How To Make ‘Hard Cold Brew’

What is hard cold brew?

The first references of cold brew date back to 17th century Japan where the slow-drip coffee had the name mizudashi (meaning cold-brewing), or Kyoto-style. It is a highly artistic feat, as singular drops of water run down through an elegant Yama glass that resembles a tall hourglass, leaving a cool coffee in the bottom container.

Hard cold brew is exactly what you might expect – it’s regular cold-brewed coffee but with a grown-up twist (alcohol).

Why does everyone love it so much?

Take any group of adults (or specifically the millennials this trend has hit hardest) and ask them what their favourite drink is and half will probably say some form of coffee and the other half some kind of alcoholic drink. 

We know that the combination of these two elements in the form of the Espresso Martini is ever-popular, so it only makes sense that hard cold brew might itch the same spot. 

How to make a vegan-friendly hard cold brew

Set up your cold-brewing coffee station – to make a cold brew base, you’ll need:

• Coarsely ground, lightly roasted coffee. We recommend the delicious London-based roastery Ozone Coffee.
• Room temperature water 
• A glass container and a bowl
• Coffee filter paper and a fine-mesh sieve

Here’s a great video from Chowhound to see it all in action. It takes about five minutes of prep to grind the coffee, put it in a container, add water and mix. Then and the best part of a day to brew.

Then once you’re happy with your cold brew, think about adding the hard element to it. We’ve experimented with: 

• Whiskey
• Spiced Rum
• Vegan Baileys 

But make sure to let us know what else you think this would taste great with in the comments section below!