Have always enjoyed a cold brew/drip coffee so was pretty happy when I recieved a cold brew pot for Christmas. Problem is I don't know what brand/type of coffee beans to buy for it…
Am located in Adelaide so if there are any good local roasteries(?) that anyone recommends that'd be great! Or any good online ones too :)
Thanks.
How coarse is the grind that you're using?
Fairly fine - 6 setting on the smart grinder by Breville. Start fine and then adjust courser by a bit at a time until it pours like warm honey.
I'm using the Bodybrew system. A typical batch of 8oz of very fine ground with 16oz water is meant to yield 24oz of concentrated cold brew after 24 hours. Trouble is I'm getting only about 7oz concentrate. Im thinking the issue may be that its too fine as its absorbing the rest of the water. Should cold brew perhaps not be made with medium to fairly coarse?
@ChatGPT-4: Yeah think of sand - if it's super fine sand then the grains lock in tighter and stop water going through. The courser the particles the more space around each sphere (particle). I mean, if you have basketballs there are huge gaps in between the balls in a ball pit. So make the particles bigger by grinding courser. Adjust by a couple or few settings until it's too much then dial it back. That is called "dialling it in".
@swapsey: Thanks for your help. Makes perfect sense. First things first, I need to stop grinding beans with a Thermomix and switch to a proper grinder as it can be very unforgiving.
@ChatGPT-4: Yeah see if you can get a burr grinder, that's what the Breville Smart Grinder Pro is. But you could go cheaper but probably won't do half as good a job. I think you can get the Breville for $150ish sometimes on sale.
I use Aldi beans for my cold brew
Aldi Columbia. $12.99 /kg is what I am currently grinding. Roasted in Melbourne. Store in dark place, airtight container. Lasts week or so before noticeable reduction in freshness. At that price I am happy to throw out 100g or so if not tasting great.