Are you a coffee enthusiast? If yes, then there are no chances that you haven’t tried cold brew coffee in your exploring adventures. You might have even got yourself some cold brew at home to make it for yourself. We can’t blame you for being obsessed with cold brew. It is a lot like iced coffee, but at the same time, it is more special. So, now that you’ve made the jump and got yourself some cold brew, you might be curious and asking yourself that how long does cold brew last? If that’s what’s on your mind, then today is your lucky day. We will be discussing everything you need to know about keeping your cold brew fresh.
How Long Does Cold Brew Coffee Stay Good For?
Since you already know how long does brew coffee last in general, the question you’d want to be answered today is that how long does cold brew last? Cold brew coffee is a lot similar to iced tea in terms of its lifeline. The coffee can stay good for up to 7-10 days. Of course, this is only an estimate since this depends on you when you’re removing grounds from your coffee batch and how you store it. We suggest you start checking your coffee after a week or so since your plants might want to have a taste of it after this period.
Storing Cold Brew Coffee
You’ll obviously have to keep your cold brew coffee refrigerated soon after making it. Do NOT make the mistake of leaving it out at room temperature, even for a little while. Or else your coffee would start growing mold right away. Before you store the cold brew, you need to know the perfect water-to-coffee ratio and the sleeping period. After your cold brew is ready, you must store it in an air-tight container. This will preserve the freshness of your cold brew, keep the flavor, and minimize degradation of the components to a great extent. Keep the brew you won’t be drinking for now separately in the fridge right after making it.
Does Cold Brew Go Bad?
Nothing stays fresh forever, and every food or drink has a certain life period. The same can be said with cold brew. Yes, it does go bad after a max of 14 days. The coffee initially starts losing its freshness after you make it. You cannot stop this from happening but only minimize the spoiling process. The brew will have mold starting to grow in it if you don’t refrigerate it. Even in the refrigerator, it has a life no longer than a week or two. When it comes to coffee, the fresher, the better. The older it gets, the less flavor you get to enjoy. Similarly, cold brew coffee isn’t meant to last for months. It grows stale and flavorless soon after being made unless certain measures are taken.
One might ask if it makes you sick. The answer is that no, it does not. But you still would not want to drink anything spoiled. With coffee, the longer you delay drinking it, the less good it would taste. The flavor dampens, and the freshness fades away. As for cold brew coffee, we advise you to throw it away after 2 weeks of storing it in the fridge.
Prolonging Cold Brew Shelf Life
As we mentioned above, your cold brew starts getting spoiled very slowly as days pass. A time comes when it’s best to feed it to your plants. Storing your cold brew coffee properly can extend its life to some extent. You can only extend its life by reducing this decomposition process. The better way you store it, the better results you’ll get. So, how exactly do you do that? Let us guide you through some simple steps.
1. Using Smaller Containers
The first thing you can do is store your cold brew coffee in smaller storage containers. This way, there would be less air in the container, which results in less oxidization. Your coffee’s flavor will remain as tasteful for a while as if it was just brewed fresh. You might have to compromise a little on your refrigerator’s storage capacity, but we think this drawback is no biggie for a coffee lover.
2. Using Glass Containers
Glass is supposed to be your only pick when it comes to choosing a coffee container. Plastic containers do not entirely help in stopping oxidization. With glass containers, on the other hand, you have no chemicals mingling around your coffee. They can also provide better sealing properties as compared to plastic containers. Therefore, you’ll find glass containers to be a way better option.
3. Freezing
Your last and heaviest bet at extending cold brew coffee’s life is through freezing it. This is a benefit of coffee. You can freeze it whenever you want and save it for later. Simply freeze your coffee and thaw it after when you’re in the mood. But do remember that this method would cost you a bit of quality. The taste might be a bit different. Therefore, we recommend you always make it fresh and consume it fresh.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned tips will help you extend your cold brew’s life slightly. They will help more with preserving the flavor, though. Cold-brew coffee offers plenty of health benefits besides tasting so good. It can stay good for a week or two if you store it properly. In all honesty, we believe going through this much of a hassle to keep your brew last longer isn’t worth it. It is recommended to share coffee with your loved ones instead of storing it. Nonetheless, we hope this guide helped you learn a thing or two about storing cold brew coffee. Cheers to all the coffee enthusiasts!
For further information, you can also check out some of the best YouTube tutorials on how long does cold brew last.
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