There are a lot of people who desire to have cold drip coffee a long after they make it. When you have made your coffee, fulfilling the above desire is easy. You just need to know some things about cold drip coffee, its ingredients, and preservation methods. Then, the task will be a matter of spending some time.
The lifespan of a cold drip coffee is different considering the coffee bean quality, grinding process and preservation method. If you store cold drip coffee out of a fridge, it will get a short life of 2-3 days. The lifespan can be up to one week in refrigerated preservation. Mixing some additives will decrease the life scale.
To get a clarified idea, we need to dive deep into the relevant facts. Let’s discuss the full presentation!
What is cold drip coffee?
Cold drip coffee is a sort of coffee that is made with coarse grounds and cold water through a maker that emits a water drop on the coffee grounds and produces the final liquid. Then, it is normally preserved at room temperature or occasionally in a refrigerator. This coffee is a part of cold brew coffee.
What are the main catalysts behind cold drip coffee’s lifespan?
If you want to find out the genuine facts, you have to research in-depth, from bean cultivation to final output collection. Indeed, a good number of facts are behind it. The other facts are roasting level, grinding, brewing method, water type, refrigerated and non-refrigerated preservation.
The main facts are described below:
- Coffee bean type: What coffee bean you are using is one of the main catalysts. If you use light roasted beans, it will reduce coffee life. Medium-roasted or medium-dark roasted beans will prolong the life cycle.
- Grinding: Manual grinding of coffee beans will bring the best result. Any electric grinder use will shorten coffee life. Electric grinders produce heat and coffee grounds lose quality. A manual grinder doesn’t produce heat and keeps the ground the same as the original.
- Use of pure water: Germ and dirt-free filtered water is one of the critical facts of cold drip coffee’s life cycle. If your coffee is made with dirty water, bacteria will grow faster. Sometimes, dust or dirt contains bacteria. So, the matter is alarming for all coffee lovers.
- Refrigerated preservation: This sort of preservation means bacterial growth is slowed down and you can enjoy it for a prolonged duration of one week. The cold temperature of the fridge disallows bacteria and the hot or room temperature is beneficial to grow bacteria.
- Non-refrigerated preservation: non-cold or non-refrigerated preservation is favourable to bacterial growth. Thus, cold drip coffee lasts a shorter period out of the fridge.
Preservation system of cold drip coffee
Two preserved system is used for cold drip coffee – refrigerated and non-refrigerated. When you do not use a fridge for preservation, the liquid will get affected by more bacteria just after 2 or 3 days. Thus, the drink will be unhealthy. In refrigerated preservation, the low temperature of the fridge prevents bacteria from attacking the liquid for 7- 8 days.
How long does cold drip coffee last: finding the actual duration
Generally, cold drip coffee lasts 2-3 days. That means you have made cold drip coffee and kept it idle in a pot at room temperature: you can enjoy it for 2 to 3 days. In another case, you can put your beloved coffee in a refrigerator. Generally, the inner temperature of a fridge is highly unsuitable for bacterial growth. So, refrigerated cold drip coffee will last for longer: 7-8 days.
Here is a caution: if your water is not filtered and pure, both refrigerated and non-refrigerated duration will be decreased. Lightly roasted coffee beans will lead coffee to a shorter life. Some low-quality grinder is also responsible for lessening the coffee life by producing extra heat. The more heat a grinder will produce, the more ground quality will be lost.
How to increase cold drip coffee lifespan?
Many cold-drip coffee lovers want to enjoy it long after they have made it. But this is not easy to do. You have to ensure that
- you have collected quality beans,
- the roasting level is adequately maintained,
- the grinding is up to the mark (a manual grinder can give you the best experience) and
- the water is filtered and germ-free.
- Then comes the making process and you have followed it accurately.
- Cleaning and disinfecting the water, coffee ground and output collection chamber before starting the process will surely extend the shelf line.
Now, after making cold drip coffee it comes the preservation process. Normal preservation always brings a shorter life and cold preservation (refrigerated preservation) ensures an extended duration.
Making cold drip coffee at home with the least effort
By using a cold drip coffee maker you can make your desired cold coffee easily. Collect three chambers – water, ground and output collection. Set them with a frame that can set the water chamber at the top, the coffee ground chamber at the middle and the output chamber below the two. Pour coffee grounds into the middle chamber and water at the top and place the output chamber below all.
Set the drip number on the top chamber and start the full process. Wait for 4-5 hours and enjoy cold drip coffee from the collection chamber.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you keep drip coffee fresh?
Keeping drip coffee in the dark, dry and room temperature environment will be beneficial to get cold drip coffee for a longer time. Moreover, using freshly grounded beans can be a plus for keeping drip coffee fresh. Remember, exposure to heat, vivid light and moisture damage freshness.
Is cold drip coffee strong?
Generally, it is a medium-strong coffee version. The ratio used for drip coffee indicates less strong coffee than a cold brew and more substantial than some others.
Can you drink day old drip coffee?
It is discouraged to drink an open pot stored day-old cold drip coffee. It’s better to preserve it systematically to extend cold drip coffee’s shelf line.
Does drip coffee expire?
Drip coffee does not expire in the true sense. Either it will not cause any disorder in your stomach or lead to severe damage. But, the taste will be odd enough to avoid the drink. However, diluted coffee remains suitable for a shorter time than a usual one. Just make sure you are not making coffee with wet grounds.
In common sense, cold drip coffee loss its taste, color and fragrance when it passes its shelfline.
Final Words
Our discussion on how long does cold drip coffee last will be successful only when you can will get a remarkable output from it. We belive your future storage experience of cold drip coffee will be very pleasant with our teaching. Keep visiting our website for more coffee-related discussions.