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My first cold brew coffee attempt

Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

I decided to try a batch of cold brewed coffee.

I decided to use Peet's Major Dickason blend. I ground one cup of medium coarse grind. I poured this into a glass jar. My 6 year old assistant added 4.5 cups of cold water. I sealed the jar and gave a good shake. Into the fridge it went.

I am going to let it sit for 24 hours. I will update this thread tomorrow evening after completing the next steps.

Equipment:
2 large glass jars with kids
1 cup fresh medium coarse ground coffee
4.5 cups water
Coffee filters
Strainer

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maxman

maxman

My parents have the Toddy cold coffee maker.
They really like it. I don't drink coffee, but I remember them saying that it is very smooth.
One advantage is when you have the coffee concentrate, you can use it for cooking and other things very easily.
 
Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

StillShaving said:
If you recover the coffee grounds, you can add more water and put it back in the fridge for another go round.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion. I would most likely have tossed them.

I bought two glass jars to assist in the filter process. I will recover the grounds and put them into the second jar.
 
Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

Jimbob said:
Sooooo...do you heat it up or drink it cold?
Click to expand...

This is my first batch, so I will probably experiment.

My wife is a fan of iced coffee. I am not. I assume she will add milk & sugar and try it cold.

I am considering adding boiling water to it at a 50:50 ratio to drink it hot.

I am also going to try it cold, both straight and diluted. Who knows, maybe this will cause me to like iced coffee.
 
Jimbob

Jimbob

Liberty_2112 said:
This is my first batch, so I will probably experiment.

My wife is a fan of iced coffee. I am not. I assume she will add milk & sugar and try it cold.

I am considering adding boiling water to it at a 50:50 ratio to drink it hot.

I am also going to try it cold, both straight and diluted. Who knows, maybe this will cause me to like iced coffee.
Click to expand...
This is interesting! I've never heard of doing it this way, I'm anxious to hear your results
 
Toothpick

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
thanks for being the guinea pig! during the spring-summer months i drink iced coffee like crazy......from mcdonalds and either a large hazelnut or vanilla flavor. i'd get one everyday before work. actually had a hazelnut yesterday.

i'm anxious as well to read your results.
 
Last edited:
jzuzphreek

jzuzphreek

StillShaving said:
If you recover the coffee grounds, you can add more water and put it back in the fridge for another go round.
Click to expand...

I would debate this. You have nothing to lose by trying, but don't be too hopeful. Also, 24 hours seems like a LOOOOOONG time, especially for a medium grind. I would recommend taking it out and testing it at 10-12 hours. I'll post some links to some various cold brew methods in a bit. I prefer Lorenzo Perkin's method which is very similar, but he allows the coffee to bloom with a little hot (204 ish degrees) water THEN pours the rest of the cold water.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Toddy slow-drip the coffee into a carafe? Or does it rest until you open the valve to allow it to drip. I almost bought one yesterday, but World Market was out of them, and I wanted to use my $10 birthday coupon, so I bought a Chemex instead. Going to test it tomorrow (when my wife FINALLY lets me open my present)!
 
Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

jzuzphreek said:
I would debate this. You have nothing to lose by trying, but don't be too hopeful. Also, 24 hours seems like a LOOOOOONG time, especially for a medium grind. I would recommend taking it out and testing it at 10-12 hours. I'll post some links to some various cold brew methods in a bit. I prefer Lorenzo Perkin's method which is very similar, but he allows the coffee to bloom with a little hot (204 ish degrees) water THEN pours the rest of the cold water.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Toddy slow-drip the coffee into a carafe? Or does it rest until you open the valve to allow it to drip. I almost bought one yesterday, but World Market was out of them, and I wanted to use my $10 birthday coupon, so I bought a Chemex instead. Going to test it tomorrow (when my wife FINALLY lets me open my present)!
Click to expand...

I'm going to let this batch go for 24 hours due mainly to the fact that I'm not home. I will experiment with shorter brews as well.

It is my understanding that the Toddy does not begin to drip until after you pull the stopper at the end of the brew cycle. It seems the Toddy just basically helps "neaten up" the process.
 
maxman

maxman

jzuzphreek said:
I would debate this. You have nothing to lose by trying, but don't be too hopeful. Also, 24 hours seems like a LOOOOOONG time, especially for a medium grind. I would recommend taking it out and testing it at 10-12 hours. I'll post some links to some various cold brew methods in a bit. I prefer Lorenzo Perkin's method which is very similar, but he allows the coffee to bloom with a little hot (204 ish degrees) water THEN pours the rest of the cold water.

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Toddy slow-drip the coffee into a carafe? Or does it rest until you open the valve to allow it to drip. I almost bought one yesterday, but World Market was out of them, and I wanted to use my $10 birthday coupon, so I bought a Chemex instead. Going to test it tomorrow (when my wife FINALLY lets me open my present)!
Click to expand...

yes the Toddy does. When you see it you will think you could have made it yourself. And...you probably can. Just look for the ratio of coffee to water on the 'net.

If I still have it at home I'll post it. I doubt I do, but I know I did.
 
Shave_Rat

Shave_Rat

jzuzphreek said:
I don't really like to post cross-forum, but Dan Kehn summarized and presented this better than I ever could. Summary of Iced Coffee brewing methods. Everything from flash chill, to slow drip, to cold brew, etc...

http://www.home-barista.com/brewing/summary-of-iced-coffee-brewing-methods-t22187.html
Click to expand...

Nice reading.. here's the summary I get from it..

"Bottom line for me - two different methods -two different flavor profiles - pick your coffee first then pick the brew method neither is "the best"."
 
Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

Ok. Here it goes.

I decided to split the difference. 18 hour brew time. I transferred the liquid from one jar to another using a strainer holding a standard coffee filter. Final yield was roughly 750ml or 26oz.

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I then transferred into a Nalgene bottle for ease of pouring & storage.

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I poured a small "shot" and tasted it as is. Very smooth yet strong. Not bitter at all. Full flavored.

I decided to pour about equal to the yield of a standard Aeropress. Then I added an equal part of boiling water for a 50/50 ratio. This turned out a very good cup of coffee. Not piping hot, drinkable upon pour. Very smooth and flavorful.

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Next I poured some Almond milk into a glass and frothed it. I added a table spoon of Torani caramel syrup. I poured equal parts of the cold brew. This resulted in a 50/50 milk coffee blend. I drank this. (I'm not a huge fan of iced coffee. This to me was way too sweet, but I can see how it would be refreshing on a hot afternoon.)


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I made a second iced coffee for my wife. I will report back on her feedback once consumed.

After this I was pretty content and started to cleanup. Suddenly I realized that I was experiencing quite a caffeine rush. This stuff is potent, and I had just consumed far more than usual in a short period of time.


Overall a success. Will I buy a Toddy? I doubt it. This method was too easy and so was cleanup. This method cost next to nothing, so I can't justify a purchase.

I liked the final product and will definitely try this again.
 
Liberty_2112

Liberty_2112

Toothpick said:
FYI Liberty...I'm blaming you for this AD....

I was at the grocery store and just happened to walk past a whole 4ft section of this stuff and bought this.

I added it to my iced coffee from McDonalds once i got home...... :drool:
Click to expand...


Too funny. As you can see from my most recent post, I just tried it as well. You must have a sweet tooth! This stuff was too sweet for me!
 
Toothpick

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Liberty_2112 said:
Too funny. As you can see from my most recent post, I just tried it as well. You must have a sweet tooth! This stuff was too sweet for me!
Click to expand...
I have a giant sweet tooth. also a giant caffeine addiction which I discovered this week when I ran out of Dr. Pepper and got crazy headaches.

Nice write up with photos. I think i would forgo the milk myself.

Just curious what's the difference between making iced coffee this way or making coffee via an auto-drip or FP then adding ice?
 
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