Cold brew coffee

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
21

I tried the cold-brewed coffee today for the first time. The coffee was good but definitely different. There was no bitterness whatsoever which I kind of missed. It also had a “pudding” consistency. Not sure how to describe it better than that. Obviously it was still a liquid but much thicker than normal drip coffee.

Technique: I ground the beans on the coarsest setting my grinder has then put it into the French press with water and mixed it fairly well. Set it in the fridge for probably 10 hours. Then removed and plunged. Then microwaved for 90 seconds.

22

i think the last part is where you missed the idea – this is meant to be cold brewed iced coffee.

and i’ve found that even with the coursest setting, it needs to go through a coffee filter.

finally, you need a very high ratio of coffee : water. like 1:2 or 1:3. and then you add a lot of ice or a touch of water, milk, etc.

23

I have no desire to drink ice coffee. Hot coffee was made in the videos I saw on the 'net. They just made it very strong and then added hot water to the concentrate.

You put your French press coffee through a filter? Why?

24

I think the only change from your first batch is heat the water then add the cold concentrate. do not microwave the coffee itself. It does create a creamy mouthfeel. I brew for 24 to 36 hours using a toddy.

25

i’ve never heard of cold brew hot coffee, but i suppose anything could work. but it sounds insane to me and can’t imagine it would taste good – and certainly not better than a properly brewed hot cup. the whole point of the process is that a long cold “brew” (a soak really) brings out very different flavors than a short hot brew – it’s a completely different chemical process (also results in a lot more caffeine but that doesn’t affect flavor – i think). when done properly, the iced coffee has a pronounced caramel/chocolate taste and is very round in texture. but yeah, you need to desire iced coffee to appreciate it i guess.

i found that the filter on the french press didn’t remove enough sediment.

26

I’ll give that a try. I’m thinking you can make some ridiculously strong coffee since the bitterness is so low.

27

I’ve done this once but not in the concentrated form. I often make cold brew iced tea with either older tea, good black tea or mid-range Oolongs that are amazing that way. Anyhow I just ground a bunch of coffee and threw it in a pitcher for 12 hrs. As Tim said, no bitterness and I think it brings out certain flavor profiles that might be more subtle in a hot brew. I believe Intellegentsia makes all their Iced Coffee this way. If too hard to filter you might try using a Chemex.

28

Yes, this cold brew method is the best way to make iced coffee.

I’ve heard that it is the heat of the water in normal brewing that produces the bitterness, which is why, for example, Starbucks coffee is so bitter. The water is too hot and on the grounds for too long. Maybe this was already covered in the thread…

29

there are many reasons why some coffee may be too bitter – water too hot, water too cold (more likely and almost all home machines suffer from this), too much coffee, too little coffee, etc., etc.

30

RE: Starbucks, I think the bitterness comes from the over-roasting they do to all of their beans.

Yaacov, of course, is certainly correct that there are many variables, which is why most serious preparations have an actual recipe of x grams of coffee to y oz of water followed by a specific brew time, and it’s important to follow for best results.

I’ve always tended more to eyeballing it, just to keep things interesting. [wink.gif]

31

I remember Sam Lipp who used to be assistant GM at EMP talk about this a couple of years ago but I never tried it (and still haven’t). Based on your comment, I’d like to try it, even though I’m really a tea guy.

32

The one thing I miss, Yaacov, is your old sig. line on eRP which was Blobby Parker’s quote about your prejudices being appalling. You should put it back here.

33

squires still exercises jurisdiction over my sig line – even over here. the guy’s a ninja!

34

I don’t see how - make your sig line what you want it to be, provided it isn’t a personal attack of NSFW

35

This is the last word in iced coffee: Coffee shop in Tarrytown. Japanese cold-extract method where the water slowly flows across a large grid of coffee over something like 12 hrs. Incredible cup.


A.

36

The sign is great “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy”

37

Yes, that is what I noticed as well in that coffee meth lab. Awesome!

38

A place in CMH has had that sign for 20 yrs. Ironically, the roaster spent 30 minutes w/ Alec taking him thru the whole roasting process.

It does look like a meth lab!

A.

39

You would be more likely to know than me – you are far more worldly. I miss you man. Don’t stay too busy. :slight_smile:

40

Hario and Hourglass are two popular cold brewers. I picked up a Hario about a year when I caught the pour over bug.

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Hario-Cold-Brew-Pot-1000ml-p/scg11550-10.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Hourglass-Cold-Brew-Coffee-Maker-p/scg10001-06.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;