Sunday, June 6, 2010

Cold Brewed Coffee

I know that I've mentioned cold brewed coffee before, only I can't seem to find where...

A few years back, before I had Coen and would watch other children for a living, one of the mothers I used to sit for introduced me to "Cold Brewed Coffee". She had a pitcher similar to this. This device brewed a cold coffee concentrate. The coffee, instead of being brewed in a coffee pot, was brewed using cold water and kept in the refrigerator. She served it to me hot and it was soooooo good. You just add a bit of coffee concentrate to your cup and then add water, microwave till hot then stir in your cream, sugar and whatnot. You can adjust how much concentrate you use depending on how strong you like your coffee. Brewing it cold keeps your coffee from tasting bitter and it's also easier on your stomach!

About a year later my sister sent me a link to a website where a lady was talking about cold brewing coffee using some coffee filters and a few glass canning jars. Brilliant! She drinks hers cold, and boy howdy, talk about YUM! The perfect summer drink! Here's how you do it:


You're going to need all of this stuff. That big jar is a 32oz. canning jar. I'm using decaf coffee, because my body hates me if I have too much caffeine, and it's already ground (you can grind your own if you want). You'll need 2-3 coffee filters and a small strainer (not pictured). Of course you'll need your fixins! I actually only use those pictured when I fix my coffee hot. Iced....well that's a whole 'nuther ball game.


Dump a cup of coffee grounds into your large jar.


Fill with cold water, leaving space at the top. Put the lid on your jar, shake to combine and let it steep overnight, at least 12 hours.


In the morning start straining. Place a coffee filter into your strainer and pour the concentrate into the filter. You can strain the coffee into a bowl (pictured) or directly into a smaller jar like this...


I suggest straining directly into your storage jar. Why dirty up a bowl? Anywho, it takes a while to strain and your going to need to replace the filter a few times because it will start to look like this


and your coffee will take even longer to strain. When your concentrate is finished you can store it in the fridge. Remember, it's not regular coffee, it's a concentrate! To drink hot, add water and microwave as I mentioned above. To drink cold... well, here's what I do. Add a bit of concentrate to a glass , depending on taste, then I add whole milk (I 'aint scared!) and a healthy dose or unrefined pure cane sugar. (mercy.) Chunk in a few ice cubes and a bendy straw for maximum gestation. 


Try not to gulp it all down in one swig. 
:)

3 comments:

Rochelle said...

This is awesome! I am totally going to try this! How much concentrate does it end up making? And just guessing, what is your portion of concentrate to milk?

Amy said...

It makes appro. one and a half small jars of concentrate. Let's seee, they are quart jars, so one and a half quarts! Had to walk my brain through that one! :D I make a pretty big iced coffee, so I use approx. 1/4c. concentrate and then 1 c. milk? Maybe more milk.

Rochelle said...

That sounds AMAZING!! When I find the time, I'm all over this!! thanks again for sharing:)