Anyone here make cold brew coffee? I just started experimenting with it this weekend and I really like it. Makes great iced coffee and is pretty good cut with hot water too. Since I am lazy during weekday mornings it makes things really simple.

So far I have added 125g of coarse ground medium roast coffee to around 3 cups of water (fill up a mason jar) and let it sit for ~24 hours. I want to try a few different grind settings, coffee to water ratios, and let it sit for different lengths of time.

9/8/2015 8:58:01 PM

I make mine in a french press

9/8/2015 9:02:29 PM

I would probably do the same but my french press is a small one. Think I might pick one of these up:

http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Mizudashi-Coffee-600ml-MCPN-7B/dp/B0009MZ67Q

9/8/2015 10:26:07 PM

^ I have that one.

My attempts have been not as good as the expensive stuff from a coffee shop, however my coworker can get it consistently good enough it's hard to justify the baller coffee.

It has something to do with the ground he's using.

9/9/2015 4:18:55 AM

I wanna start grinding my own beans but I'm not sure where to get them for a decent price...

9/9/2015 9:54:31 AM

Fuck price, I thought you wanted good coffee.

9/9/2015 10:50:25 AM

this new local coffee shop near me has amazing cold coffee. I am not sure what they do exactly, but it is the only coffee (hot or cold) that I drink with nothing added at all. I've had cold brew before and enjoy it but this seems different. I'll just have to ask them. It's served with no ice, just cold (it's shaken with ice I suspect, as it comes with a frothy 'head') in a nice, thick pint glass.

9/9/2015 11:01:49 AM

I picked up some whole bean coffee and ground it myself corse and did something similar to this:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

My mistake was I used a breakfast (lighter) roast so there wasn't as much flavor but it was crazy strong (lots of caffeine). Next time I'm going to use a darker roast for less caffeine but more flavor.

I let mine sit at room temperature for ~24 hours. It worked great.

9/9/2015 1:14:34 PM

Quote :

"Fuck price, I thought you wanted good coffee."

Where did I saw that?

9/9/2015 1:21:46 PM

I make cold brew coffee.

I usually add ~9 grams of medium-ground coffee per ounce of water. I leave it overnight, strain, and dilute 3:1.

I usually make it in batches of around 3 quarts. I don't drink it fast enough to get through larger batches before the taste starts to fall off (usually around the 5-6 day mark).

I like the method because it's pretty idiot proof. I've had the best results with Counter Culture's La Golondrina from Colombia.

I bought some commercial kitchen conical strainers and large commercial coffee filters to do the straining. I usually rig a makeshift stand out of wire cookie cooling racks to hold everything. I keep the coffee in a glass 1-gallon beer carboy.

9/9/2015 4:24:01 PM

That is a lot of coffee per ounce, is it syrupy?

9/10/2015 1:41:21 PM

Note the dilution.

Cold brew isn't the cheapest brewing method.

9/10/2015 3:35:30 PM

Dilution noted, still didn't answer my question nor am I concerned with price.

When I do a little over 5g per ounce it seems to be plenty strong with around 1:3 dilution but I let it sit for longer.

9/10/2015 4:36:38 PM

Made my first cold brew yesterday. Went with 8:1 water/coffee ratio, let it sit about 22-24 hours. Diluted 1:1 with milk to start, but still experimenting with ratios. That said, my first batch was quite good.

9/10/2015 10:22:48 PM

No wonder I was so wired. I only diluted it with a little half/half.

9/10/2015 10:47:25 PM

^^^ It's not syrupy. My cold brew recipe comes from one of the baristas at Morning Times in which I use less coffee per unit water than what they recommended.

^ Anecdotally, cold brew coffee seems more caffeinated than standard brewed coffee.

[Edited on September 14, 2015 at 3:51 PM. Reason : more info]

9/14/2015 3:49:37 PM

I think it's mainly because cold brew instructions are usually for a more concentrated iced coffee assuming you'll add water, ice, or some type of milk to it. Just made another batch using ~8 ounces of dark French roast with ~4 liters of water. Nice and caffeinated this morning.

9/14/2015 3:53:51 PM

Try making it with coffee that isn't roasted into charcoal. Floral African coffees make interesting cold brew. I brewed some Ethiopian coffee from Counter Culture once that yielded cold brew that tasted like lemonade.

9/14/2015 3:59:36 PM

Yeah my first batch was a lighter roast and it was pretty good however the darker the roast the more flavor seems to pop up. Going to try a few different roasts each time.

9/14/2015 4:10:36 PM

On a related topic anyone have one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/Aeropress-Coffee-and-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442500570&sr=8-1&keywords=pressure+coffee+maker

Have some co-workers that swear by it. They say it makes way better coffee than drip/pour over or a French press.

9/17/2015 10:46:00 AM

^got one in February and I love it. I was skeptical but since it was so cheap I bought it and the coffee tastes great hot or cold. Definitely way better than drip/pour over. I like it better than French press but it's fairly similar to that I'd say.

On a funny, related note: half the mornings I use it, I am too lazy to heat/boil water separately or anything, so I use a Mr. Coffee just to heat the water and then use the aeropress to actually make the coffee

For iced coffee, I just fill a cup to the top with ice and press/brew it right into that cup. Also, it makes a great coffee for use in homemade affogato.

[Edited on September 17, 2015 at 11:00 AM. Reason : ]

9/17/2015 10:56:26 AM

Quote :

"^ Anecdotally, cold brew coffee seems more caffeinated than standard brewed coffee."

That's an understatement. I dilute most of the cold brews I drink and I still feel like I'm on meth.

[Edited on September 17, 2015 at 12:08 PM. Reason : -]

9/17/2015 12:02:24 PM

^^Do you use the included paper filters or the stainless steel filter?

I'm also considering a Bialetti:

http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-3-Cup-Stovetop-Espresso/dp/B0000CF3Q6/ref=zg_bs_14163721_1

Both very similar as far as brewing method (pressure).

The main difference is the Bialetti always used a steel filter so you always get the cloudy oily coffee which many people prefer. If you use a coffee filter with the Aeropress you get a cleaner coffee which some people also prefer. You can however use a steel filter with the Aeropress and get a similar coffee as the Bialetti (called a Moka coffee maker). They're a little more popular.

9/17/2015 1:26:03 PM

moka pots make good coffee, but it take practice and it's really easy to make disgusting coffee

9/17/2015 2:00:33 PM

^^I just use the paper filters that come with it.

9/17/2015 2:33:52 PM

I use a thing called a toddy

[Edited on September 18, 2015 at 12:42 AM. Reason : http://toddycafe.com/]

9/18/2015 12:40:48 AM

I've made CBC before a few times, and messed around with ratios. The flavor is markedly different than regular coffee.

I've used a french press, CBC, Bialetti espresso maker, Keurig.

Personally, I like the Bialette-made full cup of coffee.

*shrug

9/27/2015 2:16:24 PM

What's everyone's thoughts on cold brew on nitro? Or dry hopped? My local coffee shop down the street has amazing cold brew nitro dry hopped coffee and it's amazing. I was recently in Seattle and most of the coffee shops had cold brew on nitro draft and there was even a Starbucks with a pilot program and the nitro draft. It makes the coffee super smooth.

6/11/2016 4:30:18 PM

What the fuck is dry hopped coffee? Is someone really putting hops into coffee? If they're combining that with the nitro.... fuck it, they should just make beer.

6/11/2016 10:07:12 PM

Coffee already has a good bitter flavor by itself, why the hell would you put in hops?

I blame the modern obsession with getting the most "xtreme" IPAs

6/12/2016 12:43:38 AM

white people

[Edited on June 12, 2016 at 12:52 AM. Reason : shit, I hope Cass doesn't login after 2.5 years and moderate my post]

6/12/2016 12:45:51 AM

You guys are ridiculous. Anything new or trendy is automatically questioned or shunned. GET OFF MY LAWN! lol.

Live a little. Dry hopped cold brews have been around for years.

Quote :

"Coffee already has a good bitter flavor by itself, why the hell would you put in hops?"

Yes if you only get coffee from Starbucks...all coffee isn't bitter.

This shit is really good:

6/12/2016 2:47:05 AM

There are 5 basic tastes. Which one is coffee if not bitter? (Sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami)

Note I didn't say unpleasantly bitter.

[Edited on June 12, 2016 at 8:38 AM. Reason : ]

6/12/2016 8:37:49 AM

Well it depends on the type of coffee you get. Sure the underlying flavor of coffee is often bitter but depending on the bean, roast, and method of brewing coffee can be very not bitter. For example a properly made cold brew can be very smooth (especially on nitro) so adding the dry hop step really brings out some additional flavor.

I guess don't knock it until you try it is all I'm saying.

[Edited on June 12, 2016 at 10:27 AM. Reason : s]

6/12/2016 10:26:52 AM

Highly recommend this to anyone that loves cold brew but hates waiting for 12+ hours for it to brew. This was the best coffee purchase I've ever made. They are not cheap, but the quality of the brew and the 3-4 hour brew time and simple process make it well worth it imho. Plus it looks like something Walter White would have in his kitchen, so that's a plus too.

It looks complicated, but all you do is put your grinds in the middle chamber with a small paper filter on top, put ice and water in the top chamber, and adjust the drip to about 40-60 drops per minute. After about 3-4 hours you've got 6-8 cups of some very good, low acidity cold brew.



https://www.amazon.com/Yama-Glass-Maker-Straight-Black/dp/B004EBUZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467731083&sr=8-1&keywords=yama+cold+brew

[Edited on July 5, 2016 at 11:15 AM. Reason : /]

7/5/2016 11:10:55 AM

I make amazing cold brew with my Aero Press for $30:

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/aeropresscoldbrew

Various methods online but it's on par or better than most cold brew I've had that's been brewed over hours.

7/5/2016 2:42:03 PM

I just stick cold water in my french press and leave it in the fridge overnight. Does fine, why all this fancy shit?

7/6/2016 10:26:53 AM

Wouldn't call the Aeropress fancy. It's a cheap efficient device that makes amazing coffee.

I would say because if you use your method you run the risk of high acidity cold brew with bitter flavor. There's many ways to make very flavorful cold brew that isn't bitter. One is with a fancy device like ^^^ another way is with something like an Aeropress that uses pressure to quickly extract the flavor from the coffee without the bitterness.

[Edited on July 6, 2016 at 12:00 PM. Reason : s]

7/6/2016 11:59:40 AM

what kind of PHs are we talking here?

7/6/2016 12:01:26 PM

It depends how you brew it. Depending on size of grind, length of brewing, roast, amount, temperature of water, etc you can get a range of acidity.

A more acidic coffee (maybe a breakfast blend) could be closer to ~4.3 I think whereas a less acidic coffee (like a sumatran dark) may be closer to 4.7.

Regardless I'm not a huge fan of really bitter coffee so that's one reason I like the Aero Press (besides the fact that it's cheap and portable) is you can make really good not bitter coffee.

7/6/2016 2:17:45 PM

bought a Takeya 1qt system and got it the other day. the coffee is ready to drink but I had meetings all day today and didn't want to overdo it and be all cracked out. will try it out tomorrow.

should I start out with like a 1:2 coffee:water ratio? black iced coffee is my go-to but I've heard this is much stronger.

it smells wonderful

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFLY64U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7/26/2016 3:59:07 PM

this shit is amazin

7/27/2016 9:15:40 AM

^^ What's your coffee to water ratio?

7/27/2016 10:22:32 AM

I did 1:2 coffee:water first and it was pretty good. This afternoon I did 2:1 just to test and dilute as needed and now I feel cracked out just after drinking a little of it

I think between a 1:2 and 1:1 ratio will probably be ideal.

7/27/2016 2:07:58 PM

^ dude that's a 4-fold difference! a big jump to be making straight away... should have made gradual changes, like 1:1, or even 2:3 or 3:4.

7/28/2016 9:04:19 AM

Just finished brewing. In fridge now.

7/28/2016 9:15:33 AM

^^^ I meant the ratio when you brew. When I make cold brew, it's 9 grams of coffee per fluid ounce of water (don't get on me about the units). I then dilute 3:1 water to coffee.

7/28/2016 9:31:28 AM

ohhh yeah I followed the directions on the package - it was ~14 tbsp of grounds to a 1 quart system.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FFLY64U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and the coffee I used was Gevalia Mocha, which was pretty mild - just happened to be what I grabbed at the grocery store. I like chocolately flavors but not actual chocolate and the calories that go with it. I'll be looking to get some local dark roast this weekend.

anyone have any recommendations?

I'm pretty new to the world of coffee in general. I only started drinking it daily a few months ago when I started working at State, got on a diet and needed something zero calorie that wasn't water and there were so many shops around. I pretty much only drink iced coffee black (maybe a splash of milk from time to time), and I do like ones that have some flavoring to the bean for variety. Brueggers coconut iced coffee has been my go to before this. Of all the iced coffees I've tried downtown, I like Cafe de los Muertos' the best.

[Edited on July 29, 2016 at 11:08 AM. Reason : noob]

7/29/2016 11:02:44 AM

Buy some Counter Culture coffee. They're local and they're good at what they do. For cold brew you usually wanted light or medium roasts and more floral beans (think Africa). If you cold brew a dark roast, it's going to taste like charcoal water.

7/29/2016 3:17:44 PM

I started with light roasts and wasn't that impressed and went darker and got a much better result. Maybe I like that taste or just had the wrong lighter roasts.

7/29/2016 5:21:21 PM