If anyone is aiming for a nutty flavor in their cold brew, I find that Vietnamese coffee seems to be pretty good at imparting this flavor.
I've tried two different Trung Nguyen brand pre ground coffee beans so far. 10-15% of the cold brew was Trung Nguyen coffee grinds and the remainder was a Starbucks dark roast. The outcome was something of a really distinct coconut/hazelnut after taste. I do not know how much of this flavor also relies on the burnt taste from the Starbucks coffee grinds, but I can say it's a nice additional flavor added to the brew I made with only the Starbucks coffee grinds.
I also can't really say how much of the main flavor body of the cold brew was influenced by the Vietnamese coffee grinds. If there's something there, I barely notice it or I'm so focused on the nutty after taste I just miss it. I also don't know how much of that has to do with the fact the Starbucks beans dominate due to the fact it's a dark roast and due to the fact the ratio of the Starbucks beans are significantly higher than the Vietnamese coffee grinds. I'm pretty sure Vietnamese coffee is traditionally dark roast though, so I could see some of the flavors it imparts into the main body being identical to the Starbucks dark roast. I do not have enough coffee grinds left to try a pure Vietnamese coffee cold brew any time soon.
Worth an experiment if anyone is bored. I don't believe Trung Nguyen coffee is very expensive when you find it.
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