Some coffees are just made for summer. Meet Brezza, a lively mix of beans from Colombia, Papua New Guinea and East Africa. This juicy coffee is incredible iced, especially when paired with citrus. I wanted to make the quintessential summertime beverage.
There is nothing more refreshing on a hot day than a big glass of sangria and a group of great friends. Or is there? I set out to make a coffee sangria that was light, crisp and refreshing with a hint of sweetness. Brezza is the perfect coffee for sangria. It’s lively, bright, subtle herbal notes and a fleeting acidity pair perfectly with a variety of citrus.
The first step is to prepare a cold brew of Brezza. I use a mason jar, and a simple 1:4 ratio of coffee to water. 1 cup of coarsely ground coffee to 4 cups of filtered water. Make sure all the grounds are saturated, and store the jar in a cabinet for 18 hours. Strain the grounds out, and you will have your cold brew. You may need to add ice or water to taste.
I generally like my coffee without sweetener, but since sangria is traditionally sweetened with orange juice or honey, I decided to make a minneola simple syrup. A minneola is a cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine, and has a very sweet orange flavor. If you don’t have access to minneola, any citrus will work too!
my quality control partner, roscoe.
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 minneola
- Dissolve the water and sugar together on the stove.
- Add the juice from the Minneola. You can shave the peel of the fruit and add it to the mixture for a little zest.
- Cook on a medium low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture starts to thicken up.
- Pour into a squeeze bottle to cool.
While you are making the syrup, slice a variety of citrus. I used grapefruits, blood oranges, minneolas, lemons and limes. You could also add raspberries to the mix as well!
Fill a pitcher with ice, add the sliced fruit and then add the cold brew coffee. Let steep for about 5 minutes before serving. Sweeten to your taste. For added fun, garnish each glass with lime slices or fresh grapefruit segments.
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