Vanilla Creme Cold Brew - Large Recipe
Cold Brew Coffee: Steeped Arabica Coffee; Brown Sugar Syrup: Brown Sugar, Water, Invert Sugar, Contains 2% or less of: Potassium.
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Ingredients
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Cold Brew Coffee
Brown Sugar Syrup (Vanilla Creme Base)
Assembly / Finish
Method
Cold Brew Coffee
Combine coffee and water
In a nonreactive container, add 1 cup coarsely ground Arabica coffee and 4 cups cold filtered water. Stir gently to ensure all grounds are saturated.
Steep
Cover the container and steep at room temperature or refrigerated for 16 to 20 hours for a smooth, concentrated cold brew. Longer steep times yield stronger concentrate; 18 hours is a good target.
Strain
After steeping, strain the concentrate through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter or cheesecloth into a clean container. Press gently to extract liquid, then discard grounds. You should have about 1 to 1.25 cups of cold brew concentrate.
Brown Sugar Syrup (Vanilla Creme Base)
Combine sugars and water
In a small saucepan, combine 3/4 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup water. Add 1 tablespoon invert sugar (or 1 tbsp light corn syrup) to help with body and shelf stability. If you have a potassium-containing additive for formulation (trace ingredient), stir in approx 0.02 tsp now; this is optional and only included to reflect the listed 'contains 2% or less' component.
Heat to dissolve
Warm the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring until the brown sugar fully dissolves and the syrup is smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not let it come to a vigorous boil—gentle simmering is fine but remove from heat once dissolved.
Add vanilla and cool
Remove the pan from heat. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a sealed jar. Chill in the refrigerator. Syrup will keep about 2 weeks refrigerated.
Assembly / Finish
Prepare glass
Fill a large serving glass with about 1 cup of ice.
Add syrup
Pour 2 tablespoons of the chilled brown sugar vanilla syrup over the ice. Adjust to taste—use more for sweeter drinks, less for subtler sweetness.
Add cold brew and milk
Pour 1 cup cold brew concentrate over the ice and syrup. Top with 1/2 cup milk (or dairy alternative) and stir gently to combine. If your concentrate is very strong, dilute with a little additional cold water to taste (up to 1/4 cup).
Taste and adjust
Taste the beverage and add additional brown sugar syrup by the teaspoon if needed for sweetness. Serve immediately with a straw.