Thursday, June 8, 2017

Make Your Own Sweet Cream for Cold Brew Coffee

    If you are someone who is very intuitive, and figures things out quickly, just skip this post, will you? However, if you are at all like me, and not able to deduce things at first glance, then you might just find this post helpful!

    I love coffee. Especially what I consider to be "summer coffee". Summer coffee is always cold, and comes in many forms: iced, blended, cold brew, affogatos, and my new favorite calorie bomb: an iced coffee float made with carbonated coffee from my local coffee shop. However, neither my wallet nor my waistline appreciate having those often so I stick to my other favorite: sweet cream cold brew from my not-so-local place. (You know the one with ubiquitous green logo?). However, even though that drink may be a little cheaper and more calorie conscious it still isn't something I can afford to indulge in every day!

    I usually have a cup of Trader Joe's Cold Brew most afternoons. Last summer I was content with throwing some of my average coffee creamer in it and calling it good. Then, one day when I was treating myself to some Starbuck's they unknowingly revealed a secret to me. I watched as a hurried employee dumped generous quantities of flavoring syrup into a pitcher of milk. And the lightbulb turned on: this was the magical "sweet cream" that makes their cold brew so delicious!
  

      So, while I certainly have no trouble having Starbucks on occasion, I am more than happy to treat myself to some homemade sweet cream every day. And the really great thing is that I can have far more flavors than just vanilla. You might ask (as you are well-entitled to): why is it better to make the cream rather than just adding coffee syrup and milk to my cold brew? Well, I discovered a few  things: the flavoring melds with the cream when mixed separately, and it truly tastes different. Secondly, it makes it much easier to whip a cup up every day. Third, the syrup seems to mix better with the cream than it does when I added them to my coffee individually. Overall, it gave me a result that was much more like Starbucks than when I tried it other ways. And trust me, I tried a lot! 

   And it is definitely a massive improvement over my regular creamer. Because I used half-and-half the fat content is higher and it gives the coffee a much more creamy and rich flavor. Also, the flavor of the syrup is more concentrated than the flavors in many creamers so it makes it taste more "coffee shop". 


     So if you are interested in trying it for yourself it only takes a few simple ingredients. I faithfully use Trader Joe's Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate, because while it isn't the cheapest it is my favorite. Use whatever your favorite brand is, or make your own!

To make the sweet cream:
Add 1/4 c. Torani syrup (for a traditional Starbucks flavor use vanilla syrup, but I had Creme Caramel on hand so I used that. If you have never tried it it is amazing!) to 2 c. half-and-half. I store mine in a mason jar. Stir thoroughly and refrigerate overnight before using.

To use:
   Add 1/2 c. coffee concentrate to a large glass filled with ice. Add 1 c. milk I actually love to use coconut beverage or almond milk instead of dairy milk, as it reduces the calories and I like the flavor, especially of the coconut milk. Stir thoroughly. Stir your sweet cream (I found out that if you shake it it becomes very foamy and hard to measure.) and drizzle 2 tbsp. of the cream over your coffee. Mix with a spoon or straw and enjoy!

  Your cream should keep in your refrigerator as long as the half-and-half would by itself. (I like to write the expiration date on the lid of my mason jar.) You can add more cream to taste, but I thought that 2 tbsp was just about perfect without being too sweet. The calorie count is about 60 calories per serving, which is actually less than the creamers I normally use. 

   Anyway, I've been using this for several weeks now and I am loving it. It makes my coffee seem a little more decadent, and it comes together in a snap! I should probably make it my next goal to learn to make my own cold brew, but for right now I will just take the easy way out and stick with TJ's. One thing at a time!

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