Cold-Brewed Coffee

After reading about Cold-Brewed Coffee in our local food section of the Oregonian newspaper, and then researching more on the internet, I made some cold-brewed coffee last night and drank it this morning.

On the internet, everyone was raving about how smooth and good it was. I, personally, thought it tasted ok, but wasn’t that crazy about it. My husband didn’t like it at all and immediately made himself some fresh-brewed hot coffee.

I tried the cold-brewed coffee straight with no added water, with milk added, and also diluting it with different amounts of water. I tried a 1:1 and a 1:2 mixter of coffee syrup and water. When I diluted with water, it tasted too weak. When I drank it undiluted, it was very strong. When I added milk, I liked it. I also added ice cubes to each one.

What is all the “hype” about with cold-brewed coffee? What am I doing wrong that I didn’t enjoy what everyone else is raving about? Can you give me any help on this?

After much research, I made my coffee syrup (concentrate) the following way:

1 cup of coarsely-ground coffee
4 ½ cups filtered water
'
I poured the ground coffe and water into a large pitcher, stirred very briefly, and closed the lid. I let this mixture site overnight (appx. 12 hours) on the kitchen counter, and then strained (filtered) it this morning. I strained it using a coffee filter set in a strainer over another pitcher.

Linda, I've been making toddy coffee for years for Len since the only coffee he'll drink is "iced." Before he met me, he used to brew a whole pot of strong hot coffee and would set it in the fridge overnight. I wish I had just left well-enough alone. I learned about these toddy makers and of course got one to see if it would make better coffee for him. He's now spoiled rotten. The problem is, over the years, his taste buds are apparently getting weaker, because he likes his coffee stronger and stronger. He used to dilute the concentrate with water by about 1/3. Now, I don't think he does at all, maybe a tablespoon. It seems like he is always running low on concentrate and it's time for me to brew some more. Feels like a full time job!

As far as the taste, I have tried making a cup of hot coffee out of his concentrate and don't really like it. It tastes instant to me. (I think a little acidity in hot coffee must be necessary.) I will say that it makes really good iced. Even better than Dunkin Donuts, he says, which was the previous benchmark. That said, I think your measurements are off though, Linda. I use a full pound of coffee (which amounts to about 4 dry cups) to about 6 cups of water. If you are only using 1 cup of coffee, that would probably make it taste pretty weak.

The timing of your post is amazing. I ordered a new toddy maker from Amazon yesterday and it came today. We are in New England right now and will be spending a few days in our RV on a lake in New Hampshire where we may not be able to find a Dunkin Donuts! So guess who'll be making the coffee...

A full pound of coffee, I presume you mean coarsely ground, and 6 cups of water. That does sound strong!

Maybe I'll give this technique another try. I am stuborn and hate giving up on projects!

LOL LInda, think I'm missing something! What's the point of trying to find the "perfect" cup of cold coffee that you weren't wild about and that presumably you like hot brewed coffee in the first place. If this is a research project for Consumer Reports, I withdraw the question!

Well, if there is a better way to brew coffee, then I definitely need to know about it. Also, I usually write up and post on my web site the projects and recipes that I test out.

The cold-brewed coffe idea intrigues me!

[Jenise]

My father married a toddy coffee fan 30 years ago and that's where I first tasted it. I was a kid then and the only coffee I knew was percolated, which I detested, and by comparison her toddy coffee (made from MJB coffee in the big green 3 lb cans) tasted good. But compared to the individual French Press mug I make from locally roasted fresh beans that I grind moments before adding the water for each cup I drink? I'll bet Betty's toddy coffee would taste like Yellow Tail cabernet vs. my coffee's Chateau Montelena to me now. That is, everything that fans of the former consider attributes, I'd consider flaws.

I believe it's lower in caffeine, though. That would be a plus.

We also grind the beans just before brewing hot coffee (not French press). FWIW, tried cold brewed coffee once and hated it, also like full-strength caffeine coffee.

Linda, my measurements were off a bit too. I just made a batch with the new toddy maker and actually read the directions. (What a concept!) It is one pound of ground coffee (which is actually a little over 5 cups! I've been making it on the weak side, as well it turns out) to nine cups of water (which is how much the liquid the container will hold). I always fill it to the top, but for some reason I always thought it held 6 cups. I used the real measurements this time. It'll be interesting to see if it comes out different/better... I'll let you know.

The first time I had this stuff, I was in college. I didn't generally drink coffee at that time as I couldn't stand the dreck they served in the dining hall and this was just before the country started taking coffee seriously. But then this rather striking dance major invited me over to her room for cold-brewed coffee...

I'd have consumed it if it were brewed with rat entrails but I actually found that I liked the stuff. Haven't had it since.