Have you heard of the latest craze in coffee? It's cool.

It's the process of steeping course ground coffee in room temperature or cool water. Not brewed with heat like traditional coffees, this cold "brewed" coffee soaked for about twelve hours, or overnight, results in a naturally sweeter, lower acid coffee.

This is good news for us bariatric patients because lower-acid means it's gentle on the digestion and safer for our smaller stomach "pouch". 

Cold brew coffee originated in Japan when it was introduced by Dutch traders from Indonesia in 1609. For this reason it is known as Dutch coffee. This process known as cold brewing, cold pressed, or cold drip coffee produces a coffee concentrate which is growing in popularity in the U.S.

All you need to make this "cool" coffee concentrate is course ground coffee, room temperature or cool water, a fine-mesh sieve, a paper coffee filter, or a filtering cloth such as cheesecloth, and a container—which can be anything from a jar to a French press carafe.

The ratio for making cold brewed coffee is roughly 1 part coarsely ground coffee to 4.5 parts water. After the coffee has steeped for 12 hours, it can be filtered through a kitchen sieve (or French press) and then a second time through a more fine-screened cloth such as cheesecloth or a paper coffee filter. The grounds are discarded as usual.

This concoction makes a strong concentrate which can be stored in the refrigerator and used for about two weeks. For drinking, the concentrate is diluted to a ratio of 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water or milk—to taste and can be enjoyed at fridge-temp, room-temp or served over ice.

For bariatric patients, finding a lower sugar milk, such as unsweetened almond milk, would be a lighter way to enjoy this "cool" low acid coffee. It's the coolest coffee ever!

Yes, you can. You have many more miles to go.

Photo credit: Kelly Moore