Cold brewed coffee

[abaca]

Cold brewing your coffee makes a nice brew. I have a 'Toddy' system that is designed for this but I think this could be a DIY project. It's a pitcher with hole in the bottom center, a rubber cork and a felt filter. Here is how I do it. One pound of ground coffee is mixed intermediately with 8 cups water. Stir to wet all the grounds; cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours. Strain and collect coffee concentrate in a carafe that has a lid. I get 4-5 cups depending on the grind, 3-4 cups are lost to the coffee. Replace cork and mix with another 6 cups water, cover and let stand another 12 hours. Strain the brew to the carafe. Refridgerate and use as needed. I mix it at about 1:4, coffee:water or milk. To drink hot I put the coffee in a cold mug and add boiling water. I aslo really love this cold in the summer, I mix it with vanilla soy milk.

[PsyBearknot]

Love cold brew coffee.
It does not have as much oil in it as the reg brew does.
Its less acidic then reg brew is...reg brew just eats at my stomach.
Some say that cold brew has less caffiene, some say cold brew has more caffeine but less jitters.
I LOVE caffeine and thought the cold brew gave me more of an eye opener, but def less jitters. Dunno...maybe I drank more of it cause it it would not mess my stomach up.
Also use the cold brew in a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin. MMMMMM Mocha Muffins...

Is caffeine destroyed by heat?
I have seen the toddy systems at Whole Foods before. But I was taught more DIY.
I use a 5 lb bag of course grounds in a 2 qt container filled with water. With the course grind I let mine set for 24 hrs then drain in a colander for sever hours, press, filter through cheese cloth and put in the freezer.
How long does yours last before it goes bad? (or does it stretch that far LOL!)
I find 2 weeks for me. But if I have not finished off my first batch by beginning of week 2 I pour what I have into ice cube trays and have a bag in the freezer for when I am lazy!
Nice to see this here...
PBK

[abaca]

I like your description of the buzz. I haven't had a batch go bad. The longest I've had one around is about 4 weeks, tightly covered and refrigerated. I would also suggest a 2nd soak. On this last batch I saved the two runnings separately. The PH was the same about 5.5. There was a difference in dissolved solids the first had double the ppm's as the second. I could not taste any difference.

I'm thinking of using some of this concentrate in a batch of stout.

[Fly on the Wall]

<3 my french press. I'm also experimenting with a yerba mate + lemonade cold brew, but with summer ending I may not devote much more time to that project.

[jetboy]

This sounds really good, can anyone explain to me what Cold Brewed coffee is? I'd love to give this a shot .

Thanks.

-Jetboy.

[PsyBearknot]

Originally Posted by jetboy

This sounds really good, can anyone explain to me what Cold Brewed coffee is? I'd love to give this a shot .

Thanks.

-Jetboy.

Heres a couple links to get you started
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/06/coldhome/
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/co...d-iced-coffee/

Cold Brew is just that. You do not use hot water to brew your coffee. Room temp, or "Cold" water does the trick.

Cold Brew is for
People who dont like the bitterness of reg brew coffee
People who dont like the acidity of reg brew coffee
People whos stomach gets upset from reg brew coffee


There are pre made cold brew systems you can find online or at places like Whole Foods. Or you can just DIY.

I get a 5# bag and do a course grind. Course better that fine due to how easily fine ground absorbs water and clumps together.

Dump it into a 2 gallon container. Dump cold water over the top (cold = not hot)

Stir

cover and let sit for 12-24

Get some cheese cloth and put in a strainer. Pour coffee through cheese cloth into jug you are gonna store it in. Let drain for a while, then squeeze grounds with cheese cloth. BAM you got cold brew coffee.

You will not get a full 2 gallons back out of the wet grounds, but you will get the majority when you squeeze.

You will want to find the ratio of how strong you like your coffee.

Most will do like a 1 to 3 coffee to water ratio.
Want Hot coffee ? Use hot water...

Warning - cold brew coffee will not have AS STRONG of a favor profile as reg brew. I have also noticed that there is a layer of sediment that will settle to the bottom of the jug after brewed. I will shake this back into the coffee as it has the good flavor.

Let us know how it works out for you.

PBK

[jetboy]

Thanks, Psybearknot I appreciate that. It sounds really good! I'm going to have to give it a go. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks again.

-Jetboy

[abaca]

The info that psybearknot is good. Thanx for the link to 'i need coffee'. The one difference I do is to decant the coffee off the sediment off the bottom.

[PsyBearknot]

I find the finer i grind the more sediment i have.

next recipe for me
clod brew
Chi tee
& Green Dragon

ABACA
how do you like the Toddy system? I have looked into it a couple times

[abaca]

I like the Toddy. The reusable felt is thick and get nearly all the sediment out. I thing I have noticed is that the coffee grounds float during the first run and it is easy to filter, takes about an hour. However during the second run the grounds sink and doesn't filter well through the felt (this is probably why Toddy instructions don't say to do a second run). I filter my second runnings through a reusable drip coffee filter (like silk screen), then decant it in the fridge for 1-2 days and mix the first and second runs.

[PsyBearknot]

ABACA

How course or fine of grounds are you using?

[abaca]

I use a pretty fine grind. I'd compare it to play sand. I figure the more surface area the better the extraction but there is probably a point that it is too fine and makes it very hard to filter. Also I think I get a more consistent grind from the coffee shop verses my grinder.

[claykrys]

Weve been using the Toddy system for a couple years now. I love it.

[abaca]

I think it's funny this thread has been moved 4 or 5 times, nobody knows where to put it.