During the summer, coffee consumption is always on the up at Coffee Mongers artisan roaster in Hampshire, due to the popularity of cold brew coffee. Taking its place as one of summer’s most refreshing cold drinks, cold brew is the perfect alternative to pre-sugared drinks as it contains the naturally sweet and smooth taste of the coffee beans and needs no added sugar.
To get the light crisp sweet taste of their signature cold brew, Coffee Mongers starts with specialty beans, a specifically developed roast profile, and their own perfected brewing technique. From the boutique cafe in Lymington, on the edge of the New Forest, Master Roaster Gareth Smith tells us that for the best cold brew he always comes back to Coffee Monger’s Nakuti blend. Nakuti features specialty grades Kenya AA blended with Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia and a hint of the finest Brazil Natural Strictly Soft. These beans together produce a light vibrant coffee with delicate grape and apple flavours that work so well when cold brewed. He explains that he roasts the Nakuti a little differently for his cold brew and a little lighter in comparison to the coffees he roasts for espresso or filter in order to really bring out an inherent sweetness. Once roasted, the coffee is degassed and then in 48 hours, is ready to be cold brewed.
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Cold brew is made by steeping fresh ground coffee in cold water for eight hours. This process differs from traditional iced coffee which is made by cooling hot-brewed coffee and serving it over ice. Since hot water speeds up extraction, the cool temperature and lack of movement slows the amount of chemicals extracted and only the delicate flavours and aromas slowly seep out without as many of the oils. The result is light, smooth, crisp and completely sans bitterness.
To vary your cold brew throughout the day, Coffee Mongers recommends topping off your glass with tonic for that bit of fizz in the afternoon. Or, as a zingy alternative to your morning espresso, add two teaspoons of ground cinnamon per every 100g of coffee.
For those that need a hot cup whatever the weather, the espresso with the biggest following at the roastery is Liberatrix, (featuring specialty Colombian coffee, Supremo) which is known for its vibrant citrus acidity and dark chocolate aftertaste. It is a blend developed to consistently deliver in flavour and taste. Regina, is another best-loved in which yellow bourbon specialty coffee has been blended with the finest Brazil Natural. It’s both bright, sweet and nutty. “We find that coffee drinkers who previously added sugar to their coffee have told us that they simply don’t need it with the Regina blend as it lends its sweet, smooth and bright characteristics throughout all the brewing methods. We are always on the lookout for specialty beans like those of the Regina whose best flavour qualities can be revealed during the roasting process in our artisan roastery in Lymington,” says coffee trader and founder Tarek El-Khazindar.
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Coffee Mongers sources the very best coffees from around the world. For every 60kg bag of green coffee that comes in, the crop of red coffee cherries have been inspected on the trees and that same crop is cupped and graded at the origin, as well as at the roastery, to ensure that the beans are speciality grade. Specialty Coffee is the name given to beans of the highest grade of Arabica coffees available on the world market. To be considered specialty coffee the green beans need to have achieved a score of 80-100 by Q graders, the coffee grading experts. Coffee Mongers is considered a third wave roaster because it buys only specialty coffee, specifically searches out high scoring coffees that are complex and have exciting qualities to offer in flavour, while at the same time providing a balanced cup.
Gareth Smith’s guide to the ultimate Nakuti cold brew
What you’ll need
- 60g of Nakuti coffee beans. Our East African blend of Kenya AA and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe makes the most clean, bright amazing cold brew with delicious apple and grape notes that we have ever tasted!
- 1 litre of water, a coffee grinder, a large jug for the fridge, filter papers (V60 or any other variety)
What to do
- Coarsely grind your coffee for cafetiere,
- Put your ground coffee in your jug and add 1 litre of water
- Chill in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight and then pour the cold brew through your pre-moistened filter papers to strain out the coffee grounds
- Serve by pouring cold brew over ice
- Store the rest of the cold brew in the fridge
- Lasts about 3 days when kept cold
Further information
www.coffeemongers.com