Summer Sips: Why Cold Brew Is the Hot Weather Answer

Try making your own cold brew to chill you off this summer and through the fall. Check out the advantages and easy recipes that might make you want to switch all year long. 

For avid coffee drinkers, the sweet joy of a cup of coffee is a year round, rain or shine, every day type of love affair. However, during the summer season, that hot cup of coffee can sometimes feel a little too heavy and smothering – and that’s when it’s time to switch to cold brew.

What even is cold brew?

Cold brew coffee is made by steeping your favorite coffee in water for multiple hours at cold or cooler temperatures. This process produces a drastically different coffee experience, with many coffee lovers describing the flavor as more chocolatey and much more mellow. 

In fact, Simple Modern is launching the Simple Modern Cold Brew Maker, which is designed specifically with coffee connoisseurs in mind, with a fill line to help make the perfect batch of cold brew concentrate or ready-to-drink cold brew. And the Cold Brew Maker has a stainless steel mesh filter to help reduce sediment for an ultra-smooth cold coffee. It's the perfect companion to your new summer obsession.

And did you know that cold brew not only serves to chill you off instead of warm you up, it also has some other benefits that might make you want to switch all year long.

Did you know:
Cold brew has significantly less acid. The process to make cold brew appreciably reduces the acids compared to hot water brewing, making it easier on your stomach. If coffee is often harder on your digestive system, switch to cold brew and see if you see improvement. 

All the energy, skipping the heat. Not one part of summer calls for a steaming hot cup of coffee. Some estimates say hot coffee consumption cools off by between 10-15% during warmer months, so trying cold brew allows you a refreshing cool coffee alternative while still getting the caffeine boost you’re used to during the winter. In fact, cold brew generally contains a higher caffeine amount than its hot-brewed brethren because the slower extraction process allows more caffeine to be pulled from the beans.

Cold brew is a completely different – and versatile –  coffee experience. The expanded brewing process creates a mellow, naturally sweeter, less acidic tasting coffee. In fact, you might be able to skip the creamer in cold brew because of the lighter taste. And cold brew is easily customizable to your coffee palette by adjusting the steeping time to change the strength of the cold brew or by adding some simple syrups or creams to the finished drink, like in the recipes below.

Bottom line: This summer, cold brew could be the king of your summer beverages or even top the list all year long. Experiment with some of the recipes below with the Simple Modern Cold Brew Maker, and see if it becomes a staple to your summer routine.

The Classic Cold Brew
What you need
1 cup ground coffee beans
4 cups cold water

How to make it
Place ground coffee in the Simple Modern Cold Brew Maker. Slowly pour cold water over the grounds. Stir to make sure all grounds are submerged in water. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let the mixture steep in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, depending on your desired strength. The longer you let the cold brew steep, the stronger it will be. Once it has steep to your strength preference, strain the cold brew concentrate through a mesh sieve or coffee filter to remove grounds. Dilute the cold brew concentrate with water or milk to your desired strength and serve over ice. 

Vanilla Cold Brew with Sweet Cream
What you need
1 cup Classic Cold Brew concentrate
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla syrup
Ice cubes

How to make it
Combine cold brew concentrate and vanilla syrup. Pour mixture over ice cubes and dilute as desired with additional water or milk. In a separate small bowl, whip cream until slightly thickened. Pour thickened cream over cold brew mixture. Stir. Drizzle with vanilla syrup for extra sweetness, if desired.

Spiced Up Cinnamon and Cardamom Cold Brew
What you need
1 cup Classic Cold Brew concentrate
1/2 cup milk
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 
|½ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon honey
Ice cubes

How to make it
In a small saucepan, heat milk over low heat. Stir in cinnamon and cardamom until well combined. Add honey until combined and warmed thoroughly. Let cool. Pour cold brew over ice and dilute with water or milk for desired strength. Pour spiced milk over cold brew and ice. Stir to combine all flavors. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and cardamom.