Cold Brewed Coffee

[GB]

Has anyone tried this? There is a place down the street from my parents who sell cold brewed iced coffee. It is delicious. I first learned about that place about 2 years ago and it was the first and only time I had heard of cold brewed coffee. I just thought it was this guys own technique he came up with (he is a bit eccentric).

Well lately I have been seeing a lot more on cold brewing coffee so I guess it is a real thing that this guy did not come up with on his own. I have never tried hot cold brewed coffee, but have been seeing a lot of cold brew coffee pots so it has made me want to try. This morning after a little searching I found online instructions on how to make your own inexpensive cold brew maker. You can find the instructions here.

I made one (which sturdier cups than the fast food kind) and will be trying this today/tomorrow. Has anyone else tried cold brew coffee? What do you think of it?

 

[getoutamykitchen]

Very interesting! I have a whole case of Big Gulp cups I've been wondering what to do with. Now I know!

 

[GB]

I have been reading a lot about it this morning and have decided that the method is a bit more difficult than it has to be. I decided to do a side by side comparison. I have that one going, but I also used another method which seems more popular and easier.

The second method is to take a half cup of ground coffee and put it in a container with 4.5 cups of water. Mix together and let that sit for 12 hours. Strain and enjoy (cut with water or milk if needed).

I have both going right now and will report back on how they are. I think the second method is just for iced coffee. The first method is more of a concentrate that you can mix with hot water to make hot coffee or cold to make iced. I like the idea of a concentrate, but the 2nd method seems much easier.

 

[Selkie]

I wonder if using a French Press would help during the steeping and separation?

 

[GB]

I am guessing that would not work well for the concentrate kind as there is much much more grounds to water than when you make regular french press. The concentrate I have going right now has the consistency of wet sand at the edge of the ocean (like what you would use for sand castles). It might work for the non-concentrate kind except that you would need a large capacity press. The non-concentrate I made is a half cup of grounds and 4.5 cups of water. If you have a press big enough to accommodate that then it might work, but you might need to give it a second straining as well as the grind they suggest is a little finer than what you would normally use for a french press.

 

[Andy M.]

This is interesting. I was under the impression that coffee needed water of at least 195 F to extract all the flavor components.

 

[GB]

I think the additional time helps extract the flavor. I do know that the times I have had it down the street from my parents it was full flavored coffee. The benefit of this method is that the acid level is supposedly drastically reduced. I have heard figures as high as 70% reduced.

 

[jet]

I've been drinking cold brewed coffee for a while. I use the ratio of 2oz coffee (by weight) to 11oz water (by volume). I put it in a large Pyrex bowl and set it on the counter over night. The next morning, I strain it through a coffee filter. To make standard strength coffee, dilute 2-1, or 3-1, water to coffee and microwave. I keep the concentrate in the refrigerator, it's as fast as instant.

 

[GB]

OK so my first two experiments are complete and I will call both of them very big successes. So much so that as long as I plan ahead, I see very little reason to ever use a drip coffee maker again for the most part.

The coffee concentrate I made was used for hot coffee. I used a shot glass full of concentrate to about (I guessed) 8ish ounces of hot water. While my water kettle was on the stove I filled my coffee cup up with hot water from the tap to pre-heat. Once the kettle was boiling I emptied the water from my coffee cup and put in the coffee concentrate then topped it off with boiling water from the kettle.

The result was very tasty and smooth. Very smooth! The proportions were not quite to what I wanted them to be so that will take a little playing with to get right as it was a little weaker than I wanted. I can either make the concentrate stronger (which I think is the best option) or use more of it in my cup. The one downside is that my coffee was a bit cooler than I like it. I like my coffee very hot. I drink it black so there is no milk to cool it down. If you take yours with milk or cream then you probably will not notice the temp difference. I have heard of some people putting the concentrate in the cup and microwaving that while the kettle boils. I do not know if that would affect the taste at all, but I may give it a shot.

The other batch I made where I used a cup of grounds to 4.5 cups of water is not a concentrate. That is made to be consumed as is. It was some of the best iced coffee I have ever had. Smooth does not even begin to describe it and it also had a creaminess that lingered on your tongue that was great.

The funny thing is that we have a Rite Aid down the street from us that is going out of business and are selling off everything in the store for at least 50% off. I stopped in and of the few things left on the shelf one of them was a cold brew coffee system. it is a Ronco product and consists of a basket that you put a coffee filter in. It has a plug in the bottom. You put your coffee and water in and let it sit for 12ish hours. then there is a container that the basket fits on. When you are ready you pull the plug (not the most efficient method they could have used. I don't see how I will do this without getting coffee on my hands, the counter, or both) and put the basket on the container to drain and collect. That container can then go into the fridge and will last about 2 weeks.

I am officially a fan of this method. I plan on making a lot of coffee this way from now on. It will be great for camping too. Bring your concentrate and then just boil up some water for your morning coffee.

 

[Andy M.]

Not sure I see the benefit of this other than a little bit of electricity to keep the coffee hot in a traditional coffee maker. How long does the concentrate keep? Would you make it once a week or two weeks?

 

[GB]

The main benefit Andy is the flavor. It is among the better tasting coffee preps I have had. The acid is reduced considerably. The figures I have read online say the acidity is reduced by up to 70%. I really did notice the reduced acidity. It was obvious right away. Smooth is the best word to describe it.

From what I have read, the concentrate will last for 2 weeks in the fridge. Of course you can freeze it too so if you wanted to make a larger quantity you could do that and freeze it in 2 week amounts and pull it out of the freezer as you need it.

It takes more planning and time for the initial brewing, but once that is done it takes less time and less mess to make your coffee. We are not talking huge times savings here and making coffee in a drip machine is not what I would call messy, but you don't have to deal with filters and throwing them away or washing the gold filters every time you want a cup.

If the only benefit was the minimal time savings and slightly less mess then it would not be worth it to me. The taste makes it worth it though and I would say that even if it took a little longer instead of less time. You really end up with an outstanding cup of coffee flavorwise.

 

[Selkie]

GB, as for acid content, as equally important as the method of extracting, is the kind of coffee bean you've selected to grind. I'm certain you've already researched the differences beyond the gusto and arabica beans and gotten into the growing location of those beans as well.

Personally, I find Columbian arabica with about 10% Hawaiian Kona blended in makes a very smooth and nearly acid-free tasting coffee! Yum!!

Great fun, isn't it? Ooo, I think I've had too much coffee!!

 

[GB]

Yes absolutely Selkie. Arabica seems to be the preferred bean to use with this method from what I have read.