Explorer Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

You don’t have to make espresso to make an espresso martini!

If you want to make espresso martinis, but don’t have the machinery or the time to make espresso from scratch, we’ve got your solution. Or rather, Explorer has your solution, in the form of their spectacularly tasty Cold Brew Concentrate. It’s a shortcut to terrific cold brew and espresso that doesn’t taste like a shortcut. As a 1:4 concentration (10 times stronger than a typical cup of coffee!), Explorer’s cold brew concentrate is the equivalent strength of espresso, so it makes the perfect substitute while simultaneously putting a modern spin on the cocktail classic.

Explorer uses single-origin, specialty-grade washed Arabica beans from Ethiopia. They are grown at high altitude, hand-picked, and meticulously sorted to ensure only the highest quality beans are selected. Their coffee is 100% organic, fair trade, and ethically sourced. This means the producers get paid fair wages, and that relationship helps support sustainable development in their communities.

Once the coffee is in the US, the beans are roasted to a medium roast to maximize their natural flavor and bring out more subtle notes. They’re then cold brewed for 12 hours. You might have tried cold brewing your coffee at home… and it can be a bit hit or miss. Not so with Explorer’s method, which has been developed and refined over the last 50 years. It results in a refreshing, delicious, and full-bodied cold brew. Explorer’s Cold Brew Concentrate is additive free, with one exception —  premium French chicory. Chicory has long been a staple in coffee recipes, and is most commonly associated with New Orleans-style iced coffee. It's got a naturally sweet flavor that helps round out the coffee taste and add some nuanced notes that refine the flavor.

Explorer’s robust cold brew flavor adds a signature coffee kick to an espresso martini without overpowering the other elements of the recipe. There’s no bitter flavor that can come from lesser beans. With cold brew concentrate, you don’t have to worry about hot espresso melting the ice, diluting the cocktail, and consequently affecting the flavor of the drink. 

Explorer is aptly named —  its founder, Cason Crane, has traveled to over 100 countries on all seven continents. He was the fifth youngest person and first openly gay person to climb Mt. Everest and the Seven Summits (the highest mountain on each continent), a feat he achieved while raising money and awareness for LGBTQ suicide prevention. It was on these adventures that he discovered the magic of coffee. Working with award-winning baristas, Cason is always looking for new products and spends his time perfecting Explorer's brews so that they represent the world's best cold brew coffee.

It should go without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that Explorer’s Cold Brew Concentrate isn’t just for espresso martinis. It’s ideal for any iced coffee drink you can dream up — and if you need some inspiration, Explorer has a bunch for you. Check them out, as well as Explorer’s other cold brews (offered in four different caffeine levels, from “No Caf” to “Extra Caf”) and chai concentrates, and find out about their work to provide access to clean water in Africa, at explorercoldbrew.com.