Homemade Cool Cat-Cold brew is amazing for so many reasons! You can make up a big batch and drink it throughout the week. It is extremely low maintenance, like most of our feline friends, and it is chocolatey and delicious!
I knew this week was going to be particularly busy so I made a big batch of cold brew in my french press and put it in a bottle in the fridge. Both me and my partner drank it for three days until there was none left. I consider this more valuable than meal prep! haha Caffeine is the king of cool cats! A pre-made batch is perfect for those mornings that you only have a couple of minutes to put your coffee drink together before you are out the door.
Also, homemade cold brew tastes 100% better than store bought cold brew in my opinion. I have tried about a dozen store bought cold brews and never finished one of them. They just don’t have the creamy texture and chocolatey notes of homemade Cool Cat-Cold Brew. I actually dumped out the last bottle of store bought cold brew that I bought months ago (and never drank more than sip) to fill it up with this chocolately deliciousness! So if you are curious - that is where I got my glass bottle.
Another thing that is great about cold brew - it is super versatile! You can make a variety of iced drinks with it. Just substitute a 1/2 a cup of cold brew instead of espresso.
I used a french press to make this batch of cold brew because it is SO easy! You just put it together and forget about it.
To begin, you grind your Cool Cat-Cold Brew coffee to medium/coarse grind or buy it pre-ground. You will need 1 and 1/2 cups of coffee for a large french press.
Then, add the grounds to the bottom of your french press.
Then, add 4 1/2 cups of room temperature filtered water to the french press.
Stir up the coffee grounds and water.
Set a timer (I used my phone) for 12-24 hours and put it in the fridge. I put mine in for 23 hours because I knew I would want coffee around 10 am the next day so that worked best for me.
I didn’t put the regular french press lid on the press because it wouldn’t fit in my fridge with the strainer up so I just put plastic over the top to keep it sealed. Plastic wrap or even foil will work.
Fast forward - 23 hours later. . .
Take off the plastic or lid or whatever you used. :)
Mix up the coffee-water mixture one more time.
Then put the french press lid back on and pour the coffee through a strainer. There shouldn’t be a ton of grounds in the strainer but if you grind your coffee beans too finely then you will have excess in the strainer. I had a little excess so I probably could have ground them a little less.
I strained my cold brew into a cup and then poured that into a glass bottle.
There will be some excess grounds no matter what. You can see in the bottom of the cup below there is some even after I strained it. In my experience this is just the nature of cold brew. If you want no grounds at all you can double strain it through a coffee filter or cheese cloth but I usually drink it as is and it is amazing!
Once you have your cold brew bottled it is time to make your delicious latte!
I personally like lightly sweetened drinks so with this batch I made an oatmilk latte with whipped cream (for the light sweetness) for me. My partner likes sweeter iced drinks - so I made an iced caramel latte with whipped cream and caramel drizzle for him.
I’ll start with mine because it is suuuuper simple! I started with 3/4 cup of oatmilk (use whichever milk you prefer). Then I added about half a cup of cold brew and some ice. I mixed it up and added whipped cream then I drank it down and was caffeinated all afternoon. No cat naps for me!
The cool thing about this Cool Cat-Cold brew is that it has notes of chocolate so it tastes a little sweet with no added sugar! My drink had a little sugar from the milk and whipped cream but even with out the milk or whipped cream it has this yummy natural sweetness!
My partner, on the other hand, prefers a sweeter iced coffee so for him I made an iced caramel latte with whipped cream and caramel drizzle.
I started with a little bit of hot water (a couple of tablespoons) to mix with the caramel (also a couple of tablespoons - the more caramel the sweeter it is). The caramel is cold and thick so the hot water helps to break it down so it mixes with the rest of the drink.
Add the caramel to the hot water and mix it up really well. Make sure the caramel has dissolved completely.
Next, add 1/2 cup of the Cool Cat-Cold Brew to the glass and then about 3/4 cup of milk.
Mix it all together and add ice. Then, add whipped cream and caramel drizzle and poof you are ready to be caffeinated!
Recipe - French Press Cold Brew, Iced Caramel Latte and Iced Latte
Time to prepare: 30 minutes (not including time cold brew is steeping)
Serving size: Several Cold Brews
Ingredients
-Cool Cat-Cold Brew Coffee from Rad Cat Coffee Co.
-Milk of Your Choice
-Filtered Water
-Whipped Cream
-Caramel drizzle
Materials
-A French Press
-A Coffee Strainer
-A bottle or container for the cold brew
French Press Cold Brew Directions
1. Put 1 1/2 cups of medium/coarse ground Cool Cat-Cold Brew coffee in the bottom of your french press.
2. Add 4 1/2 cups of room temperature filtered water to the grounds. Stir up the mixture.
3. Put a lid on the french press. I used plastic because the french press lid wouldn’t fit in my fridge with the strainer up.
4. Set a timer for 12-24 hours and put the french press in the fridge.
5. Once the timer goes off, take the cover off of the french press and stir up the grounds.
6. Put the french press lid back on. Push down the french press strainer.
7. Then put another strainer over a large cup or bottle and pour the cold brew through the strainer.
8. Then pour the cold brew into a bottle or container.
9. Make one of the delicious drinks below and put the rest back in the fridge for the next time you want some delicious, chocolately cold brew! :)
Iced Latte with Whipped Cream Directions
1. Pour 1/2 cup of your Cool Cat-Cold Brew into a glass.
2. Add 3/4 cup milk of your choice. Mix it up.
3. Add ice and whipped cream.
4. Enjoy your delicious beverage over an episode of Garfield with your cat!
Iced Caramel Latte Directions
1. Put about 2 tablespoons of hot water into a glass.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of caramel or more for a sweeter taste. Mix up the caramel and the hot water really well.
3. Add 1/2 cup of Cool Cat-Cold Brew.
4. Add 3/4 cup milk of your choice. Mix it up.
5. Add ice, whipped cream and caramel drizzle.
6. Drink it up or share with a loved one to impress them!
Stay tuned here at Rad Cat Coffee for more Cat-tastic coffee recipes and remember, Rad Cat Coffee Co. donates 20% of profits from every sale to feline initiatives! You can feel good about the impact you're making by simply sipping your coffee! Come check out our pawlicious coffee blends that are fresh roasted to order and shipped right to your door! SHOP COFFEE.
Words and photos by Jenn Terrell