For the love of coffee: Barista launches cold brew

Barista by Cafe Mocha recently introduced their new range of cold brew coffee. The brew ranges from plain brewed coffee and cold brew with milk to cold brew with condensed milk.

Speaking to us about the concept behind the cold brew, Barista Coffee Lanka General Manager Dilupa Pathirana noted: “It’s a relatively new method of brewing coffee. Normally, when making espresso, you force very hot water under high pressure through finely ground compacted coffee, which is the industrial way of making coffee.”

He added that espresso is generally served warm, unlike cold brew, and that is what is used to make other hot coffees like lattes and americanos. The addition of ice can convert it into iced lattes or americanos, but essentially it is made warm.

What makes cold brew coffee so tasty, he explained, is time. To make a cold brew, coarse-ground coffee is steeped in cold water for at least 12 hours. The longer the coffee sits, the stronger the flavour. Once it’s done steeping, the grounds are filtered out, leaving you with a coffee concentrate that can be mixed with milk or water and served over ice. Because cold brew uses time instead of heat to extract the coffee’s oils, sugars, and caffeine, the end result is generally less acidic and bitter than regular coffee. This is a coffee truly made with love and care.

He also added that these cold brews are mostly used for cold beverages, but it is possible to make hot coffee with them. “This method is not used commercially because it is very time-consuming, so we are one of the very few coffee shops that offer this.” He observed that since its launch, their range of cold brew has been very much in demand because it is not so commonly found, and coffee enthusiasts generally prefer cold brew over conventional coffee.

We at Brunch had the opportunity to try out their three new flavours. We have to say that the cold brew with condensed milk was definitely the crowd favourite; served with a layer of condensed milk that mixes into the coffee, adding a level of thickness to it, the flavours are not overly sweet and can be enjoyed with additional sugar. The cold brew with milk was less sweet and would be perfect for anyone who relishes the bitter taste of coffee with just a splash of milk. The cold brew on its own tastes slightly sweeter, a bit milder, and way less acidic than a regular cup of espresso – perfect for any coffeeholic.

Cold brewing won’t change the flavour of coffee entirely, but it has a way of presenting it to you in a different way, often with a pronounced sweetness and creamy body. It’s always intriguing to see how the flavours of great hot coffee come out in a batch of cold brew.

If you’re a fan of smooth coffee with very low acidity and a creamy body, cold brew coffee just may become your best friend.

 

PHOTOS ESHAN DASANAYAKA