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This Gadget Makes Cold Brew Coffee Easier Than Ever

Sweeter, less acidic, and super potent—what's not to like?

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There are a lot of ways to brew coffee, and while most drinkers have preferred method, some go so far as to eschew hot coffee in general. They stick to iced coffee or, increasingly, cold brew.

What is cold brew? Exactly what it sounds like: coffee that's brewed cold. The grounds are soaked in chilled or room-temperature water over an extended period of time—usually 8 to 12 hours. The lower water temp prevents acidification and produces a sweeter, fruitier, less bitter brew.

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As with hot coffee, there are a lot of ways to make cold brew. You can use a French press to steep the coffee overnight, or a drip machine or pour-over brewer to slowly trickle cool water through the grinds. Or, if you want a smarter solution, you could use the Cold Bruer.

Cold Bruer
Credit: Reviewed.com / Tyler Wells Lynch

{{amazon name="Melitta Coffee Filters for Percolators, White (3.5-Inch Discs), 100-Count Filters (Pack of 24)", asin="B0000CF8T1", align="right"}} The nifty little device launched as a hugely successful Kickstarter project back in September of 2013. The campaign raised more than 600 percent of its funding goal. Why was it so successful? Because it's an elegant solution, and people love cold brew coffee.

The Cold Bruer is made up of two transparent chambers inside a larger carafe. All you have to do is add coffee to the lower chamber, place it in the carafe, and put a paper coffee filter on top. Then you fit a valve and valve plug above the filter, which allows the water you pour into the upper chamber to slowly saturate the grounds. About five to six hours later, the result is a delicious, concentrated brew.

There's a complexity to the brew that just doesn't exist in traditional hot coffee.

I recently had a chance to sample some cold brew from the Cold Bruer, and I came away impressed. Granted, this was the first time I'd ever tried cold brew, but it's easy to see why the method has such a devoted following. There's a complexity to the coffee that just doesn't exist in traditional hot preparations, and while that sweet style may not be for everyone, it's certainly worth notice.

While freshness is ideal, you can easily store a substantial volume of cold brew in your fridge to drink at your leisure. That's a perk you can't get with hot coffee. And if you're a stubborn advocate of hot drinks like I am, you can still heat the cold brew and enjoy all those sweet, fruity notes.

Bruer's Cold Bruer is currently retailing for $80 and is available on the company's website.

The Cold Bruer
Credit: Reviewed.com / Tyler Wells Lynch

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