Ever tried using a cold brewing method for you coffee? There are a couple of good cold brewers available on the market. But before you go out and buy a cold brewer, you may want to make sure you like cold brewed coffee first. While store bought cold brewers make the job of cold brewing a little easier and less messy, they are not truly necessary. You can replicate the process at home with items you already have in your kitchen. Then if you find that you like cold brewed coffee, you can go out and get a cold brewing system.
You can also use something as simple as a pitcher and a fine mesh kitchen strainer. If you do not have a fine mesh strainer you can line whatever strainer you have with some cheesecloth. Use a 4 to 1 ratio of water to coffee, for example if you use 4 cups of water use 1 cup of coarse ground coffee. Put your coarse ground coffee in a large pitcher. Pour room temperature water straight over the grounds. Stir the water and coffee up to make sure all the grounds are fully saturated. Allow the coffee to soak in the water for at least 4 hours, but anywhere up to 12 hours is just fine. The longer it soaks, the stronger your coffee will be. Strain the coffee slowly into a jar or small pitcher that you can keep in the fridge.
A French Press can make a good cold brewing device since it already has the filter built in. Just pour in cold water instead of hot and let it sit for 4 or more hours before pushing the plunger down.
The benefits of cold brewed coffee are many. It’s convenient, concentrated, and low in acid content. The acids naturally contained in coffee need to be cooked at high temperatures to be released. Since this method uses room temperature water, that acid content stays in the grounds and out of your cup. Since the final product is concentrated, you can pour it over ice or into your blender without watering anything down. You can also add a little cold brewed coffee to a cup of hot water for a hot cup of coffee. You can even add it to already brewed hot coffee for and extra kick.
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It’s even great if you pour some of your cold brew into ice cube trays & use that in your iced coffees…..
I have been using a Toddy cold brew system for about 6 months now and LOVE it! I have an instant hot water faucet on my sink so making coffee in the morning is really fast – its flavorful and easier on my stomach. For an afternoon treat I have it iced with International Coffee creamer! Cold brew is a GREAT way to brew coffee.
This is good to know! Thank you, I love iced and frozen coffee in the summer, but find that hot brewed coffee turns bitter after a couple hours.