morning and pour/strain when you get home (it’s not instantly ready to drink). But once you have it, it will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Stuff You’ll Need
- You’ll obviously need good quality WHOLE coffee beans (not pre-ground). I like Peet’s Major Dickison’s.
- You’ll need water. Filtered is best.
- As far as fancy equipment goes, you will need a food processor to grind the beans. Some grocery stores also have machines available to do this (make sure they give you a coarse grind.)
- A french press can make this process more streamlined. If you don’t have one, you can just use a strainer, cheesecloth and a bowl. But once you know this will be a thing for you, I’d highly suggest investing in a french press.
- For storage, you’ll need something air-tight and glass. You can get milk bottle jars with lids on Amazon. Empty pasta sauce jars work just as well (and might be a good excuse to try out that Rao pasta sauce that everyone’s been raving about).
- One of these whirring things can help blend whatever protein powder you choose to use (do the whirring before the ice cubes go in, of course).
Here’s How to Make It:
Firstly, the ratios –
Use roughly 150g (5.89oz) of coffee per liter of water (34oz).
This doesn’t have to be perfectly precise.
I have a large french press that holds 68oz (1690ml) and use anywhere from 250-330g of coffee depending on how crazy I’m feeling.
- Measure out how many coffee beans you’ll use (use a food scale).
- Grind your coffee beans in a food processor to a coarse grind (not fine). Chunks of bean in there are A-okay.
- Dump your ground beans into the french press (or a large bowl).
- Measure out the correct amount of water and pour it right on top of the coffee beans. (This is going to seem like a ton of coffee for that amount of water, but remember that it is a concentrate.)
- Plunge the beans down into the water if they are floating at the top.
- Seal your french press (or cover your bowl) and allow the beans to soak for 7-12 hours.
- Remove the lid/cover and stir the brew. Let the beans resettle.
- If you have a french press, plunge it down and pour the brew into your storage container(s). If you are working with a bowl, pour the brew into another bowl through a strainer lined with cheesecloth and transfer to your storage containers.
Your brew will keep for around 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!