From planting to brewing, people continue to improve craftsmanship in all aspects. These include ground production and coffee making. They also strive to improve the quality of the beverage by any means.
However, perhaps we all have overlooked one of the simplest steps: the storage method. Can you freeze brewed coffee for later use?
Can You Freeze Brewed Coffee?
Yes, you can, yet you don’t want to drink it later. Because the drink itself can easily absorb the external flavor and moisture. It will have a peculiar smell if you do not use a sealed container to block the outside air.
Moreover, when taken out of the refrigerator, it will condense moisture due to the temperature difference from the surrounding environment. Its taste The taste will be off after absorbing the moisture.
Whether a refrigerator or a freezer, the food stored inside will produce “condensed water” as soon as it is taken out, which we usually call “sweat”.
For example, when we go to a supermarket to pick up a drink, the glass door will open. A large amount of moisture in the outside air will be fogged and condensed instantly, and it must wait a period before the refrigerator’s fan evacuates it.
Fortunately, the soda drinks and beer in the refrigerator have completely sealed outer packaging. Otherwise, moisture has already penetrated the food after the refrigerator is turned on and off several times. This way, the risk of deterioration will naturally greatly increase.
The same thing happens with brewed coffee. Hence, it is best to avoid refrigeration or freezing if you can’t use a closed container that can isolate oxygen as much as possible.
Although putting your drink directly in the fridge is not the best idea, you can create ice cubes from it.
Reasons To Freeze Brewed Coffee
The root of the query might come from a study on CNN when it said that there exist possibilities that drinking this famous beverage can reduce the rate of death from heart disease and stroke. At that point, this drink is a daily thing.
Freezing brewed cups is a solution for caffeinators. It makes waking up a lot easier in the morning.
Besides, frozen cups can be your lifesaver if you must prepare a lot of hot cups of Joe on short notice. One thing you need to do is take it out and make it hot again. In less than five minutes, your beverage is ready to serve.
Moreover, what if you make them in a big batch and cannot manage to finish them all? At that time, are frozen cubes a saving, not wasting kind of thing?
Still, speaking of this method, there are existing debates about whether or not to do it.
Due to the low temperature and humidity in the refrigerator, many people think storing such things in the fridge is not ideal. On the other hand, some believe it does not matter to chill this drink as long as it is sealed. They even love the aged deep flavor in the fridge more on day 3 or 4.
After all, is it possible to chill this drink properly when it is frozen?
Best Way To Freeze Brewed Coffee
Below is the way to make coffee ice cubes:
Step 1: Make Coffee
Firstly, identify which kind and the amount that you prefer.
The best choice is to use concentrated ones. You can make a suit-you-batch-cups by remembering to calculate how much you consume every day.
It’s likely safe to drink this stored beverage for up to 3 to 4 days if you use this method. Longer than that, it probably won’t taste that good. Therefore, brewing up your best-loved cup in whichever way you prefer with a safe amount.
Step 2: Prepare An Ice Tray And Pour The Coffee Into It
Next, get ready with an ice tray. Wait until your liquid has cooled down and pour your cup of Joe into the tray.
You are not to expect to pour it when it is hot. Because putting hot substances in the freezer forces it to work much harder. It wastes a lot of electric energy and money. This act may even cause malfunction to your freezer in the long run.
Step 3: Put The Ice Tray In An Airtight Container
After that, you need to cover the ice tray.
The most important thing is to cut off the light and outside air when preserving such drinks. Because it will start to rot if it comes in contact with oxygen, various odors in your freezer can seep into your cubes.
No matter how much you expect to preserve, you must have a closed or sealed holder to keep it safe in the ice tray.
A glass holder can preserve the flavor, and it’s easy to clean. A plastic one is cheaper, but it’s hard to wash away the aroma. You either use it solely to store your cup of Joe or use a disposable plastic container.
Tinned-can can be an option, but it is expensive. You have to find the one specializing in acid liquid to avoid chemical reactions between metal and acids from the beverage.
Step 4: Freeze It
Next, you put it into the fridge. It will take about two, four, or six hours for those cubes to freeze completely. The process also depends on the drink and the freeze’s performance.
Last but not least, prepare a mug to put on your table. You will need it for some awesome recipes we are about to share in the next paragraph.
Different Coffee Ice Recipes
Mocha Ice Cubes
Ingredients:
- Iced coffee
- Chocolate milk mix
- Milk
Use a measuring cup to blend a combination that includes the three components above. Just follow your taste when it comes to the ratio. Then, use a drink stick to whisk it all together, pour it into a cube tray, and freeze it.
Caramel Macchiato Ice Cubes
Ingredients:
- Iced coffee
- Caramel
- Milk
Like mocha ice cubes, you need to balance three ingredients as your desired proportion. Stir the blend until it has a faded caramel color, put it in a mold, and let it be in the freezer for about 6 hours and prepare to enjoy.
Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cubes
Ingredients:
- Iced coffee
- Sweetened condensed milk
The ingredients only call for iced drinks and sweetened condensed milk for this recipe. After that, you stir the mixture until it is well combined, pour it into ice cube molds, and freeze until solid.
Things To Do With Frozen Coffee
Cooking
How to cook with coffee? You may ask. This ingredient can bring a robust, earthy flavor to your meal.
As we already secretly told you before, its chemical characteristic is acidic. It can work well with meat and make it tenderized.
Normally, people use it to marinate steak. Some cooks even prefer to stir a little amount of it into the barbecue sauce for grilled chicken. It adds up the taste and rounds out the flavor.
Baking
It would be a big flaw if we didn’t mention that one of the most popular ways is baking with Tiramisu. The flavor combination of cream and this unique ingredient in one cake in every Tiramisu Layer Cake or Ice Cream Tiramisu Cake makes all of us hungry.
Not stop there. It can be used as a replacement for water. This way, you get to taste a rich, deep flavor that water cannot and will never reach. You can also utilize it in icing and frosting for cupcakes. Banana Mousse or Chocolate Cappuccino Cheesecake is the one that it can be with.
You might not have found out that a small amount of this ingredient in baking can enhance flavors and the natural sweetness of whole wheat. People cannot detect whether you’re adding it.
Smoothie
Have you ever heard of the base using this ingredient? In some smoothies like Buttery Coffee Smoothie, it can be used as a foundation to let the butter shine. When getting up in the morning, instead of drinking a cup of Joe alone, you can have a healthy smoothie.
Your productive day is more than ready by mixing these ice cubes, your favorite fruit, yogurt, and milk. To spice up the flavor, some vanilla drops can add-in.
Besides, some cold drinks made with frozen brewed coffee and ice creams like Coffee Shake and Cappuccino Cooler are perfect choices to start a new day.
Watering Your Plants
The pH of this substance ranges from around 5 to nearly 7, depending on the different coffee types.
Virtually all plants develop well in a slightly acid pH-like coffee environment. Municipal water has higher pH than coffee. It is bigger than 7. Thus, diluting this substance to water vegetables can lead to the soil’s acidity higher.
This drink contains measurable magnesium and potassium, which support plant growth. That makes it seem logical that watering plants with this substance can benefit their health. Coffees, in general, are about 2% nitrogen by volume and are an important component for growing plants.
The plants that love acid environments we can list are aloe, roses, and orchids. They can grow fast under the application of this powerful substance. You should add extra nutrition to your plants by diluting them to water your plant every two weeks.
Nevertheless, please don’t make use of it too much. If the leaves start turning yellow or brown, it could signify that the soil is too acidic. You must adjust the ratio.
FAQs Of Can You Freeze Brewed Coffee
1. Is It Possible To Apply Chilled Coffee To Make Cold Coffee?
Yes. You can do it.
The benefit of doing this is that it lowers the possibility of the taste of your drink being faded. Hence, its taste will not change. You will need an ice tray, pour your drink into it, and allow it to sit for hours or overnight.
Whenever you like to make your cold drink, take out some cubes and drop the ice into your hot cup, and you’re done.
Aside from that, in case you crave an iced latte glass, the only thing you need to proceed with is to fill up frozen cubes into the cup and combine it with hot milk. When those cubes are melted, the mouthwatering drink will be in front of you. You will get a nice color and good smelling favors.
2. What Is The Taste Of Coffee Ice Cubes?
It tastes like Iced cups of Joe.
If you follow the process exactly, use the airtight container, your ice cubes will taste just normal. At least for 3 to 4 days. It is hard to find something different from regular ones.
Nearly all people favor placing those ice cubes inside the iced cup of Joe because of its undiluted characteristic. The savor and the taste of your cup do not change. It is a great method to follow.
3. Can You Put Brewed Coffee Mix With Milk Into the Refrigerator?
Yes, you can, but you should not do it because it may lead to a situation where milk, sugar, and this drink are separated. You may end up with a clumsy blend.
Generally speaking, most people will be on the same page that a black cup is the best choice for this frozen variant. Milk, cream, and other products which are from dairy will surely change their appearance immediately when they are open and being frozen. They become grainy. In the end, the original flavor will disappear, and the taste will change.
4. Does Freezing Brewed Coffee Reduce Caffeine?
Yes, it does. But only when you let it directly into the fridge without a lid.
The air in the refrigerator is cold and dry, which easily evaporates the moisture inside the cup, causing the aroma to dissipate. In addition, when things are stored in the refrigerator for a long time, there will be a lot of unpleasant smells, which will spoil the taste afterward.
Despite that, it is not easy to happen if you let it stay in an airtight container. Caffeine is fairly stable. It will not degrade significantly in baked beans or brewed cups as long as you preserve it standardly. Never let it be hygroscopic.
You can store roasted beans for about one month and vacuum-stored beans for two months. The lifespan of caffeine is around four years. Therefore, the confirmation that the amount of caffeine content will decrease in the refrigerator for a few days is not accurate.
Few humans feel the taste is milder than before if you put it on the fridge because the ground is sunk to the container’s bottom. You only scoop it on the surface, so the chance of getting more water happens, making us feel like it contains less caffeine.
5. What Is The Expired Date Of Brewed Coffee In The Refrigerator?
Connoisseurs advise that we should keep it in the fridge for less than 6 days. After a long time, it does not taste good anymore. Any food has a shelf life. Of course, this one is no exception.
6. Is It Ok To Put Decaf Brewed Coffee In Freezer?
Yes, it is ok. Decaf is a kind that has removed 97% of the caffeine content. So, freezing decaffeinated brewed cups has no different process from regular cups.
If it does not taste good as usual, you may want to re-check how you freeze it. If you follow exactly the method, problems lie in the quality of the box you buy itself.
Conclusion
So, can you freeze brewed coffee? Now you may have a clear view of the question and everything surrounding the subject.
It must be so charming when many people on those forums comment that this beverage ages in the fridge and people who do the method can feel more depth of flavor. People aged like wine and frozen brewed cubes aged like twice, perhaps.
This type of beverage “is personal. The right way to make it is how you like it best”. That is why you should experiment with yourself and share your feelings with us.
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