Cold brew coffee

I think I am late to the party. Anyone ever have cold brew coffee before? http://www.toddycafe.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the local shops are doing it here now. My favorite part: massive caffeine extraction. This stuff is SMOOTH, flavorful and packs a rocking kick!

Michael Alberty swears by it. My friend Kate was in Portland recently visiting her Bro and Sis in Law and she now swears by it… seems like a smart thing to drink on a hot day

I use Terroir’s “Ultimate Iced Coffee” recipe, George puts in a blurb explaining why their tests reveal it’s a better method than cold extraction.

http://www.terroircoffee.com/images/icedcoffeebrewinginstructions2010.pdf

Yum that looks good too. I do think the assertion that 24-hour cold brew is ‘insipid’ greatly missed the point that some beans work very well for this technique and others do not. As I finish one right now I am struck by the depth of flavor, but talking to some baristas about it suggests that some beans are not well suited to the technique. Ah well, I guess I will have to keep experimenting all summer! :slight_smile:

I followed your link, Eric, and I still don’t understand how cold brew coffee is made? Does the cold water sit on the beans/grounds for a certain amount of time before consumption? Is it meant to be consumed cold?

i’ve never heard of cold brew coffee, but now I’m curious.

Think of a 24-hour french press done with cold water and the while thing sitting in the fridge, on the grounds, overnight. A whole lot of caffeine gets extracted, as it is water soluble. So for something like espresso which is drawn very quickly there is relatively little caffeine but loads of intense flavor. The longer the grounds are in contact with water the more caffeine you get. I guess with the cold brew it is typically filtered heavily and then diluted.

Any idea which kind of beans or what level of roast? Anybody try this at home?

When I was cooking for the dead we had a granita machine (I still have it actually) and I would make a frozen coffee drink on one side of it. To make the coffee I would put a few pounds in a empty Cornelius keg with cold water and store it in the reefer. the drive over night to the next city and it would be ready to go. I would just add hot water to an ounce of this extract for a cup of Joe. Insanely smooth and super wired.

been doing it for years and it’s really easy and awesome and a great use for coffee that’s a little too old to use for espresso.

i really like the caramel flavor that comes out from the cold brew process.

btw, i never do it for 24 hours. i think it peeks at some point. i’ve found that overnight – like 10-12 hours is more than sufficient.

sorry, i always forget this when i read your posts. can you please make it your signature because it’s like the coolest thing ever and you let it slide by as if you were describing painting a door or something.

+1

More proof that you are a master of the universe. Your prejudices are still appalling however…

Seems like everybody makes it in concentrated form. Is there a reason for that? I would think that alone would change the flavor profile of the end product. I’m curious to do an overnight soak in my French Press at a normal concentration and then heat it the next day in the microwave. Maybe compare that side-by-side to fresh coffee from the Technivorm?

and…go to hell.

i think the reason for this is that you need more coffee-to-water for the cold brew as you do for a normal brew – so it’s relatively expensive coffee. i typically do 1 part coffee (very course grind) to 2.5-3 parts cold water. this results in a liquid that i can add a little bit of water, milk and ice and get a fairly strong iced coffee. to make it easier, i use a my french press, but any jar or whatever will do. i pour the water over the coffee and stir for 30 seconds or so to distribute evenly.

i do iced coffee the lazy way…brew coffee the regular way, freeze coffee in ice cube trays. Then brew coffee again and use coffee cubes as ice - that way, it doesn’t get watered down when the “ice” melts

[truce.gif]

BTW, since someone PM’ed with concern over the apparent spat between Yaacov and I, let me explain… The line “Yaacov, your prejudices are appalling” actually came from Big Bad Blobby Parker a while back on eRP. I don’t recall what triggered it, but it must be because Yaacov likes Burgundy and non-spoof and is willing to say it. Yaacov and I actually think the world of each other, and there are very few people in the world (and certainly in the wine world) who have Yaacov’s excellent instincts when it comes to digital media and the emerging world of the magical interwebz. And despite my generally broken sarcasm meter, I handle sarcasm pretty well with Yaacov since I pretty much assume that he will spew battery acid when I poke him. :slight_smile:

The band or did a bunch of zombies make you their bitch?

oh that’s toooo funny…

someone needs to look it up, but the appalling prejudices remark i think was from one of the 2003 CdP threads that Parker went nuts on. i felt honored at the time. and it has become a running joke in the wine interwebz.

i’m hoping “go to hell” achieves similar greatness…it can be found here…

http://wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?p=318663#p318663" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and i truly adore Eric and hold him in the highest possible regard.

forget a coffee, I need a cigarette after reading this love fest! neener