Recipe: Hammer Cold Brew Iced Coffee 🥵

Our cold brew iced coffee recipe was originally published by me in 2018 on hammerroasting.com. However, after a warm week and with more warm weather on the way, it seems like a good time for a little summer-time cool-beverage refresher. 

Okay I confess, I’d normally be riding my bike on a blisteringly hot, Whistler afternoon like this. It’s not my fault. If nothing else, I’m a creature of my environment and ‘round these parts we ride bikes. Except in the winter. Then we ski POW… yup, everyday. 

But I digress… the reason I’m not pushing pedals this afternoon is because my bike is broken again. But, as the adage goes: when life gives you lemons, make cold brew iced coffee and head to the lake, or something to that effect. 

While proverbs aren’t really my thing, iced coffee certainly is. I’ve been making this brew for years. Friends, family and customers, and customers who are now friends but not quite family, have been asking for the recipe for just as long. 

So here it is, Hammer Cold Brew Iced Coffee:

INGREDIENTS

• 75gr Hammer Coffee, ground very coarse
  
• 1100ml cold water: If your water tastes less than amazing, use filtered water. Stay away from bottled water. Everyone knows that bottled water is made by the devil himself.I
• Ice (or see ‘Keeping it Real’ below)
• 2 tbsp Cream (optional)

COLD BREW

Cold brew coffee is dead easy to make, but it does need to brew for 12 hours, so think ahead. We make our cold brew in the evening, so that it’s ready for the following morning. 

In a large jar add ground coffee and cold water. Stir. Cover. Then pop the jar into the fridge for 12 hours. 

After 12 hours, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove coffee grinds. Cover and refrigerate until ready to drink. 

Pro-tip: make the cold brew in a french press. Then, simply plunge, pour and serve.

This recipe scales well, so multiply the ingredients to make a larger batch. Brew time is always 12 hours. It’ll last in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Bringing it Together

In a tall glass, add ice and cold brew coffee, then add cream. Find a comfy seat on your patio or at your favourite lake. Drink and relax. 

Keeping it Real

An alternative to boring old ice: Here’s a trick that we borrowed from our pals at Oso Negro (killer coffee alert!). Make ice blocks ahead of time from surplus brewed coffee. As the ice melts it won’t dilute your cold coffee. 

Also, try substituting ice altogether for good quality vanilla ice cream to make a cold brew float (known as a “spider” in Straya and NZ). We prefer Vanilla KO from Lucia Gelato.

Additionally, if the heat becomes just too much, substitute cream for 2 tbsp. Kahlua or Baileys (or try 1tbsp of each...). 

Here’s a far out idea: sub cream for Kahlua then add ice cream. I’ve not tried this yet. Give it a try and let me know how it works out. 

I hope I’ve convinced you to start playing with your cold brew coffee. Happy chill’n.