Cold brew coffee aficionados...

[StaceyinLA]

How do you make yours? How concentrated is it? Are you making it to drink over ice, or to reheat?

 

My new cold brew venture is making a big batch at a time in a gallon glass jar with a spigot (easy to put in my yeti from there), not super concentrated, and then I just add a little honey simple syrup and my homemade almond milk to make my iced drink. I'm doing 4 c fresh grounds and 12 c water, and basically I put about 8-10 ounces coffee in my yeti, add about a T of hot water that I dissolve 1/2 t or so of honey in, then probably 1/8-1/4 c homemade almond milk and ice.

 

I don't have the measurements to an exact science yet, so I was wondering what others do.

[BarbecueMom]

Ideally, I put coarse-ground Italian or espresso roast coffee (not sure how much) and water in the French press, let it sit overnight, then strain in the morning. Then pour it in a mason jar (about 3/4 full), add a splash of maple syrup and a splash of homemade creamer (1 part each sweetened condensed milk and whole milk + vanilla extract to taste), then fill to the top with milk. Shake or stir, pour over ice. Suck down at least the first glass before children are allowed to speak.

 

However, lately I've been lazy and cheap and using DH's French roast leftovers from the Mr. Coffee and sticking it in the fridge until morning . It's not nearly as refreshing.

[StaceyinLA]

I have been using my french press, but I have really wanted to do a larger amount, and have the concentrate to use for a week or so.

[redsquirrel]

I just follow this recipe:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/dining/276drex.html?action=click&contentCollection=Food&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

 

Time: 5 minutes, plus 12 hours’ resting

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
Milk (optional).

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add milk.

Yield: Two drinks.

 

Note: this is a concentrate, made to be diluted.  If you forget (like dh has) and drink it straight, it tastes off and makes your mouth feel weird, lol.  We just make it in our french press. We mix it up after dinner, leave it on the counter overnight, and then plunge the press in the morning.

 

The good thing about this, is that it magically makes your coffee go 'up a level'. So even cheap coffee is improved beyond what I thought was possible. And decent coffee tastes fantastic.

 

Sometimes we make this is in the winter and then just dilute and heat it up for hot coffee.

 

eta: dh has absolutely just doubled or tripled etc and it has come out just fine. We can't put it in our press though. I am so lazy that I prefer the press

Edited April 4, 2016 by redsquirrel

[zoobie]

I make big batches, generally something like this: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/perfect-iced-coffee/

[FriedClams]

I have gotten VERY lazy since our grocery store was rebuilt... They now carry cold brew with almond milk. Insane. It's too sweet straight up, so I mix it half and half with Starbucks or Stok cold brew unsweetened, unflavored. Delicious.

[Tap]

I put a heaping 1/3cup of Cafe Bustelo in a quart mason jar and top with water. I make a few at a time so I don't have to make it every night.  I leave it in the fridge overnight and strain with a napkin lined fine mesh strainer, set inside a glass pyrex 4 cup measuring cup. LOL Classy, I know.   I then rinse the mason jar, pour the coffee back in and we use it full strength from the jar.

 

DS21 and I sweeten/flavor it various ways.  Sometimes with condensed milk, sometimes with heavy cream/chocolate syrup, sometimes with mocha mix.  We also have several flavored syrups like caramel, coconut, hazelnut etc. 

 

DS21 and I drink it this way, dh prefers a tradition drip coffee. 

 

I thought about making more at a time in a larger container, but then I have to have the container take up more room than needed in my fridge until the coffee gets used up.  The mason jars are easy because they just go back in the cupboard as they get emptied. 

 

 

[StaceyinLA]

I was actually eyeballing a concentrate at Whole Foods the other day. I'm planning to try it. It says one part concentrate to 3 or 4 parts water/milk. I think it would be about the same price for me to do that as make my own, and a LOT less hassle. It just doesn't give me options to use good coffees.

[StaceyinLA]

Pioneer Woman's recipe looks a lot like what I'm going for - thanks for linking that! I like that it's not a super concentrated one that you have to dilute a bunch before sweetening/adding milk. I'm gonna work with her measurements and go from there!

[zoobie]

PW's with sweetened vanilla almond milk is really good. I miss sugar. ;) Without sugar, I do a splash of heavy cream or half and half.

[arnold]

I use the recipe by Pioneer Woman.

[Annie G]

I used to make Pioneer Woman's recipe but it made it just too easy to over consume. So I scaled the recipe back and make one French press most every day.  It keeps my consumption in check. g   I grind my coffee, add water, and toss it into the fridge until the next day. I have a container  to pour it into and usually try to keep 2-4 servings in the container. 

 

But honestly, when summer hits or stress hits, I'm probably going back to bulk brewing via PW's method. 

[ktgrok]

I use this. http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Water-Coffee-1000ml-Brown/dp/B00I7JKAQ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459788940&sr=8-1&keywords=cold+brew+pot

 

 I fill the mesh filter up to the top of the mesh with coffee...my favorite is Millstone or New England brands, but Cafe bustelo works well too, because the filter is so fine you don't need a coarse grind. I let it sit overnight or at least 8 hours. Then just lift the filter out and you have cold brew concentrate. I usually pour the concentrate into a glass jar with a screw on lid and keep it in the fridge, so that it is airtight.

 

 I don't like it super strong, so I dilute it 1 to 1 with milk, and add sweetener. I use Fairlife high protein milk so I get some protein and calcium with my coffee :)  My son dilutes it with some water and a splash of half and half. 

 

 

[StaceyinLA]

I'm pretty good at only drinking my Yeti full each day (the 20 oz yeti, and by full I mean with ice and everything). Occasionally I'll have another half a yeti, but if I do straight caff, I can't handle it. I usually do a half-caff coffee so I can enjoy a little more without getting the jitters. ;-p

 

By the time I pulled my coffee sacks out of my gallon jug today, I only had about half gallon of actual coffee so this batch may be a little more concentrated than my last. For future measurements, I'll use PW's recipe.

[Cindy in FL.]

We have the Toddy system for cold brewing. It has worked well for us.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Cindy in FL.

[StaceyinLA]

I have read a lot about that and almost bought one. One review I read said it was a little unstable and I was afraid it might get knocked over with my "bull in a china cabinet" hubby cleaning the kitchen. ;-p

 

[KungFuPanda]

DH bought this when we were in college in the 90s:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Toddy-Coffee-Maker-Extra-Filters/dp/B0040ZR0VS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459828702&sr=8-1&keywords=cold+toddy+coffee+maker

 

I think he dumps the whole bag of French market coffee with chicory in it and fills it with water. Once the concentrate is on hand, he decides how to use it later. We have a Zojirushi water boiler running all the time, so adding hot water is easy, dd is more likely to make iced coffee with milk. I can't drink any coffee because I super taste the bitterness, but the cold brew coffee/chicory in milk doesn't taste nasty to me. I'll never be a coffee drinker, but it HAS to DRASTICALLY reduce the bitterness if I can take a drink without gagging.