Food - Drink
Why It Pays To Substitute Coffee Concentrate For Espresso
By HEATHER LIM
Between $6 café drinks and the cost of an at-home espresso machine, getting your daily caffeine fix can be expensive. One solution you might want to consider is coffee concentrate.
Coffee concentrate is essentially coffee extract. It's used in many coffee shops as a faster, more reliable base than espresso for everything from iced mochas to Americanos.
You can even make your own coffee concentrate through a cold-water extraction method. Start by combining a four-to-one ratio of coffee grounds and cold water in a large container.
Cover the mixture and let it steep for 24 hours. Strain it through a filter or sieve, which can take up to 30 minutes to do properly, then get creative with coffee concoctions.
Coffee concentrate is less bitter than espresso, and since it’s not fresh out of an espresso machine, it won’t melt your ice and dilute your drink if you want to make cold coffees.
Best of all, coffee concentrate is lower in acidity, making it easier on your stomach, and unlike espresso, it contains no diterpenes, which can increase your LDL cholesterol.