Delhi's monsoon was made for cold brew

Delhi's monsoon is a strange season. It's not quite hot and not quite cool, just heavy: the kind of humid afternoon where hot coffee feels like a dare. That's when our cold brew orders quietly double, and honestly, we get it.

What cold brew actually is

Cold brew isn't iced coffee. Iced coffee is hot coffee poured over ice, which dilutes it and often makes it taste sharp. Cold brew never sees heat. Coarsely ground coffee steeps in cold water for many hours, and that long, slow extraction pulls out flavour very differently.

Hot water extracts acids and aromatic compounds quickly. Cold water is gentler. The result is a coffee that tastes smoother, rounder and noticeably less acidic, with lots of chocolate and caramel and very little bite. It's also forgiving: even a medium roast tastes mellow and sweet as cold brew.

How we make ours

We brew our cold brew for eighteen hours. Coarsely ground coffee goes into filtered water in the fridge, steeps overnight and well into the next morning, then gets filtered twice so it's completely clear.

That gives us a strong concentrate, which we use in two ways:

• Cold Brew, Black: diluted, poured over ice, nothing else. Smooth enough to drink all afternoon.
• Vietnamese Cold Brew: poured over sweetened condensed milk and ice. It's rich, sweet and dangerously easy to finish. It's also our bestseller for a reason.

Make a batch at home

You don't need any special equipment, just a jar, a fridge and patience.

1. Grind coarse, like breadcrumbs. Fine grounds make cold brew muddy and bitter.
2. Use a strong ratio: about 100 g of coffee to 800 ml of filtered water.
3. Stir so all the grounds are wet, cover and leave in the fridge for 14 to 18 hours.
4. Strain through a fine sieve, then again through a paper filter or a clean cloth.
5. Dilute the concentrate roughly one-to-one with water or milk and pour over ice.

Kept sealed in the fridge, the concentrate stays good for about a week, so one batch can see you through several sticky afternoons.

A few monsoon variations

Cold brew is a great base for experimenting. Try it with tonic water and a twist of orange peel, shaken with a spoonful of jaggery syrup, or poured over coconut water for something unexpectedly refreshing. If you like your coffee sweet and creamy, a splash of condensed milk does what it does in our Vietnamese version.

Rain outside, cold glass inside

There's something about watching the rain from the window with a sweating glass of cold brew in your hand. It's slow, it's calm and it makes a muggy afternoon feel like a choice rather than something to survive.

Come find a window seat. We'll keep the glasses cold. And if the rain keeps you in for the evening, our Monsoon Movie Night pairs old Bollywood with endless cups.