{"id":2080,"date":"2017-02-03T16:50:35","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T21:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themodernbarista.com\/?p=2080"},"modified":"2017-05-31T09:08:51","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T13:08:51","slug":"the-wilder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themodernbarista.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/03\/the-wilder\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wilder – Costa Rica Las Lajas cold brew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheIf you’ve been to the Roastery or a Starbucks Reserve bar recently, you might have seen a drink on the menu called the ‘Melrose’. The Melrose is Starbucks twist on a manhattan, cold brew, demerara sugar, cherry bitters topped with a cherry. When I visited the reserve bar in New York last month, I fell in love with this drink, and knew I wanted to recreate it at home.<\/p>\n

When Costa Rica Las Lajas launched, I was taken aback by the intense grapefruit notes in this coffee, and\u00a0thought that this\u00a0might make the perfect cold brew. It is crisp, sweet and refreshingly tart. I decided to make my own version of the Melrose using this coffee.<\/p>\n

Introducing the Wilder.<\/p>\n

Why the name Wilder? The Melrose gets it’s name from the Roastery’s location; Pike and Melrose. My store is on Wilder & State, and Wilder just sounds like a fun name, doesn’t it? \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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Starbucks Reserve | The Melrose<\/p><\/div>\n

In January, my husband and I took a trip back east, and spent a day in New York. Of course we had to stop at a Reserve bar. I was told to check out this one on Madison avenue. It is formerly a Teavana Tea Bar, and is a much smaller space than most Reserve bars are. This store was gorgeous, very intimate and the partners were so welcoming to us! I ordered the Melrose and the Cardamom latte, both delicious!<\/p>\n

When we got home from New York, I had to do a coffee tasting for my Regional Director, and I decided to go with the Black Honey Costa Rica Las Lajas due to it’s unique processing method. I was really captured by the tart grapefruit notes this coffee has, and couldn’t wait to make a cold brew with it. The result is the Wilder.<\/p>\n

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the wilder<\/p><\/div>\n

To create the Wilder is pretty simple. You’ll start off with a cold brew of Costa Rica black honey Las Lajas<\/a>. There are many ways to make a cold brew, but I still to a basic 1:4 ratio of coffee to water.<\/p>\n

I take a french press or my softbrew<\/a> and\u00a0fill it with 4 cups room temperature, filtered water. Stir in one cup of ground coffee (ground for a french press). Cover (if using a press, fit the lid on, but do not plunge it) and put in a cool, dark place for about 16 hours. Now you can go ahead and plunge the french press, or pull the filter from the softbrew. If using a french press, I like to filter the cold brew through a paper filter to get any sediment that might have snuck through.<\/p>\n

\"Costa

Costa Rica Las Lajas<\/p><\/div>\n

Next you’ll need demerara simple syrup. (you can substitute classic syrup) Making simple syrups is so easy. Just use equal amounts of demerara sugar and water.\u00a0Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature and transfer to a clean glass jar. Cover and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.<\/p>\n

I like using demerara syrups in coffee drinks because it adds an almost caramel sweetness, and really complements the flavor of bitters.<\/p>\n

Bitters. There are so many different types of bitters out there. I personally prefer Scrappy’s bitters<\/a>. Not only are the a Seattle company, but they make the most divine lavender bitters. I have been hooked ever since I used them to make lavender sugarcubes to pair with Hacienda Alsacia<\/a>. For the Wilder I chose Scrappy’s grapefruit bitters.<\/p>\n

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\"TheYou’ll also need a grapefruit twist to garnish it. For this I asked my husband to help me. He simply cut of the ends of a grapefruit, and using a knife, hollowed out the core, leaving a grapefruit ring. He then cut one side, rolled it up tightly, and sliced it, like a jelly roll. I love how big and pronounced these spirals came out! thank you, Mike! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Not only did he make the grapefruit twists, but he also made me that beautiful knife! You can check out more of his craft at freemanforge.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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