The Gingersnap Latte

Yes, that's right. Gingersnap Latte. I was corrected this morning when ordering my first of the season. It's no longer Gingerbread Latte, and the difference appears to be the crystallized ginger sprinkled on the top of the drink. I'm glad that I knew it was there, because when you get to the bottom of your drink and there are chunks of something... startling even if you knew something was there.

Anyway, how is it? Pretty good. The bite of the ginger cuts the formerly too sweet drink (at least in my opinion - I always only get 2 pumps in a tall because of that). I like the change, except for the chunks at the bottom. And, this is one of the few flavored Starbucks drink that I do, so I'm happy that they didn't totally change the syrup or something more drastic.

Some Like It Cold

I like cold-brewed coffee. I've been told that something like 90% of the caffeine (and all the good flavor) is retained, while only about 15% of the usual acid is present. And, fewer oils. So, it's easier on your stomach, and I think it tastes better—more like coffee smells. It strongly concentrates the coffee flavor of coffee, makes the coffee up to twice as strong, but the overall brew has far less acidity and no "burnt" taste.

It does take more time to brew without the heat, although the resulting brew lasts up to two weeks in the fridge. Mine never lasts that long.

I use my French press to make my cold brew since you steep the coffee in room-temp water and then need to strain the grounds off later:

Basically, the ratio is 4:1 water to coffee. Measure a 1/2 cup of coffee into the brewing container. Add about 2 cups of room-temperature water. Stir the mixture up. Cover the container and let it sit a minimum of 4 hours or ideally, overnight. It can sit up to about 12 hours, but less time works too—it'll just be slightly less concentrated. Strain (French press comes in handy here) and pour into a jar for storage in the fridge.

Mix your cold-brew concentrate with water or milk to taste. It makes great iced coffee, is also good nuked by the cup, and is equally good leaded or unleaded. Especially helpful if you only have one coffee drinker in your household.