[HN Gopher] Cold brew coffee in 3 minutes using acoustic cavitation
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Cold brew coffee in 3 minutes using acoustic cavitation
        
       Author : ople
       Score  : 328 points
       Date   : 2024-05-07 12:46 UTC (10 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.unsw.edu.au)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.unsw.edu.au)
        
       | skrunch wrote:
       | Quick, someone let James Hoffman know!
        
         | blkhawk wrote:
         | I was just about to suggest he same thing
        
       | brotchie wrote:
       | Coffee fracking IRL
        
         | doodlebugging wrote:
         | Get yourself fracffiened.
        
           | simondw wrote:
           | Ah yes, with a delicious frackuccino.
        
       | eps wrote:
       | Was going to crack some joke about their work, but then realized
       | that this tech is absolutely monetizible. Hook it up to, say,
       | Nespresso marketing machine and this will sell like hotcakes.
        
       | seanhunter wrote:
       | This is awesome in an overengineered way, but if you want to make
       | cold brew the normal way it's very easy. Basically you make it
       | using a cafetiere/French press/Bodum[1] using cold tap water in
       | the fridge overnight (probably put some cling film over it), then
       | press it and run it through a drip filter. The secret (if there
       | is one) is to use fine ground coffee like you would use for an
       | espresso rather than coarse ground (like you would use for a
       | normal drip coffee or French press). It's very easy and very
       | lovely. Just don't skimp on coffee.
       | 
       | More detailed recipe here https://www.uncarved.com/articles/cold-
       | brew/
       | 
       | [1] UK/US/French name but you know the thing with the plunger
        
         | arijun wrote:
         | If you use a French press for cold brew, be aware that the
         | harder you press, the more bitter it will come out.
         | 
         | I use a $5 nut milk bag instead, it lets me brew way more at
         | once; I do 1/4 kilo grounds with 2 liters of water. It also has
         | the benefit of reducing cafestol, which makes it healthier,
         | according to some.
        
           | senkora wrote:
           | > It also has the benefit of reducing cafestol, which makes
           | it healthier, according to some.
           | 
           | I often filter my french press cold brew after-the-fact with
           | a paper filter to achieve this.
        
           | hammock wrote:
           | >the harder you press, the more bitter it will come out
           | 
           | Huh? I don't plunge until after it brews, and the purpose of
           | the plunge is just to keep the water out of the grounds from
           | that point forward, to (essentially) stop the brewing
           | process. Or so I thought
        
             | vincentrolfs wrote:
             | I agree with your confusion, are we all talking about the
             | same thing?
        
             | i_am_jl wrote:
             | Plunging pushes your coffee through the metal filter.
             | Pushing harder pushes the coffee through the filter with a
             | higher pressure. Higher pressure pushes particles past the
             | filter more easily than lower pressure. Coffee particulate
             | has a tendency to make coffee more bitter.
             | 
             | Anything that gets more small particles past your filter
             | will add to your coffee's bitterness. This can happen when
             | using a ground coffee that has a lot of fine particles, or
             | if you agitate when you pour/plunge.
        
               | hammock wrote:
               | I don't know anyone who's jumping up and down on the
               | plunger or doing anything more than pressing it slowly.
               | Have to imagine the coarseness/evenness of your grind is
               | a 10x bigger factor in that regard
        
               | NegativeLatency wrote:
               | > or doing anything more than pressing it slowly
               | 
               | I have a french press for camping, it's fine but when I
               | want that first cup of coffee and it's cold and rainy
               | outside you better believe I'm not pressing it slowly.
        
         | dhritzkiv wrote:
         | One thing I'll mention is that cold brew doesn't need to be put
         | in the fridge to "brew". It can be left out on the counter at
         | room temperature. As a result, this takes the brew time from 24
         | hours to about 12 hours.
        
       | anfractuosity wrote:
       | Interesting, I wonder how that would compare to recirculating
       | water through the coffee grounds through a filter.
       | 
       | It does say the ultrasound generates 'micro-jets with enough
       | force to pit and fracture the coffee grounds', so I assume that
       | the ultrasound would work better?
       | 
       | There also seems research in using ultrasound in artificial
       | ageing of whisky/spirits.
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | A YouTuber calls thought emporium tried out the whiskey method
         | 
         | And yes, ultrasonic cavitation will break apart the grounds
         | very thoroughly. Think a jewelry or denture cleaner.
        
       | xkcd-sucks wrote:
       | It's really just a matter of mindset -- Many things go faster if
       | you chuck them into a microwave or a sonicator :) I'm definitely
       | going to try this out with cold brew in a cheapie bath sonicator.
       | The thing here is like a big ass probe sonicator butted up
       | against an espresso portafilter which is probably a bit louder
       | than a loud steamer
        
         | kazinator wrote:
         | I have two sonicators, aged 3.5 and 5.5. The older one is going
         | into grade 1 in September.
        
           | bethekind wrote:
           | This had me cackle :D
        
       | showerst wrote:
       | This is incredibly cool and I want to go build one, though it
       | feels like that cutaway model of injecting the ultrasound from
       | the side would lead to very uneven extraction.
       | 
       | I also chuckled at graf about doubling the caffeine content, as
       | if that's necessarily a good thing =).
       | 
       | Those cheap HC-SR04 ultrasonic modules output at 40kHz, so maybe
       | this is home-brewable.
        
         | htrp wrote:
         | I think the idea is that the vibration transmits through the
         | entire filter. The question is whether it's geometry/frequency
         | specific
        
           | sharpshadow wrote:
           | It's likly not specific one could reduce the cold brewing
           | time by shaking the jar.
        
           | floatrock wrote:
           | The embedded youtube video at 0:58 shows a laptop screen with
           | some pretty fancy-looking simulation jiggles and heatmaps on
           | what looks like an espresso filter.
           | 
           | It also looks like a PDF of a paper, so presumably they have
           | a paper that talks about the geometry/frequency interactions.
        
             | eichin wrote:
             | The article includes a link to the paper, which has
             | simulation models of the acoustics, showing pressure levels
             | and areas where cavitation can occur. (I didn't see
             | anything about heating from dissipating the acoustic
             | energy, though?)
        
       | naltroc wrote:
       | Two of my favorite things, cold brew and acoustics :D
        
       | peteforde wrote:
       | Funny thing is that I'm currently drinking cold brew that I
       | prepared on my acoustic cavitation brewer.
       | 
       | It's called Osma Pro. The company that made it sadly did not
       | survive, and they took a lot of heat (no pun initially intended)
       | for the price point and various complaints about how it worked.
       | 
       | https://www.engadget.com/osma-pro-cold-brew-coffee-machine-r...
       | 
       | Luckily, mine works great and I like it a lot. I use it every
       | morning.
       | 
       | Takeaway point: maybe Google your idea to see if other people
       | have also had it before describing it as new.
        
         | triceratops wrote:
         | > The system connects a bolt-clamped transducer with the
         | brewing basket via a metallic horn - transforming a standard
         | espresso filter basket into a powerful ultrasonic reactor.
         | 
         | Now it can be done without shelling out $695 for a dedicated
         | machine. That's progress. I wouldn't be so dismissive.
        
           | iancmceachern wrote:
           | But you have to shell out $10k for a commercial ultrasonic
           | welder from Branson, etc. Just the horn they show in the
           | paper probably cost $6k to make.
           | 
           | I wouldn't be too dismissive.
        
             | daniel_reetz wrote:
             | Also it will be punishing for pets and MEMs microphones.
        
             | triceratops wrote:
             | It's a prototype.
        
             | fallat wrote:
             | What? I went on Aliexpress and found a 40KHz transducer for
             | $40. You can 3D print the attachment, can't you?
        
               | iancmceachern wrote:
               | A woofer from AliExpress is not a speaker with amp you
               | can use for University level audio work.
               | 
               | I expect they used something like these:
               | 
               | https://www.emerson.com/en-us/automation/branson
               | 
               | You cannot 3d print anything in the ultrasonic chain,
               | they need to be machined from specific metal, that's why
               | the horns cost so much.
        
               | fallat wrote:
               | I looked up "transducer" and it seems to be what you'd
               | need. But! You seem to have found where I was wrong: the
               | horn. The horn seems to be the actual expensive part
               | here. They could start a business I guess selling these
               | en-masse. If anyone has any ideas how a maker could
               | create this within reason please reply.
        
               | iancmceachern wrote:
               | You can't really sell them in big quantities because
               | they're typically custom to the task. They need to be
               | custom shaped for each application.
        
               | srmatto wrote:
               | Portafilters are made in mass so you could make horns for
               | common portafilters.
        
               | parineum wrote:
               | > A woofer from AliExpress is not a speaker with amp you
               | can use for University level audio work.
               | 
               | We're talking about coffee here...
        
               | iancmceachern wrote:
               | Exactly!
               | 
               | Wars have been fought over coffee, people regularly spend
               | thousands for coffee machines. There are entire companies
               | that exist just to cater to this market.
               | 
               | Me, I'm a tea guy.
        
               | JoBrad wrote:
               | A wholly different set of wars
        
             | bongodongobob wrote:
             | They make ultrasonic jewelry cleaners for $75 that should
             | work just fine. You're referencing something that is
             | intended to be used with hundreds of gallons of water.
        
               | iancmceachern wrote:
               | I'm just talking about the paper. If they had referenced
               | what you mention I would have referenced that
        
           | karaterobot wrote:
           | > However, engineers from UNSW have now developed a new way
           | to make cold brew coffee in under three minutes - just like a
           | regular hot brew - without sacrificing on the taste
           | experience.
           | 
           | I think the commenter you're responding to was calling out
           | the use of the word 'new' (which is used five times in the
           | article) to describe the process, when it's evidently not new
           | at all. The commenter didn't say anything about the price
           | point, and neither does the article.
        
         | Alex3917 wrote:
         | I hope the creator does another run of the original Sora Pot, I
         | would buy that in a heart beat.
        
         | kjkjadksj wrote:
         | $695 isn't even bad, have people seen what even an entry level
         | espresso machine can cost?
        
       | throwaway482945 wrote:
       | Is their approach different from this one from 5 years ago?
       | https://youtu.be/cO6-SL3bMZg?si=_pVdOLNdej2pjDnT
        
       | dahart wrote:
       | Recently I discovered that many coffee shops, maybe half in my
       | sampling of a couple dozen in different cities, are selling cold
       | coffee (brewed hot, then refrigerated) under the name cold brew,
       | and even the ones that actually cold-brew them seem to be under
       | the impression that it needs to be served cold. I was laughed at
       | in one hipster joint for asking for a steamed or warmed cold-
       | brew, and another one initially refused my request to warm it up
       | saying that would make the coffee extremely sour. (It didn't) Oh,
       | and at least one other, maybe two, said they couldn't warm cold
       | brew (in view of both a steamer and microwave) or would have to
       | charge extra (while someone's cheaper latte was being steamed).
       | 
       | Reading the paper, it's not clear whether their cold brew has
       | lower acidity (higher pH) than the same coffee hot brewed. It
       | does say that the sonic-brew has the same pH as the normal long-
       | steep cold brew. I'm also curious if this cavitation/sonication
       | brewing process is basically agitating the coffee, or doing
       | something different, and how different it is from manually
       | agitating a cold brew compared to letting it sit still for hours.
        
         | sharpshadow wrote:
         | I think they mentioned that cold brew has lower acidity than
         | hot brew.
         | 
         | Yes it's agitation with the mentioned frequency. Technically it
         | should move the grounded coffee particles back and worth and so
         | extracting the components.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | Yes, they mentioned that cold brew has a _reputation_ for
           | being lower acidity than hot brew, but they didn't measure
           | the pH of the coffee they were testing using a hot brew
           | process. They reported the pH of the normal cold brew and
           | sonicated cold brew as both about 5.1.
           | 
           | For frequency, does it matter if it's high or low frequency?
           | I'm wondering if I can shake my cold brew for 3 minutes and
           | get close to the same effect.
        
             | sharpshadow wrote:
             | Yes hot brew coffee has more acidity tan cold brew. I like
             | hand filter coffee and I use water around 90 degree
             | Celsius. The higher I go with to boiling water the more it
             | washes out bitter and acidic components.
        
         | vallode wrote:
         | The paper[1] seems to imply agitation is exactly what this
         | method is promoting: "Furthermore, acoustic streaming induced
         | greater mixing and enhanced mass transfer during brewing.". I
         | assume the 100W of ultrasonic energy would be pretty hard to
         | reproduce by just shaking your cold brew container though!
         | 
         | [1]:
         | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135041772...
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | Very interesting, and I missed the 100W bit, thanks! Yeah
           | that would be really hard to do by hand for 2 minutes. Maybe
           | Guinness records needs to see who can shake their cold brew
           | hardest/longest. So this begs further questions for me, like
           | can I shake with 10W for 30 minutes, or 10 minutes, or...?
           | Does the frequency matter? Can we use one of those chem lab
           | agitator machines to cold brew?
        
             | kurthr wrote:
             | I find it interesting that 100W for ~120 seconds is
             | ~0.3kcal which for a 100ml cup is ~3C. They are right at
             | the limit of power to flow rate. Much faster flow and
             | presumably the cavitation wouldn't "brew" enough, while
             | much slower and it would warm up the coffee noticeably. I'm
             | doubtful the frequency matters much if the cavitation is
             | what is causing the mixing since those are just bubbles
             | emerging and popping, but the efficiency of coupling from
             | ultrasonic wand to liquid could change a lot.
             | 
             | Since you could presumably put 2 of these in parallel and
             | have 2x100ml cups in 2min with 200W without changing the
             | recipe (or 1 cup in half the time), this seems pretty
             | scalable with increased cost and area.
             | 
             | Unagitated cold brew is in the 10hour region, but with
             | agitation/pump through it seems like you can do 8 cups in
             | 20min which is almost as fast as the cavitation method. I
             | suspect the grind size starts having really big effects
             | here.
             | 
             | https://instantpot.com/products/instant-cold-brewer
        
             | petre wrote:
             | Yes, it's the frequency and also the amplitude that makes
             | it faster. One could use a lab agitator but it would still
             | be too slow. I think if you pour the water into an
             | ultrasonic cleaner along with the coffee and filter the mix
             | you might get the same result.
        
             | aaarrm wrote:
             | I think the size of the vibrations is important here. The
             | paper mentions acoustic cavitation, which I believe would
             | only really occur at small frequencies like the ones stated
             | in the paper, not large shakes that you or I would do.
        
         | lamename wrote:
         | Thank you for saying this. When cold brew first came out, it
         | was promoted as a brewing process that resulted in smoother
         | (I'm guessing lower acidity) tasting coffee. Heating it up
         | seemed natural, and its use in iced coffee seemed simply
         | opportunistic. (In my experience at least).
         | 
         | Then it quickly caught on as a novelty, with nitro et al, and
         | when I tell people I drink cold brew warmed I get looks of
         | confusion or turned up noses.
         | 
         | But brew temp and serving temp are orthogonal.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | > brew temp and serving temp are orthogonal
           | 
           | Yes!!! I'm biting my tongue a little on how infuriating the
           | process has been to ask cafes for warmed cold brews, but
           | you're spot on and exactly right. I'm baffled that so many
           | people who sell coffee for a living, think they know a lot
           | about it, and act like coffee snobs, don't seem to understand
           | what cold brew even is. (Or, in a few cases in my sampling
           | I'm certain it was willful ignorance, laziness, because it
           | takes a little more work and more space to cold brew.)
           | 
           | I will say that one of my local cafes understood completely
           | and they're happy to make hot cold-brewed coffee, and made me
           | feel welcome for asking for it. One or two others were very
           | good about it, but hands down the majority of cafes were a
           | bad experience when asking for a warmed cold brew. Good luck
           | to them, they've lost my business.
        
             | kurthr wrote:
             | It's funny cuz Charbux has no problem pouring hot espresso
             | into cold ice milk with caramel and cream on top. I think
             | it's pretty clearly just "baristas" justifying not changing
             | their process, which is fine if a bit lazy and
             | argumentative. Many coffee people are totally interested in
             | finding new ways to do stuff, but they have to have the
             | mental space to do it.
        
               | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
               | Funny. Exactly that stuff is the only reason I've ever
               | entered a Starbucks.
               | 
               | Venti!
               | 
               | But TBH one can do that with better coffee, caramel
               | sirup, some crushed ice from the fridge, and even spray
               | cream out of a can for much less money, just not 'on-
               | demand' and anywhere/anytime.
               | 
               | Also, too much (spray) cream and caramel in Venti amounts
               | can't be that good for your body.
        
               | hinkley wrote:
               | Pouring hot coffee onto plastic...
        
               | look_lookatme wrote:
               | Starbucks cold brew is actually not bad as far as cold
               | brews go. It's definitely not iced coffee.
        
             | NoGravitas wrote:
             | > I'm baffled that so many people who sell coffee for a
             | living, think they know a lot about it, and act like coffee
             | snobs, don't seem to understand what cold brew even is.
             | 
             | Light roasts came (back?) into style among coffee snobs a
             | few years ago because it highlights the difference between
             | different sources/regions/whatever. Ever since then, the
             | former best coffee shop in my town has been exclusively
             | producing sour, vegetal, under-extracted brews. The
             | justified reaction to Charbucks among coffee snobs has
             | produced an objectively worse cup of coffee.
        
               | panopticon wrote:
               | This is mainly what got me into roasting my own coffee.
               | It was becoming a pain to find high quality dark roasts
               | as all of the boutique roasters turned their efforts to
               | light roasts.
        
               | thrixton wrote:
               | How did you go about roasting your own if you don't mind
               | me asking.
        
               | sq_ wrote:
               | I hadn't thought of that as part of why finding good dark
               | roasts has been hard for me. I've been annoyed at light
               | roasts for a long time because I tend to find them acidic
               | to the point that they're not enjoyable. I appreciate the
               | bitterness and toastiness of a good dark roast, but
               | finding good ones has been few and far between in my
               | experience.
        
               | an_aparallel wrote:
               | i live in Sydney - not far from UNSW :P Campos coffee are
               | phenomenal roaster imo. There's no hype around these
               | light roasts - i would never cold brew them though - i've
               | tried - and it's an incredibly inefficient form of
               | brewing. But light roast itself is a phenomenal thing :)
        
             | WirelessGigabit wrote:
             | > I'm baffled that so many people who sell coffee for a
             | living, think they know a lot about it, and act like coffee
             | snobs, don't seem to understand what cold brew even is.
             | 
             | Anecdotally, this is something I've experienced in the USA
             | more than in Europe. When I ask a question in store a lot
             | of times I get the feeling that the person answering
             | considers themselves an expert and quickly make claims that
             | I know for a fact are false.
             | 
             | It's like in the USA saying "I don't know, but let me get
             | someone who does" isn't allowed.
        
               | lb1lf wrote:
               | > It's like in the USA saying "I don't know, but let me
               | get someone who does" isn't allowed.
               | 
               | -Anecdotally, I believe this sentiment is inversely
               | related to worker protections - it appears that the
               | easier it is to fire you, the less likely you are to
               | volunteer that you are not at the top of your game at all
               | times.
        
               | dmix wrote:
               | You're saying Europeans are less smug than Americans?
        
               | Spivak wrote:
               | It's less about smugness and more that customer-service
               | people are expected to behave like AI and always have an
               | answer whether it's correct or not. I hope at some point
               | we can drop the facade and "I don't know man, I just run
               | the till. Do you want coffee or not?" becomes an
               | acceptable response.
        
             | macNchz wrote:
             | In my experience having worked in coffee shops, restaurants
             | and bars, there is a considerable overlap between the
             | people asking for something off-menu that nobody has ever
             | asked for, and the people who will never be satisfied with
             | their order.
             | 
             | It might seem like a very simple ask, but I think many
             | people working in those jobs have learned it can be
             | expedient to just say "we can't do that" and short circuit
             | the interaction, rather than to attempt whatever it is,
             | have the customer send it back, attempt it again and have
             | the customer start insulting them for not being able to
             | "get it right". This is particularly the case if there's
             | any sort of line, where one person sending something back
             | will make every other customer angry.
             | 
             | I'm not at all saying you are doing this yourself, just
             | offering context on why you might encounter this reaction.
             | 
             | As in many fields, a fraction of people are kind of awful
             | and unfortunately their behavior winds up shaping how many
             | things operate.
        
           | ada1981 wrote:
           | The more complex, expensive and counter intuitive your
           | morning coffee, the better!
           | 
           | 90% of the experience is looking cool!
        
             | ok123456 wrote:
             | You can buy cold brew coffee at Costco in bulk in cans.
             | Just throw some in the fridge.
        
               | klyrs wrote:
               | I was excited by this in theory, but it's some of the
               | worst cold brew I've had. For shame, Costco is usually
               | pretty good for selecting quality. Then again, my
               | favorite preparation of cold brew is a shot of
               | concentrate straight from the toddy.
        
               | look_lookatme wrote:
               | I agree. Bought a flat of it a couple of months ago and
               | haven't drank more than half of them.
        
             | Y_Y wrote:
             | Pretension is nine tenths of the law
        
             | lytfyre wrote:
             | Look, my coffee routine is _perfectly reasonable_.
             | 
             | Fractional gram dosing, multiple pours at different
             | temperatures, timed switch from immersion to percolation,
             | and benchmarking different filter papers has a _measurable
             | impact_ on my coffee.
             | 
             | And I have the data and refractometry measurement data to
             | show it.
             | 
             | ... Admittedly the refractometer was expensive, and
             | incorporating it into the routine is complex and not very
             | intuitive.
             | 
             | I can also assure you that I don't look cool while doing
             | it.
        
           | cratermoon wrote:
           | As far as I can recall, I've always considered "cold" to
           | apply to the brewing, not the drinking. I learned the
           | technique as "brew extra strong, then add hot water to
           | taste", and that's how I've been doing it since I bought my
           | first cold-brew maker.
           | 
           | Where I live we don't get a lot of hot weather, so drinking
           | cold brew cold is strictly a high summer activity for me.
        
             | taude wrote:
             | me, too. the Toddy brewer 30 years ago, even spoke of this.
             | It was a way to premake your coffee concentrate, and then
             | mix with water and microwave to heat up....
        
               | lamename wrote:
               | This was the first cold-brewing device I ever
               | encountered....as a guest at someone else's house. Didn't
               | know it had a name. Thanks!
        
               | cratermoon wrote:
               | That's exactly the one I started with, and used for years
               | until the plastic got brittle and cracked.
        
           | SamBam wrote:
           | Barismo in Cambridge does (or did) a "hot draft" coffee, that
           | is always on tap, is delicious, and is remarkably like hot
           | cold brew. Their method is apparently a secret (although I'm
           | sure more digging could find it), but I wouldn't be surprised
           | if it wasn't basically on-demand heated cold brew. [1]
           | 
           | 1. https://www.baristamagazine.com/the-function-and-future-
           | of-b...
        
             | Morizero wrote:
             | Thanks for the tip, I'll hit them up tomorrow!
        
           | Terr_ wrote:
           | > But brew temp and serving temp are orthogonal.
           | 
           | And if anyone doesn't believe this, challenge them to find a
           | _truly_ "iced" coffee. :p
        
         | opwieurposiu wrote:
         | At my friends coffee shop they make cold brew with an elaborate
         | laboratory glassware setup that drips ice-water through a
         | filter. Looks pretty neat and sciencey. They got 4 of these
         | devices running all the time in the back room. I was telling
         | him all the other shops in town just fake it, he should put one
         | of the devices out front so people can see his cold-brew is for
         | real.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | That is awesome! I would absolutely love it if more cafes did
           | this. Let us know where it is so we can go patronize.
        
           | giancarlostoro wrote:
           | I would literally go to a shop doing this, like as often as
           | possible. As a coffee lover, this is peak coffee shop.
           | 
           | He could even double down and make Breaking Bad references
           | around the shop, since thats what this makes me think of.
           | 
           | I'm guessing it's not in Florida, or I would ask you for the
           | address. He should at least get a window into that backroom
           | installed or something to that effect.
        
           | samcheng wrote:
           | I think this is called "Kyoto-style slow drip" coffee. I
           | agree with you that the contraption should be in plain view
           | of the customers!
           | 
           | I remember being really interested in a cup of Kyoto-style
           | one day, only to be told to make a reservation and come back
           | tomorrow... it was worth the wait.
        
             | Spivak wrote:
             | It seems to be a niche taste among my friends, yes it's
             | sour and bitter that's why I like it!
        
           | bobthepanda wrote:
           | To be fair all you need to actually make cold brew is a
           | pitcher and a cheesecloth or some other filter. The absence
           | of an apparatus does not make it fake.
        
             | bananskalhalk wrote:
             | Chilling warm brewed coffee is definitely faking it. And I
             | presume all places selling "cold brew" is faking it so this
             | guy is losing money by not showing off doing real cold brew
             | with his apparatus.
        
               | bobthepanda wrote:
               | I'm not talking about chilling warm brewed coffee. All
               | you need to make cold brew coffee is soak coffee grounds
               | in cold water. Whether that is in a mason jar or through
               | a thousand dollar complex laboratory setup is entirely an
               | aesthetic choice.
               | 
               | https://www.loveandlemons.com/cold-brew-coffee/
        
               | klyrs wrote:
               | My favorite route to camp coffee is running this GSI
               | filter backwards:
               | 
               | https://gsioutdoors.com/products/h2jo-filter
               | 
               | Put a week's worth of grounds in the bottle, screw on the
               | filter, pour in some cold water, steep for 24h, and
               | transfer to another bottle. If somebody wants "drip"
               | strength they can cut it with water, hot or cold.
        
               | janalsncm wrote:
               | It's a market for lemons at this point. Unless you can
               | see an expensive apparatus or observe them soaking the
               | coffee, there's no way to know if it's correct, and as a
               | customer it means it's risky to buy if you care about the
               | difference between refrigerated hot coffee and cold brew.
        
               | deadlydose wrote:
               | Risky to buy? It's not real estate it's a cup of coffee.
               | And if you're worried about people faking it, just buy a
               | $2 mason jar and make some in the fridge while you sleep.
               | 
               | I don't get the fascination with paying exorbitant prices
               | and constantly complaining when it's next to zero effort
               | to make it at home, cold or hot. And the best part is you
               | get to choose where your beans come from, you don't have
               | to worry about the political slant du jour of the coffee
               | shop, and you can do it all for a fraction of the price
               | even when using the most expensive beans.
        
               | janalsncm wrote:
               | Yes, risky to buy. In the same way a slot machine has an
               | expected value of 80-99% payout it's still a bad use of
               | money even if you only put in $5.
               | 
               | If you object to the word "risky" I used it in the sense
               | of "uncertain you will get the value you expected".
               | Perhaps there's a better word.
        
               | metabagel wrote:
               | > you don't have to worry about the political slant du
               | jour of the coffee shop
               | 
               | I can't say this has ever been an issue for me.
               | Generally, they just want to sell me some coffee.
        
               | rhaps0dy wrote:
               | > It's a market for lemons at this point. Unless you can
               | see an expensive apparatus or observe them soaking the
               | coffee, there's no way to know if it's correct
               | 
               | Presumably the taste should tell you whether it's
               | correct. Otherwise why care if they fake it?
        
               | klyrs wrote:
               | I prefer to know what I'm buying before paying for it.
        
               | majormajor wrote:
               | Unless I'm a visiting tourist I'm likely to go back to a
               | good coffee shop many times. Being surprised my cold brew
               | isn't cold brew - both the caffeine content and taste are
               | tells IMO - for one visit isn't life or death here. I
               | just don't get it again.
        
               | kjkjadksj wrote:
               | The way I've seen it done is with one of those massive
               | plastic commercial kitchen lidded containers, and a
               | softball sized teabag of coffee sold by the restaurant
               | supply company specifically for cold brewing like this.
               | Then they put it in the walk in for a while to steep and
               | sell it after a certain number of hours.
        
           | this_steve_j wrote:
           | Perhaps the Yama cold brew tower CDM25 is the device you saw.
           | It is used at many fine establishments including my kitchen,
           | and I also have the smaller CDM8. The numbers 8 and 25
           | correspond to the number of cups of diluted 1:1 cold brew
           | that it produces in a single cycle (6-12 hours).
           | 
           | https://yama-glass.com/collections/cold-brew-towers
        
           | tedmiston wrote:
           | > At my friends coffee shop they make cold brew with an
           | elaborate laboratory glassware setup that drips ice-water
           | through a filter. Looks pretty neat and sciencey.
           | 
           | Likely the Yama cold brew tower [1].
           | 
           | [1]: https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/yama/yamcdm25sbk-
           | yama-pp
        
         | cout wrote:
         | As I understand, the serving temperature of coffee does have an
         | effect on perceived acidity (which is NOT the same as pH),
         | though I don't understand the science behind it. Here is one
         | paper that claims it is due to release of volatiles at higher
         | temperatures:
         | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03088...
         | 
         | If that's correct, then warming the coffee again to that
         | temperature would again speed up the release of volatile
         | compounds, though what effect that might have on flavor is
         | anyone's guess.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | I could buy it, that it might have some perceived effect
           | that's measurable. I have tasted many a warmed up cold brew,
           | and it tastes like coffee to me. The ones that are actually
           | cold brewed are milder, and the hot brewed fakes are
           | noticeably sharper, and I feel it later in my throat... The
           | thing for me is that the actual acidity of coffee has started
           | causing some inflammation. The reason I'm seeking cold brew
           | is my doctor recommended it. I'm less worried about the
           | perception of acidity and more worried about issues caused by
           | too low pH.
        
           | nkozyra wrote:
           | Ah, just posted that I detect a change in flavor after I heat
           | cold brew (but didn't know a mechanism behind it)!
        
           | YetAnotherNick wrote:
           | Also, in my experience heating the coffee in microwave
           | increase perceived acidity even more. Which kind of make
           | sense with this explaination as there could be pockets of
           | superheated water when it is microwaved.
        
             | eternauta3k wrote:
             | Could you try giving it a good stir right before putting it
             | in the microwave?
        
           | klausa wrote:
           | Isn't that a pretty generic and well known (and not coffee-
           | specific) effect, that flavor is pretty temperature
           | dependent?
           | 
           | Warm Coke is disgusting; freezing cold Diet Coke is the
           | nectar of gods.
        
             | parpfish wrote:
             | room temp soda is my favorite. there's so much more flavor
             | when it's not cold.
             | 
             | however HOT cola (which can happen if you leave it in a
             | car) is physically painful because something weird happens
             | to the bubbles
        
           | hinkley wrote:
           | Cold brew isn't about pH, it's about bitters. The oils aren't
           | (just) acidic, they're bitter, and that's what you don't get
           | when you make real cold brew instead of failing it.
           | 
           | Acetic acid is sour. Alkaloids are bitter.
        
           | rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote:
           | As a complete layman, when I tried tossing cold brew into the
           | microwave it ended up tasting pretty gross. Like, jarringly
           | so.
           | 
           | I won't pretend to know the science behind it, or perhaps I
           | warmed it differently than what the parent poster does, but I
           | definitely sympathize with the barista's hesitation in his
           | story.
        
             | ch4s3 wrote:
             | Yeah, there are still a lot of dissolved coffee solids in
             | cold brew that get further extracted if heated. There are
             | also a lot of volatile compounds that break down when
             | heated. The idea that you can just reheat coffee, even cold
             | brew and have it taste the same is just ridiculous.
        
         | draw_down wrote:
         | I agree people can be really annoying about heating up cold
         | brew. Iced espresso no problem, heated cold brew = mind blown.
        
         | csmpltn wrote:
         | This is an extreme form of coffee hipsterism. "Cold brew, but
         | steamed please". Brother, this is starting to get ridiculous.
        
           | nkrisc wrote:
           | It's no different than drinking an iced coffee drink that was
           | made from coffee brewed traditionally.
        
             | dahart wrote:
             | That'd be true if putting ice in coffee reduced its
             | acidity. Heating cold brew brings a lower acidity liquid up
             | to a nice warm good morning temperature.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | My doctor recommended cold brew for lower acidity, because
           | hot brew is bothering me. Cold brew is just a brewing process
           | and has nothing to do with serving temperature. Cold brew has
           | never meant served cold. So what, exactly, is ridiculous
           | about warming up cold brewed coffee? I like my coffee hot,
           | like a lot of people, and I'd like it if I can keep drinking
           | coffee and don't have to stop due to the acidity.
        
             | ackfoobar wrote:
             | It might be obvious but I have to ask, is that a stomach
             | problem?
        
               | dahart wrote:
               | Not for me, but it is for some people. My current issue
               | is more esophageal, my throat gets inflamed with too much
               | acid then it feels like I have food stuck and can't
               | swallow it. Other people have stomach issues, ulcers,
               | etc. but still want to enjoy coffee, so I think there's
               | plenty of reasons for cold brew served hot to exist.
        
               | aaarrm wrote:
               | Not the person you are asking, but I do have GI issues
               | due to the acidity with coffee. It can cause reflux,
               | ulcers, and more for people if they are sensitive to the
               | added acidity.
        
             | sushid wrote:
             | I'm a coffee snob and I can respect your preferences but
             | have you considered non-coffee alternatives? Japanese and
             | Chinese tea culture can be fun to delve into and tea would
             | probably be easier on your stomach.
        
               | dahart wrote:
               | I definitely have considered alternatives, and do drink
               | tea, more now than before, in part because of my negative
               | experience experiences trying to get hot coffee that was
               | cold brewed. Finding the fake cold brew many places
               | really scares me off cold brew more than baristas who
               | don't want to heat the coffee. Single shot americano is
               | another alternative with a bit lower acidity, I believe,
               | and even with that I often get mild push-back from
               | baristas... "you sure?? We pull two shots anyway..."
               | 
               | The main problem is that I love the flavor of coffee, and
               | I feel especially jealous on a Saturday morning when I
               | can smell it but can't drink it. Secondary problem is
               | adjusting to a consistent caffeine level without getting
               | headaches.
        
           | windexh8er wrote:
           | For people who are accustomed to cold brew (we always have
           | cold brew in the fridge and grounds steeping) there's a very
           | large difference in flavor and profile using the same beans.
           | This also translates when it's heated, although I will say I
           | don't do that often because I enjoy it cold more than hot.
           | 
           | I'd disagree though that it's "extreme". There are local
           | chains in my area (Midwest - US) that offer a variety of hot
           | cold brew drinks that are quite popular offerings. I was
           | pleasantly surprised when I ran across this more than a year
           | ago. But I still do run into a number of coffee shops where
           | baristas fail to understand the difference between cold brew
           | and an iced coffee. There's really no comparison when you're
           | explicitly looking for cold brew. It's also often hard to
           | find available in the winter months in my region. Not sure
           | why, but to me that's akin to pausing ice cream sales because
           | there's snow on the ground. Just because it's a cold drink
           | doesn't mean I don't drink it during cold weather.
        
           | surement wrote:
           | > extreme form of coffee hipsterism
           | 
           | I know a lot of coffee nerds and cold brew is disdained for
           | not extracting enough flavors. This is just someone who never
           | adapted to the world hoping the world will adapt to them.
        
         | the_optimist wrote:
         | "Old Brew" can be more valuable. You must check the vintage and
         | terrioir.
        
         | nkozyra wrote:
         | I find that heating cold brew reintroduces some of the flavor
         | of hot brewed coffee, though I've never been able to pinpoint a
         | mechanism for it.
        
           | bunderbunder wrote:
           | Speculation: A lot of it is that chemicals that contribute to
           | flavor are more volatile at higher temperatures.
           | 
           | The same things happens with beer. Many traditional and craft
           | beer styles are intended to be served at a higher temperature
           | than what it will be right out of the refrigerator, and you
           | really do get more (and, to my palate, better) flavor out of
           | them if you let the bottle warm up on the counter for a while
           | before you open it.
        
         | dev-tacular wrote:
         | Does cold brew served hot taste good? I have never really
         | considered asking for it hot before simply because I thought it
         | would just be like regular coffee. But, I guess if regular
         | coffee tastes different cold and hot, cold brew should too.
        
           | rpdillon wrote:
           | Cold brew is much less acidic, and I find warmed cold brew to
           | be exceptionally smooth compared with hot brew. I got my
           | recipe from a NYT interview with the CEO (I think?) of Blue
           | Bottle, though I've since lost the link. This is my copy:
           | 
           | https://rpdillon.net/recipes/new-orleans-cold-brew-
           | coffee.ht...
        
           | bunderbunder wrote:
           | Yes. The major reason for cold brewing coffee (or tea!) over
           | simply cooling and icing hot brew is that you extract a
           | different mix of compounds from the bean (or leaf) due to
           | different chemicals having different levels of solubility at
           | different temperatures.
           | 
           | Serving temperature affects flavor, too, of course. Darn near
           | everything does.
           | 
           | See, for example: https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/9/7/902
        
             | marcoalopez wrote:
             | This is only partly true. Because low-temperature
             | extraction is much less efficient, it requires a much
             | longer immersion/exposure time than hot extraction at
             | ambient or slightly higher pressure. One of the effects of
             | this type of cold extraction is the oxidation of the
             | coffee, which is much greater with this method, giving the
             | coffee an oxidised taste which, although not bad in itself
             | (nothing is set in stone about personal taste), is not to
             | everyone's liking. For my taste, I prefer to make it hot
             | (with a higher coffee/water ratio than usual) and cool it
             | down by diluting it with water or ice.
        
               | bunderbunder wrote:
               | Definitely. Though the oxidation seems different? I don't
               | find cold brew to taste "stale" the way hot brewed coffee
               | that's been stored overnight in the refrigerator does.
               | 
               | I have a bunch of kegging equipment that I don't use
               | anymore because I've lost my taste for beer, and I keep
               | wanting to see what happens if I use it to make cold
               | brewed coffee under a bed of CO2.
               | 
               | Also, y'know, coffee on tap at home.
        
               | eternauta3k wrote:
               | Won't the CO2 make the water acidic?
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | Tastes good to me. It is like regular coffee, just lower
           | acidity, which is what I need. I want it to taste the same as
           | regular coffee! ;) To be fair, it usually tastes milder than
           | how brewed coffee, and this is one of the things people like
           | about cold brew.
        
           | HankB99 wrote:
           | Good is subjective. I've trialed cold brew at home and have
           | been serving it warmed. I prefer my coffee hot. I thought it
           | tasted fine, different but neither better nor worse than hot
           | brew (drip in my case.)
           | 
           | Since it's DIY I have no one to argue with about how to
           | serve. I have stopped making cold brew for the most part
           | because it seems to require more coffee beans than hot brew.
           | Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I don't have a "cold brewer" and
           | just add water to grounds in a glass jar with lid and shake
           | when I walk by before filtering it the next day. Neither have
           | I compared the cost of electricity for drip vs. the extra
           | beans for cold so I don't really know which is more cost
           | effective.
        
         | jmilloy wrote:
         | Everything you say makes sense, with the exception of your
         | expectation not to pay extra for an unusual order (for that
         | cafe). Consider if I asked for my salad to be roasted, and
         | balked at a surcharge on the grounds that they also have
         | roasted brussel sprouts! I don't think it's up to you to decide
         | what orders fit into their flow and which cost extra. I'm glad
         | you found the places that will make the coffee the you like.
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | It's not an unusual order, hot coffee is sold millions of
           | times per day, and steaming comes with many coffee drinks,
           | it's par for the course with espresso drinks. Roasting a
           | salad is weird, hot coffee is not, so your example is straw
           | man. The "cold" in cold brew is not referring to serving
           | temperature, that's your own misunderstanding, so I find the
           | suggestion that hot cold brew is weird to be pretty funny. As
           | has been said many times in this thread, nobody balks at the
           | idea of cold hot brew, nor do they charge extra.
        
             | shawabawa3 wrote:
             | But hot cold brew is weird, as you've just been complaining
             | about people not doing it or finding it weird
             | 
             | If hot cold brew was common you wouldn't pay extra for it
        
               | dahart wrote:
               | The biggest sticking point is not the heating of the
               | coffee at all, it's the widespread misunderstanding of
               | the what the word cold means in the term "cold brew". It
               | is incorrectly assumed that brewed relatively cold (room
               | temperature) means served ice cold. Somehow a lot of
               | people can't understand the verb brew has nothing to do
               | with serving temperature. Does that make sense to you?
        
             | artimaeis wrote:
             | Former barista, it _is_ an unusual order from the
             | perspective behind the bar. Unusual in that I never have
             | heard of someone ordering a warmed cold brew.
             | 
             | I'm not certain how I'd warm it up. I suppose it could be
             | poured into a clean frothing pitcher and steamed directly,
             | I'd somewhat worry that might dilute the flavor of the
             | coffee.
             | 
             | I don't reckon someone's going to want me to microwave
             | their cold brew, but it certainly seems like it'd be the
             | quickest way to do it.
             | 
             | Most cafe workers get into flows of orders. Lattes means
             | you always pump syrups into the cup, start the pour, then
             | steam milk. Cold coffees usually means you ready the cup
             | (syrups, milk) and pour the cold brewed coffee onto it.
             | 
             | Warming the cold brew totally breaks that flow, and is why
             | it would be unexpected.
             | 
             | Hope that perspective helps. I do want to try it now
             | though! I could imagine it being pretty good.
        
               | dahart wrote:
               | I appreciate that, it does help, thank you. Indeed I
               | found a few cafes that were used to it, and quite a few
               | that weren't. I think you're totally right that this
               | trips up some people's flow especially when they're not
               | used to it. I'm okay with accepting it actually is
               | unusual for some and just instead being the person
               | complaining that it _should_ be usual or expected even if
               | it isn't always. FWIW I have tried it microwaved, and
               | it's fine, but never in a cafe - baristas have always
               | steamed it until warm or hot. That also works for me.
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | Using low frequency sound will agitate the solute and solvent,
         | speeding up the natural cold brew process.
         | 
         | Using ultrasonic will do it even faster, but since ultrasonic
         | underwater induces cavitation bubbles, it's much more violent.
         | 
         | Ultrasonic has been used for dermal infusion quite
         | successfully, but it is....painful, as bubbles are exploding
         | against your skin.
         | 
         | I would presume the same to be for the sonic coffee. Agitation
         | speeds up the process, until cavitation occurs, where it
         | becomes more violent
        
         | petre wrote:
         | That reminds me of the _Soul Kitchen_ movie when a client of a
         | fancy restaurant asked for a hot gazpacio. The waiter escalated
         | to the chef who calmly explained to the client what a gazpacio
         | is. After the client insisted, shouting at him, the chef
         | refused driving his knife into the client 's table.
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/rQ61MfRBSQg
        
           | SamBam wrote:
           | > We had gazpacho soup for starters... I didn't know that
           | gazpacho soup was meant to be served cold. I called over the
           | chef and told him to take it away and bring it back hot! So
           | he did... the looks on their faces still haunt me today! I
           | thought they were laughing at the chef, when all the time
           | they were laughing at me as I ate my piping hot gazpacho
           | soup! I never ate at the Captain's table again. That was the
           | end of my career. - Rimmer, _Red Dwarf_
           | 
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGJHDegPcU
        
             | aspenmayer wrote:
             | Red Dwarf is one of the most unhinged shows I've seen, in
             | the best way. Nice reference, as I was also thinking of hot
             | gazpacho soup, but had forgotten this scene until you
             | reminded me of it.
        
         | D13Fd wrote:
         | I drink only cold brew normally, and I've noticed this as well.
         | It's 50/50 whether you will get actually cold brew at any given
         | coffee shop or just iced hot-brew coffee, which tastes
         | different and has much less caffeine.
         | 
         | Cold brew needs a new name or it will likely fade away over
         | time.
        
           | fuzzzerd wrote:
           | There's nothing wrong with the name cold brew. It describes
           | the difference from "standard" coffee. It is the charlatans
           | selling warm brew over ice that devalue it.
           | 
           | As someone that greatly prefers coffee brewed cold and served
           | on ice, I hope it doesn't fade away, because without it I
           | have a lot less reason to get coffee out as opposed to at
           | home.
        
             | dahart wrote:
             | There _shouldn't_ be a problem with the name, but my
             | experience tells me that people don't comprehend it the
             | majority of the time, and assume incorrectly that cold
             | brewed must be served cold. This mentality is even here in
             | this thread in a few places. It does seem like some other
             | word than "cold" might help avoid leading people into an
             | erroneous conclusion.
        
         | m463 wrote:
         | I've been doing cold brew for a while now.
         | 
         | There seems to be two ways to cold brew coffee.
         | 
         | The more traditional method (like in the toddy system) uses
         | paper filters, and the newer method uses reusable metal
         | filters.
         | 
         | They are slightly different. the paper filters remove the oil,
         | while the metal filters let it through. I suspect this might
         | have flavor/aroma effects.
         | 
         | I also read because of the oils, the metal filter method is
         | higher on cholesterol (if that makes any difference to you)
         | 
         | I've also seem drip cold brewers at some coffee shops that
         | probably let the oils through. There seems to be a container of
         | ice at the top, it melts and drips on a glass container of
         | coffee and that drains through a circular glass thing (looks
         | like a slinky) into an output carafe.
        
         | elevatedastalt wrote:
         | The emperor really has no clothes when it comes to food fads.
         | 
         | And pricing is a completely orthogonal and obtuse concept too.
         | Cold brew is putatively low effort and low cost. Just let
         | coffee grounds soak in water overnight and you have cold brew.
         | But it's often charged more than regular coffee or espresso-
         | based drinks, which a) use more expensive equipment b) need
         | more skilled operation c) more material [milk etc]
        
           | fwip wrote:
           | Speculation:
           | 
           | Cold brew takes more refrigerator space, which is relatively
           | inflexible. Since it brews overnight, you have to put aside
           | enough fridge space for all the cold brew you expect to sell
           | that day. Contrast with regular coffee, which you make
           | largely on-demand, with only the coffee beans to store
           | overnight, on a shelf. So raising the price might be the
           | sensible thing to do, to discourage purchases and/or pay for
           | the extra refrigerator space.
        
             | elevatedastalt wrote:
             | That's a good point. From what I understand, cold brew can
             | be made at room temperature too. So it will need storage
             | but not cold storage. But it's possible I don't have the
             | full picture.
        
               | Bluecobra wrote:
               | I have found no difference in just using cold water and
               | having it sit on my counter overnight vs. keeping in the
               | fridge. It is nice to still refrigerate it to use less
               | ice or no ice though. In a retail setting, I would think
               | customers would demand a cold product (I would). The
               | Starbucks near me serves Nitro Cold Brew and for some
               | reason it's always warm/room temp, and they purposely do
               | not put any ice in it. Other locations seem to not have
               | this issue so maybe it's broken equipment or training.
        
               | stephenhuey wrote:
               | Cold brew coffee is by definition not brewed with hot
               | water the way most coffee is (in other words, room
               | temperature is within the range of "cold" when talking
               | about brewing with "cold" water). So, it's not necessary
               | for it to be served cold to enjoy the benefits of the
               | cold brew method--sometimes I like it chilled, but I also
               | enjoy the taste at room temperature or warmer.
        
               | elevatedastalt wrote:
               | Cold brew is so much more caffeinated that I've seen most
               | shops add tons of ice to create enough drinkable volume
               | without giving you enough caffeine to knock a horse down.
        
           | tracker1 wrote:
           | As to C, that applies to cold brew just as well as hot brewed
           | coffee.
        
             | elevatedastalt wrote:
             | Possibly, but I've seen cold brew served mostly just by
             | itself or just some syrup / cream, as opposed to
             | cappuccinos / lattes which need much more milk.
        
           | askvictor wrote:
           | Cafes often charge more for niche items, mainly because they
           | can. There's also the workflow of the barista to consider -
           | leaving the espresso machine to get ice from the freezer
           | disrupts the flow of constantly pumping out lattes.
        
         | 0xbadcafebee wrote:
         | Flavor compound release is affected by method, temperature, and
         | wat. The method (which _includes_ temperature, but is not
         | restricted to it) extracts certain compounds. The release is
         | affected by temperature and the amount and type of compounds in
         | solution. It 's entirely possible that warming up a cold-brewed
         | coffee could create off-flavors.
         | 
         | If you let coffee and water sit for long enough, all the
         | compounds that can be extracted, will be extracted. But those
         | compounds will also start to break down over time. Heating and
         | oxidation accelerates the breakdown.
         | 
         | When you go to taste coffee, the compounds in the coffee either
         | expand or contract depending on the temperature, and
         | solubility. So the temperature you drink it at, along with
         | water concentration, determines the flavors. (Flavor is
         | actually aroma, taste only has 5 basic senses)
        
         | tracker1 wrote:
         | I like, and use the term "iced cold brew" for serving cold...
         | not sure about serving cold without ice... In that my first
         | introduction to it, the person would be taking it from a
         | container in the fridge, adding some water and microwaving it
         | to heat it up.
         | 
         | After trying it, I liked it a lot... I always drink coffee over
         | ice (usually with a lot of cream and sweetener), as I'm not so
         | much a coffee fan as a caffeine consumer a few times a month. I
         | like the more mellow taste of cold brew.
        
         | mmanfrin wrote:
         | > I was laughed at in one hipster joint for asking for a
         | steamed or warmed cold-brew
         | 
         | Not to discount the rest of your comment but it's a mild irony
         | here for you to add the 'hipster' qualifier to a coffee place
         | when you ask for steamed cold brew
        
           | dahart wrote:
           | Why's that? What's ironic? Do you feel like that's a fair
           | gotcha? Do you know why I asked for a heated cold brew?
           | 
           | I'm asking for cold brew because my esophagus gets inflamed
           | with higher acidity coffee. I used hipster not as pejorative,
           | but to indicate this is a cafe that claims to, and should,
           | know the difference between cold brewed and hot brewed
           | coffee. In fact, I'm certain the owner does know the
           | difference and the snarky barista who refused to help me that
           | day does not. First she said, "Uh, we call that a drip." When
           | I offered the acidity reason and that it's my doctor's
           | recommendation, she replied with "it's not on the menu". Cold
           | brew was on the menu.
        
         | romafirst3 wrote:
         | All coffees tend to be in the same ph range regardless of
         | brewing technique.
        
         | kjkjadksj wrote:
         | I wonder if you can deal with the acidity issue in a quick and
         | dirty manner by just throwing in some baking soda into your
         | grinds and brewing hot?
        
       | blincoln wrote:
       | I'm disappointed that their test didn't include a comparison to
       | traditional drip coffee made using the same beans, then chilled
       | to match the temperature of the cold brew.
       | 
       | I haven't looked into ultrasonic cavitation in years, but since
       | it can produce enough heat and light to make some people wonder
       | if it was a form of nuclear fusion back in the early 2000s, I
       | feel like maybe it's affecting the flavour of the coffee at least
       | as much as using hot water would.
        
       | eschneider wrote:
       | Technically interesting and possibly useful at an industrial
       | scale, but I think I'll stick to my moka pot/french press setups.
       | Both are good enough and easy enough for me.
        
       | eezurr wrote:
       | I discovered you can mix Nestle instant coffee with cold
       | (charcoal filtered) water and it dissolves fine. Somehow the
       | added sugar easily dissolves too. I also add heavy cream
       | 
       | It actually tastes pretty good. Most of the acrid taste from
       | (hot) instant isnt there
        
         | triceratops wrote:
         | But then you miss out on the self-flagellation aspect of
         | drinking instant.
        
           | all2 wrote:
           | You can no longer mutter to your coworkers _I just need the
           | caffeine_ as you add the 5th scoop of instant to your
           | Styrofoam cup of hot water.
        
       | MisterBastahrd wrote:
       | Anyone ever tried dumping coffee grinds and water into an
       | ultrasonic jewelry cleaner?
        
         | bethekind wrote:
         | Wattage might not be high enough to notice a difference, but
         | might be fun
        
           | MisterBastahrd wrote:
           | So I looked at Amazon for products. There's an ultrasonic
           | brewer that is used for both cold brew coffee and also for
           | rapid infusion of spirits with charred barrel staves. There's
           | also a stir plate / french press combo for sale that
           | apparently does fine cold brew in 20 minutes.
        
       | monkayMan wrote:
       | I enjoy a good cold brew but it's been a rare occurrence. It
       | usually has a stale taste I assume is due to oxidation. I can see
       | coffee shops using acoustic cavitation to make fresh batches
       | throughout the day instead of one big overnight batch!
        
       | pain_perdu wrote:
       | The longtime CEO/President of Starbucks recently invested in a
       | Cold Brew startup called Cumulus which makes instead coldbrew via
       | a $600 countertop machine.
       | 
       | https://dailycoffeenews.com/2023/11/16/howard-schultz-part-o...
        
         | jerlam wrote:
         | _The machine uses single-serve, single-use aluminum pods, which
         | along with the machines are expected to be available next
         | summer._
         | 
         | Of course, it's an attempt to be the next Keurig/Nespresso.
        
       | hardwaregeek wrote:
       | This is a neat idea, since cold brew has a common criticism of an
       | oxidized flavor due to its long steep time. A shorter steep could
       | get you the smooth flavor without the oxidation
        
         | gruez wrote:
         | Wouldn't it be cheaper to brew the coffee in a sealed/vacuum
         | chamber instead? Whatever machine they're using to generate
         | "acoustic cavitation" doesn't sound cheap.
        
           | quarkw wrote:
           | That was my first thought. It seems like others have already
           | tried it with good results.
           | 
           | https://old.reddit.com/r/coldbrew/comments/ob0gzg/cold_brew_.
           | ..
           | 
           | You can also sous vide coldbrew coffee for faster results
           | than traditional coldbrew. But at that point is it still
           | technically coldbrew? Maybe warmbrew is a better term for it.
        
       | antonchekhov wrote:
       | New startup idea: manufacture a hard-plastic spiky attachment,
       | shaped like a tubular hair-brush that I can simply screw onto the
       | base of my Sonicare toothbrush, then stand upside down into the
       | brewing carafe of my Oxo cold-brew setup. The Sonicare's built-in
       | 2 minute timer may have to be activated twice, for a full brew.
        
       | beefman wrote:
       | A few years ago there was a crowdfunded instant cold brew machine
       | based on acoustic cavitation called Osma.[1] I don't think it's
       | still in production. I met the founder during testing at
       | Chromatic Coffee in San Jose, and took delivery of one of the
       | first units. Cool concept, but it didn't work very well
       | 
       | [1] https://www.engadget.com/osma-pro-cold-brew-coffee-
       | machine-r...
        
       | surfingdino wrote:
       | James Hoffman's video on the subject incoming in 3... 2... 1...
       | can't wait :-)
        
       | knicholes wrote:
       | Does anyone know what make this better than just stirring for
       | three minutes?
        
         | eichin wrote:
         | The paper lists many things they tested for, but the
         | fascinating one is that the coffee oils and water get
         | _emulsified_ which isn 't going to happen with any level of
         | stirring below "puree" :-)
        
       | thsksbd wrote:
       | I'm guessing few on this board have heard an uktrasonicator in
       | action.
       | 
       | I just showed to article to my mate, and he enthusiastically said
       | we'll brew some... as soon as we leave the lab to break for lunch
        
         | askvictor wrote:
         | > heard an uktrasonicator
         | 
         | Is this a joke?
        
       | bastardoperator wrote:
       | Whatever they're holding up in that picture, it looks more like
       | iced tea versus cold brew coffee.
        
       | maherbeg wrote:
       | Huh, I'd love to taste a sample. This would be such a nice
       | extension to an existing Espresso setup!
        
       | dukeofdoom wrote:
       | They should add led lights and ultrasonic vibration to the cup
       | for a futuristic cyber punk style presentation.
        
       | lacrosse_tannin wrote:
       | In the picture, it looks like they're posing with some refreshing
       | sun-tea. Maybe they should try 4 minutes.
        
       | ugh123 wrote:
       | Here's my iced coffee prep for those who like it strong with a
       | bite:
       | 
       | Prepare a "lungo" via espresso by brewing through twice (or more)
       | as much water through a single espresso puck. Don't do this over
       | ice. Put the cup in the freezer. Depends on the cup (I use
       | ceramic) but should be close to room temperature or slightly cold
       | after about 30 minutes. _Now_ pour over ice.
       | 
       | Can also do this over night for larger brews in the fridge (non
       | freezer).
       | 
       | This is as close as I could get to a Starbucks iced coffee that
       | isn't watered down and still has bite.
        
       | greentxt wrote:
       | Guess this proves Havana Syndrome is real after all.
        
       | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonication
       | 
       | How will cats feel about that high-pitched noise?
        
       | cwillu wrote:
       | The Doctor: It's sonic, okay, let's leave it at that.
       | Captain Jack Harkness: Disruptor? Cannon? What?         The
       | Doctor: It's sonic, totally sonic. I am sonicked *up*!
       | Captain Jack Harkness: [yelling] A sonic *what*?         The
       | Doctor: [yelling] *Coffee maker*!
        
       | m463 wrote:
       | > _sonicated_
       | 
       | I sense a new term making its way into coffee marketeering...
        
       | selimnairb wrote:
       | First they should teach Australian baristas what iced coffee is.
        
       | eichin wrote:
       | Ooh an excuse to upgrade some homelab equipment :-)
       | 
       | (My preferred "weird" coffee is sous-vide: 125g/liter, 2h @ 150f
       | - so you don't leave as much flavor "on the table", but by not
       | getting near boiling you leave more of the bitter compounds
       | behind. Refrigerated but served iced or warmed with boiling
       | water, to taste.)
        
       | 0xbadcafebee wrote:
       | So, to simplify, we could take a large mason jar and attach to
       | the bottom a magnet and wire coil attached to a power source, and
       | just pump sound waves into a glass jar of water and coffee
       | grounds. Effectively it's a speaker that holds coffee. Should
       | have the same effect
        
         | eternauta3k wrote:
         | If the cavitation really is important then no, it won't have
         | the same effect. But maybe the cavitation is not important! Try
         | it out and report back.
        
         | kjkjadksj wrote:
         | Buy an ultrasonic cleaner off the shelf and just decant the
         | grounds out of the coffee when you are done
        
       | nefrix wrote:
       | Finally, the scientists discovered a life changing thing.
        
       | spython wrote:
       | Or you could use a (quite affordable) ultrasonic machine designed
       | for gentle cleaning of jewelry, dentures, glasses..
       | 
       | I've used one to extract fragrance from biological material for
       | an artistic project[0], and it worked really well. Instead of
       | having to wait for a few weeks for a tincture to finish, you put
       | the same tincture (alcohol and material you want to extract
       | fragrance from) into a plastic bag for just 15 minutes. Sure, it
       | smells not quite the same, but the speed is often worth it. I've
       | even heard about some guy trying to turn vodka into whiskey with
       | an ultrasonic machine and wood chips.
       | 
       | There are quite a few ultrasonic machines on the market. I've
       | tried EMAG and multiple Chinese no-name machines that are just as
       | powerful but cheaper. Sadly the no-name machines are quite a bit
       | louder - you can't stay in the same room while it's running
       | basically. Still, they all work well for this kind of fast and
       | dirty extraction.
       | 
       | [0] https://rybakov.com/blog/smelling_cz/
        
       | cabirum wrote:
       | Search for "portable ultrasonic washing machine" on
       | Amazon/Aliexpress, looks like a hockey puck you drop into a
       | bucket with water and clothes. Looks like the principle of
       | operation is the same, just add a coffee filter.
        
       | acc_297 wrote:
       | unfortunate that the acoustic cavitation frequency is just barely
       | within the range some dogs can still perceive
        
       | Spaced-Oddity wrote:
       | Not to be that guy, but this works with room temperature water if
       | you stir it for a minute as well. No need for "acoustic
       | cavitation" for this to work.
       | 
       | The inventor of the aeropress shared this tip. Here's his recipe:
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUD6HxDnlwI&t=56s&ab_channel...
        
       | mianos wrote:
       | "Ultrasounds can be applied to several areas across the food
       | industry including drying, extraction, emulsification and
       | crystallisation - making the process faster and more efficient.",
       | .. I think they have the tense wrong. It should read "Ultrasounds
       | are now commonly applied .."
       | 
       | People have been doing this sort of thing for years. I have an
       | ultrasonic tub for extracting flavours into ethanol. I didn't
       | invent it, people were talking about it years ago on the forums
       | on this stuff.
       | 
       | Maybe they don't have internet over there at UNSW. They can come
       | over and borrow mine for a bit of a search. I am just a few ks
       | away. Or go to that internet cafe in Kensington in the next
       | block.
        
       | shirro wrote:
       | Wake up yourself and all the dogs in the neighborhood at the same
       | time. I want one.
       | 
       | I went through the obligatory Australian fascination with
       | espresso and am well over it. It is a load of fetishistic bs and
       | scalding hot coffee is disgusting. I buy bottles of cold brew
       | from a local roaster and avoid the hassle.
        
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