[D as in David]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

When I was doing this, I realized that what I truly wanted in the morning ritual was just a beverage. In the winter, it's specifically a hot beverage. That's why I was experimenting with spices in my cold brew. I didn't really like what I got when warming up cold brew. I aim for caffeination to wake up on my second drink.

In the end, I ended up preferring going back to hot coffee when it was cold. Figuring out spices was too difficult. The closest I got to something I wouldn't have minded was something almost like mixing horchata with cold brew, but that mixture didn't replace my want for a heated beverage when it was cold. Going the Irish coffee idea route with Bailey's or a shot didn't really do it for me either because it seemed weird drinking on the job/the true want was for a hot drink.

Laziness/lack of fridge space got in the way of me starting cold brew back up again when the temperature warmed back up. I think a mini-fridge in my office space and some flasks ready to go would go a long way in making my cold brew habits a bit more semi permanent though.

Since you mentioned it, you can experiment with aerating your cold brew. It can help with teas and coffees in the same way as wine. However, the average person typically only notices it as "slightly less bitter" or "a little more smooth and less grainy". This is just something slightly fun to try, not something I've noticed is necessary, especially since the cold brew is already aerated a little when you pour into other containers. In fact, over aerating a coffee or tea can sometimes end up as making the drink taste like you diluted it slightly with water (ie: aerating it until the top of the liquid is slightly foamy/bubbly).

I also found that a sprinkle of a dark tea leaf in certain brews helped to bridge the flavor gaps of certain brews. Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey or English breakfast are the safest (essentially stuff used to make milk tea). Unless seriously curious, I'd only experiment with adding tea to brews that were very sour with a lack of bitterness that you'd potentially consider throwing out otherwise. Certain teas can throw off the balance completely with only a surprisingly little amount (ie: <20:1 ratio), especially with Puer, Rooibos and Darjeeling. Knowing what I know now, I'd recommend adding that splash of cooled tea post brew vs adding the tea to the brewing process. Green, red and white teas were too different than cold brew and far too difficult to figure out. I wouldn't recommend then.

TBH, I've always found the ritual I liked the most was having 75% a staple cold brew and a 25% experiment brew. Sometimes the experiment brew was good enough to become the staple brew. Anyone who loves the same taste day in day out I'd imagine is more likely doing it for the caffeine and not for the ritual or true enjoyment of the drink/curiosity of the differences in flavor.

Thanks for sharing! I drink my morning coffee black partly because I don't want to break my fast until lunchtime so I'm curious about options for flavour enhancing. Cinnamon or cocoa isn't cutting it.