When the weather gets like this, it means we get to play and explore new (colder) ways to take our coffee. Sometimes, the last thing you want is a hot drink, no matter how good you've got at steaming the milk.
It gets pretty sweltering down here in Bournemouth mid-summer, and when it does we turn our attention to the colder side of coffee. Yes, we all love an affogato - who doesn't? - but we all take it in turns to make the mid-morning brew and when it's hot, it's a lucky dip as to what you might be served up. Here's a little roundup of our favourite cold coffee drinks:
Fresh “fresh” exciting, do-do-do-do-doo
Luke has knocked it out the park with his coffee tonic, adding ice & cold tonic water to a double shot of espresso. Honestly, it’s a frickin’ game changer. Super simple, just add whatever amount of tonic water suits your taste. The espresso, the bubbles. It’s an exciting and refreshing mouthful and we’re hoping he’ll make us all a round today…
Don't like tonic? Neither does Rach. Swap the tonic for sparkling water. In fact this one's a favourite of Joel's. He calls it a spaqua-cano, a drink he used to knock out back when we had the coffee shops. It’s an Americano made with sparkling water instead of hot water. It’s crazy refreshing. It also goes by the name of a fizzy-cano, which makes way more sense. Adding a touch of agave adds a little sweetness and that on a hot day goes a long, long way.
Classic cold brew
If you have 12 hours spare this is always a winner whether you take it black or add milk. Cold brew is one of those things you need to have in your fridge when it gets this hot. And it’s so easy to make. We like to make this with Shaka because the cold brew process really brings out the brightness of the blend, while holding strong with the sweet notes. Try it out, and we guarantee you’ll be clearing a permanent space in the fridge for it. As a general rule we use a ratio of 60g of coffee to 1 litre of water, however if you want to go all in and make it super intense, double the amount of coffee but keep the water the same.
Pourover - on ice
Rach has been running a v60 over ice. It leaves you with a somewhat punchier cold brew. The extraction of the coffee under the hot water is much more intense, but we also don’t have to wait an age for the cold brew process. We can make this in a few minutes, rather than having to be prepared the night before. Instant gratification. YES! Remember though, as the ice cubes melt, the coffee will become diluted, so up your coffee to water ratio when you brew. Rach is using a v60 right, now, but this works the same with whatever your favourite brew method is, from Aeropress, to French press.
What’s French for Clever Dripper?
When he’s not doing latte art of tadpoles, Stew’s usually brewing a Clever Dripper. The man loves that thing. He’s put the French roast through the clever dripper straight onto ice with milk already swimming round the ice cubes. The balance of sweetness and dark heavy overtones makes this an absolute banger, especially late morning when you still want a pokey punch from your coffee.
