Cold Brew Coffee vs Hot Brewed Coffee - Iced Caramel Mocha Challenge

 Last week I had the chance to head to Walmart to get things to make my very own Iced Caramel Mocha for the Seattle's Best #RedCupShowdown.

I have never tried Seattle's Best Coffee and was really excited to give it a shot.

 I decided to grab #3, right in the middle.  I figured I could go up or down in strength depending on how I liked this option.

I started out this process wanting to make an Iced Vanilla Bean Coffee, after a fiasco with making homemade ice cream.....I had no vanilla beans left.  I was SO sad.  My next choice was to make an Iced Caramel Mocha.  YUM!

I also wanted to compare Cold Brew vs Hot Brew Coffee.  I have heard Cold Brew is FAR superior when it comes to iced coffee, but I wanted to decide for myself.

To make Cold Brew Coffee, you will need:

1/2 pound Ground Coffee

9 Cups Water
{this will result to about 8 cups of coffee)

Place coffee in container and add water.

Stir to incorporate, place lid on container and place in fridge overnight.

Once coffee has brewed overnight, it is time to remove the grounds.

Place a fine mesh strainer, or coffee filter (or both), over container of choice.

Pour coffee into new container (you will need to skim off top layer of grounds before you pour).  You may have to stop every once in a while to remove spent grounds from strainer.

I had to first pour into a bowl because the opening on my dispenser was not big enough to fit the strainer.

Once all brewed coffee is in new container, top and place in fridge.  This will keep up to two weeks.

Super easy, right?  Well, we aren't done just yet!  I still needed to know how my new cold brew coffee stood up to regular hot brew coffee.

I loaded up my Keurig and made a cup of hot coffee.

I then made an Iced Caramel Mocha with both coffee's.

The result.................

I prefer the cold brew!

Are you surprised?
The cold brew was not as bitter as regular brew, it was stronger but without the bitterness it was easier to drink.  Next time, I will go with a grade 1 or 2 of Seattle's Best.  I just don't like super strong coffee.

Iced Caramel Mocha

1/2 Cup Seattle's Best Cold Brew Coffee
1/2 Cup Caramel Mocha Creamer {recipe below}
1/2 Cup Ice
Whipped Cream (optional but why would you not add it?)

Place ice in glass.
Pour coffee over ice.
Pour creamer over coffee and stir.
Top with whipped cream and ENJOY!

Caramel Mocha Creamer
1 14oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 14oz can Half and Half
2 Tbs Chocolate Syrup
4 Tbs Caramel Syrup

Pour sweetened condensed milk into glass jar.
Fill empty sweetened condensed milk can with half and half.  Pour over sweetened condensed milk.
Add chocolate and caramel syrups to milk mixture.
Place lid on jar and shake until well incorporated.
This mixture will keep in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Do you have a coffee recipe you LOVE?  Submit it in the Seattle's Best Red Cup Showdown!  You could win $10,000!!!  That could buy a LOT of coffee!  It is SUPER easy to enter, so go!  Enter today!  If you don't have a coffee recipe to enter, you can still enter for a chance to win a trip to New York!  AWESOME!

While you are entering, be sure to check out Seattle's Best on Twitter and Facebook!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Seattle’s Best Coffee #CBias #SocialFabric  All opinions are my own.