The debate on cold or hot coffee and which one is the better option has been going on for decades. Now imagine turning a cold coffee into a hot one by heating it. If you are a coffee lover and wish to have cold coffee as a hot brew but you feel confused if this is a good idea or not, then you have come to the right place. “Can you heat up cold brew coffee?”; this question must be loitering around in your mind. Let us tell you whether you can – or not.
Can You Heat Up Cold Brew Coffee?
Yes, you can heat cold brew coffee, and while the flavor may alter, it is worth the shot. Cold-brew coffee is available as a concentrate or as a ready-to-drink beverage so heating it will not necessarily change its chemical composition but will change its sweetness.
However, people do want to heat their cold brew coffee or have it cold. It’s quite a personal choice.
Heating Cold Brew Coffee – A Deeper Insight
Cold brew coffee is praised for its smoothness, natural sweetness, and absence of bitterness, and it is advised for coffee newbies who may be put off by the inherent bitterness found in hot coffee.
Dark roast cold brew coffee is less acidic and richer in flavor, with chocolaty undertones. Avoid increasing the heating interval or boiling the coffee while heating cold brew coffee as this might result in sour tastes owing to the breakdown of volatile flavor and fragrance molecules.
If the cold brew coffee is stored in the refrigerator, you may heat it directly without first bringing it to room temperature.
You should eat the warmed cold brew rather than keeping it since the more you expose and modify the temperature of the cold brew coffee, the more volatile components are impacted, lowering its freshness. This makes most of us wonder how does the hot cold-brew coffee taste?
How Does Hot Cold-Brew Coffee Taste?
Hot cold brew coffee tastes great. You’ll get that warming sensation since it’s heated but with the sweeter, less acidic, and more balanced coffee flavor that cold brew coffee has to offer.
After experimenting with this approach for a while, I’m beginning to appreciate the flavor. We’re all aware that cold brew coffee tastes distinct and unlike any other coffee available.
Heating it will make drinking your coffee much more exciting!
It’s also a great method to finish your batch of cold brew coffee if the weather drops and you no longer want to sip iced coffee. There are many ways to heat cold coffee but, in this blog, we’ll talk about the most common ways to do this.
Ways To Heat Your Cold-Brew
When heating your cold-brew coffee, make sure you do it right, so you don’t end up ruining it completely. We’ve got these ways all listed down for you:
- Addition of Hot Water
To begin, preheat your cup by rinsing it with hot water. Fill it with the correct amount of cold brew concentrate, followed by the appropriate amount of hot water.
- Microwave
Because of its history of uneven heating, nuking will not properly combine the water and concentrate. A lower temperature setting for a minute and a half will do the trick.
- Stovetop
In a kettle or saucepan, combine the concentrate and water in the correct ratio. Heat over low heat until the mixture begins to steam, then reduce to a simmer for another minute before removing from heat. Pour into a cup and set aside to cool before drinking.
My favorite way is the water dilution method so I will explain that to you.
Dilute Cold Brew Concentrate With Hot Water
A frequent method for making cold brew concentrate (that can be used hot as well) is to employ a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:3 to 1:5. Meanwhile, whether you drink it hot or cold, the concentrate must be diluted. As a result, adding boiling water to your concentrate is the simplest way to produce hot cold brew coffee. Here’s what you need to do:
- Heat the water (using an electric kettle or stove)
- Fill your cup halfway with hot water.
- Fill the cup halfway with cold brew concentrate.
- To the concentrate, add two parts of boiling water.
- Stir it well and serve your hot cold brew coffee.
There are a couple of questions that people tend to ask about this other than asking us “Can you heat up cold brew coffee?”. Let’s cover those now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to make cold brew coffee acidic by heating it?
No, the acidity is extracted from the ground coffee during the cold brew process, and acid components do not degrade when the coffee is heated.
Is cold-brewed coffee less acidic than hot-brewed coffee?
Cold-brew lovers, in particular, swear by the low acidity of cold brew coffee, with some claiming that cold brew has roughly half the acidity of hot coffee.
According to credible scientific research, the acidity of cold brew coffee is approximately identical to that of hot coffee, with pH values ranging between 4.85 and 5.13.
How long should a cold brew be heated?
For cold brews, avoid prolonged heating durations because they will break down the majority of the volatile chemicals. The resultant beverage might be somewhat astringent.
If you want to heat cold brew coffee, that’s acceptable. If you don’t like other types of coffee but want to go something warm, this is an excellent option.
Just make sure you don’t keep warming it up and cooling it down. And doing it correctly also helps. Here is why heating a cold brew is a great idea
Why Is Heated Cold Brew A Good Idea?
The best thing about this hot-cold brew is that it is available all year! Given the predominance of hot coffee brewing technologies, the notion of heating cold brew may appear redundant. However, if you want your hot coffee to have the low acidity and rich, smooth flavor of cold brew, it is worth investigating.
Furthermore, if you frequently lack the time to make freshly brewed hot coffee in the morning, heating either cold brew concentrates or ready-to-drink cold brew is a quick and easy method to enjoy wonderful coffee.
There are a couple of dangers, such as the possibility of an unpleasant flavor from heating cold brew with a steam wand or heating cold brew for too long in a microwave.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The answer to your question “Can you heat up cold brew coffee?” has been answered with a huge yes! Cold-brew coffee enthusiasts, such as me, will tell you that nothing beats a steaming mug on a cold winter night or a hot summer day.
Don’t just take my word for it; try it for yourself and see how great it is. If you don’t already have some, go to your local grocery shop and get some coffee beans now!
You’ll be happy you did.