I finally joined the Cold Brewed Club

I think it's safe to say I am behind the times when I just tried my first cold brew coffee at Starbucks as of a couple weeks ago. I'm not usually an iced coffee fan so it was easy for me to pass this trend by. But on a whirlwind family road trip across state borders to buy a vehicle, a Starbucks stop was a must and it was so hot out- a cold caffeine fix was a very appealing option.

I'm glad I took the chance on the cold brewed trend because it does have it's merits. The coffee is strong and bold with a much smoother taste. It seems the cold brew process is able to extract the coffee flavor while being able to bypass the acidity and bitterness that is usually just a byproduct of a good cup of brew. After my cup of epiphany at Starbucks I knew I was going to want to find a reliable method to be able to make my own at home!

 Thanks to Bzz Agent I had a new bag of coffee to try out and a cold brew experiment seemed like the perfect opportunity! If you guys haven't heard of Bzz Agent before, I strongly encourage you to go get signed up with them! I have been able to try out so many new, fun products thru them, all the while sharing about my favorite discoveries with friends. This time, I received a bag of Seattle's Best Coffee Dark Intense no. 5 blend. I have to admit this was my first time trying Seattle's Best Coffee and I wasn't disappointed!

 Now that I had the coffee, I needed to find the best cold brewing method. After some web browsing research, I found this method from the The Kitchn, using a French press in the fridge over night. I loved that this was a "prep the night before and forget about it" method. I have been really enjoying my French press as my coffee making device of choice lately but it is a little more time and prep work in the morning then, say, my keurig. But it was easy enough to measure out my coffee, mix it with some cold water in my French press and place it in my fridge for the night. My coffee was pre-ground so I was a little concerned it wouldn't be coarse enough for my French press, but I didn't seem to notice any issues with that.

 The next day I finished off the press process and ended up with a smooth, dark coffee concentrate. I  poured it over iced cubes in a mason jar and mixed half and half, chocolate syrup and a sprinkle of sea salt-delicious! I definitely recommend giving cold brewed coffee a go. I am usually a very dark roast kinda girl, but  I actually think a lighter roast would offer a nice option here. I'll have to experiment with that next!