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Share your cold brew methods??

As the title suggests, I would like to try to make some cold brew concentrate for the weekdays for my wife. Anything has to be better than her k cups. She is short on time in the a.m. And I would like her to have a good cup of joe to get her day started.

Thanks
 
I don't do cold brews and I'm not suggesting anything about the method good/bad, but why can't you just make a concentrate using hot brew methods and then just refrigerate the concentrate? I do something similar during the summer by making a stiff brew which I refrigerate and then use to make ice coffees for during the day.

and anyways, bump.

-jim
 
I don't do cold brews and I'm not suggesting anything about the method good/bad, but why can't you just make a concentrate using hot brew methods and then just refrigerate the concentrate? I do something similar during the summer by making a stiff brew which I refrigerate and then use to make ice coffees for during the day.

and anyways, bump.

-jim
I read that the cold brew method makes for a smoother less acidic cup
 
I read that the cold brew method makes for a smoother less acidic cup

I have read that also.

There is a lot of folks around here that like cold brewing - they must be out of town still. :smile:

Not as good as discussing it, but I did read this thread.

I also read somewhere that my method of hot brew and then refrigerate isn't the best method as far as taste goes, so I will withdraw that suggestion.

-jim
 
I make cold brewed coffee to use for iced coffee in summer. I put a bag of coffee in a gallon of filtered water, shake, and leave out overnight. At least 12 hours is good. Then I filter it through several layers of cheesecloth and stored in fridge. Sometimes I make a second gallon using the same grounds and it's only a little weaker. Makes perfect iced coffee, really smooth.
 
I have the Filtron cold brew system. Very simple. Very tasty.

My son likes cold brew so much that for Christmas I went to JC Penny and bought on closeout a Bodum cold brew thingy. Same as their french press, it just has ( or supposed to have, we discovered last night) a plastic lid to place over the carafe while brewing in the fridge. I'll be making a call to Bodum tomorrow.

He said now he won't have a reason to come over to my house. Boy, they know how to kill ya, don't they?
 
The only cold brew that I will make is New Orleans Iced Coffee. The directions that I use can be found on the Blue Bottle website.
 
I have the Filtron cold brew system. Very simple. Very tasty.

My son likes cold brew so much that for Christmas I went to JC Penny and bought on closeout a Bodum cold brew thingy. Same as their french press, it just has ( or supposed to have, we discovered last night) a plastic lid to place over the carafe while brewing in the fridge. I'll be making a call to Bodum tomorrow.

He said now he won't have a reason to come over to my house. Boy, they know how to kill ya, don't they?


when stuff like that happens to me, I recall the days long gone and think "oh yeah, this is that payback my dad said was coming my way"

-jim
 
check this out

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review
 
My completely unscientific method uses a French Press.

Grind a half cup or so coffee.
Deposit grounds in press.
Add filtered water to press. I add water to the level that the cover and press can be replaced and will just touch the bubbling grounds. Set aside for anywhere between 8-12 hours.
Remove the cover to scoop out as much of the grounds as possible.
Replace cover and plunge the press.
Decant into container.

This concentrate can last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Depending on the strength of the concentrate, I mix somewhere between 3:1 and 4:1, hot water to coffee.
 
I've used this (http://www.chow.com/recipes/30487-basic-cold-brewed-coffee) receipe to make some concentrate on a small French Press - I simply cut down the ratios.

Several years ago, I bought a Cold Brew set. You put one cup of coffee grounds in the container let it sit over night. Then you drained it into another container thru a cloth filter. Then put it in the refrigerator. You could keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks with out it going bad. It was basically the same receipt as the link above.
 
I have the Filtron cold brew system. Very simple. Very tasty.

My son likes cold brew so much that for Christmas I went to JC Penny and bought on closeout a Bodum cold brew thingy. Same as their french press, it just has ( or supposed to have, we discovered last night) a plastic lid to place over the carafe while brewing in the fridge. I'll be making a call to Bodum tomorrow.

He said now he won't have a reason to come over to my house. Boy, they know how to kill ya, don't they?

I have this same system works great.
 
Is it essential that the brew is done at room temperature or could it also be done in the fridge?
Yes, I have done cold brews in the refrigerator, either on 12 hour or 24 hour brew cycles (approximately). The taste may be a bit different as compared to room temperature or luke warm water, but worth experimenting with if you are interested.
 
brick of bustelo - 10 oz, i think
1 qt water for every 2 oz. of coffee
big 6 qt. square commercial kitchen container from sam's club
assemble ingredients :), stir well
cover and let sit on the counter for 10-12 hours

grab a big spoon, like the one grandma uses to dish out the mashed potatoes on thanksgiving, and spoon out as much of the grounds as possible.
grab a kitchen strainer, mine is finer than a colander, coarser than a coffee mesh filter, it fits in the square 6qt. perfectly.
pour the coffee through the strainer.
quick rinse of the now empty container.
dump the ground out of the strainer and put in a single paper towel and rinse the paper towel if it fails the tongue test.
pour the coffee through the paper towel/strainer - you can put the strainer over a pitcher if you have one big enough or pour off after you've strained it all.
stick in the fridge when done. good for a few weeks if it ever lasts that long.

Bustelo is crap coffee when made hot but brewing cold doesn't extract the same compounds and flavors as hot brewing. Most of the "fancy/exciting" tastes come out in hot brewing so most coffees taste the same done cold (taste buds also less sensitive when cold) - roast becomes the massively dominant characteristic over terroir in flavor when brewing cold. IMO, of course.
 
Cold brewing is an inexact, medieval process (which I like), because whatever the concentration of the extract, you just end up adjusting to taste when making each drink. I've poked holes in the bottom of a cottage cheese container and nested it with another one of the same size. I accidentally used half the water one day (thinking I would come back after 10 min. to douse the mat of floaters), and thereafter started extracting in stages, because that brought out more high notes. I further remove all silt with a cloth filter, which I constructed as a bag from pieces of flour sack towel (aka muslin).

Lately I'm playing with putting the grounds in the bag and extracting in many stages using a mere pint mason jar, because I can just invert the whole jar on top of a quart pitcher, and my bag won't fall through. Also, there's no rule you can't make coffee from the first stage, so you never have to wait long for coffee, even if you forgot to start the brew on time. Is there any such thing as over-extracting? I think I'm soon going to find out, because it's very, very black this way.
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