Aerocano

We find some crazy discoveries on the internet, when it comes to coffee. This one has become pretty big in America from what I can tell, yet I have not really seen many playing with it here in Australia. So for those like me, whom may have missed this cool discovery, let me introduce you to the Aerocano!

Now I love a cold coffee in the hot months, trust me I have tried them all. Cold emersion brew, cold drip, nitro, chilter, iced long blacks, iced latte's, coffee frappe, Greek frappe and the list goes on and on. Now let's be honest cold coffee can be hit and miss, there is some great and some not so great examples of them all. When I first tried nitro cold brew I loved it, it's creamy moth feel, low levels of acidity and near zero bitterness are everything I want in a cold black coffee. It's safe to say I was excited about this method (plus it just presents that wow factor really well). Unfortunately once I got passed my initial honeymoon period with this beverage, I started thinking about the practicality of this brew method (as I do when it comes to coffee products). I often say to people when it comes to coffee products in a commercial setting, you need to weigh the benifits of the product you are producing, with the practicality of it. I don't like needing to add speciality equipment, especially if it only has one use to an area that is already filled with so much. It can be costly, take up room and reduce work flow, these are all massive negatives. For me to say yes to something that requires all that it needs to have a huge benifitial factor that can not be achieved any other way. Now it saddens me to say, but nitro brews pros do not outweigh the cons for me (this is one of the reasons I think it hasn't taken off in Australia). Unlike cold emersion brew for example, which can be made with no extra equipment, can be scaled to any size, increases work flow and tastes great, for me the answer is add the latter to your menu and forget nitro.

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Now back to the exciting discovery of Aerocano (I will admit I'm still pondering a better name for here in Australia). This has all the cool factors of nitro brews, with no speciality equipment, as quick to make as any other espresso based drink and falls straight in with your normal work flow (plus that visual wow factor you get with nitro brews). Now this is something I can really get behind.

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Recipe & Method Like any drink, these recipes don't need to be set in stone, every coffee you try is different and you absolutely should taylor it to the coffee and also your own tastes but here is a good place to start. Recipe -Double espresso, (I am using a Ecuador, yellow honey process 20g/44g/30seconds.) - 90 - 100g quality ice and water (mainly ice and just a touch of water) Method - Extract double espresso - Weigh out water and ice in a milk pitcher. - Add double espresso and steam in similar fashion as you would with milk. Introducing some air at the start and then polishing till ice is just meting (this drink should remain compeltly chilled and not warm) - Pour into chilled glass vessel to consume (can be poured over more ice if required) - Enjoy a really tasty beverage. Couple of notes - Try different coffees and find what works for you. You can go big and fruity or chocolate and nuts, different coffees will yield very different profiles, none are necessary better just different. - If you like it a touch sweeter try adding sugar syrup to taste to the espresso before steaming. - You can add a dash of milk as you would with a long black if that takes your fancy. - The recipe above is adapted off what I believe to be a great recipe for a standard long black, (I always suggest between 80-90g of quality 75c water with a double espresso). If this is too intense for you no stress up the water and ice ratio to decrease intensity. Our end game here should absolutely be the same as all beverages we serve, a quality consistent product. Use quality ingredients (yes this means quality coffee, but also water and ice), and I can not stress this enough, weigh your products, this means initial coffee dose, espresso yield, water and Ice. This is the ONLY way we can keep making this or any product consistently. Thanks for reading, I hope you love this coffee as much as I do. I would love to hear what your thought are after trying it. Did you like it? What coffee are you using? Did you change the recipe? Let me know. Cheers Lars xx