Cold brew coffee - anybody do this?

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed May 24, 2017 7:15 am

Every morning I get up early to practice and stretch before work. I've been programming the coffee pot to start at 0530. I drink one cup while playing, but I make two more for my wife and daughter.

Up until now I've been using a standard cheap drip coffee maker. I have a bean grinder, a French press, a Melitta pour over, but I put butter and coconut oil in mine to jump start the day, and my family uses a lot of flavored creamer. It just didn't seem worth the effort to make gourmet coffee then smother it with other stuff. The drip maker is adequate.

Then I tried cold brew. There's some effort involved but I make it on the weekend and keep the concentrate in the refrigerator. The taste is significantly better, either black or with whatever you add. It's really worth trying, especially if you're into good coffee. There's no bitterness.

ttf_Matt K · Post by **ttf_Matt K** » Wed May 24, 2017 7:22 am

I love it. I don't have the equipment to do it yet but I'm going to try to acquire it soon.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed May 24, 2017 7:25 am

You don't actually need any equipment.

You mix coffee grounds and water (1:4 by volume or 1:8 by weight), let sit at room temperature 12 - 24 hours, and filter. I used a sports water bottle, or a juice container.

That's the slow part. I use the Melitta pourover filters since I already had a filter cone.

I tried doing it in a French press so I could squeeze a bit more out of the grounds, but now I think that wasn't worth the effort.

It keeps two weeks in the fridge, supposedly, but I finish it sooner.

ttf_greenbean · Post by **ttf_greenbean** » Wed May 24, 2017 8:08 am

I have been cold brewing for a couple of years now. I will do it for 2 months and lay off for a month or two. It is more work that my usual pour-over, but the results are excellent. I have used many brewing methods and cold-brew is the best tasting.

ttf_Matt K · Post by **ttf_Matt K** » Wed May 24, 2017 8:23 am

Ah interesting, I just assumed it required some level of complication to make. I might give that a shot this weekend if it just needs to be filtered at the end .

ttf_Dombat · Post by **ttf_Dombat** » Wed May 24, 2017 8:31 am

We have a Dripster at home - costs about 40 euros and you get more control than a home built set up. Before that we had success with half an aeropress and a sports bottle.
You can also make great iced coffee by making a standard drip directly over ice at a ratio of 1:1 ice to hot water. It is important to cool it instantly as coolong coffee over time creates a build up of bitter acids - we use a Hario V60 but Melitta also does the job.

We make cold brew about once every two weeks or when we go away for gigs where we know there is no good coffee - otherwise we have our set up of Hario V60, aeropress, siphon, french press and our espresso machine.

If you want to make your coffee (cold brew, drip, espresso, WHATEVER) really sing - invest in a good grinder. For only a small invesment you can get a good hand grinder (we have both Hario and Porlex at home) or if you are a little lazier, a good electric grinder (we love Baratza grinders - the encore is a great filter grinder. We have a Sette 270). If you put an old pre-ground coffee or an incosistantly ground coffee in you have no chance of getting anything good out - no matter how much you invest n the brewing equipment.

ttf_robcat2075 · Post by **ttf_robcat2075** » Wed May 24, 2017 10:41 am

I tried making cold-brew once but didn't detect a difference.

That said, I'm not a coffee connoisseur. I can't tell good coffee from bad coffee without a specially-trained service dog to point it out to me.

ttf_Steven · Post by **ttf_Steven** » Wed May 24, 2017 12:07 pm

How do you heat the coffee when you are ready to drink it? Reheating tends to negatively impact the flavor.

ttf_Matt K · Post by **ttf_Matt K** » Wed May 24, 2017 12:08 pm

Quote from: Steven on May 24, 2017, 12:07PMHow do you heat the coffee when you are ready to drink it? Reheating tends to negatively impact the flavor.

You drink it cold.

ttf_BGuttman · Post by **ttf_BGuttman** » Wed May 24, 2017 12:22 pm

Cold brew is for those of us who like iced coffee and can't stand how watery it gets if you pour hot coffee over ice and find that hot coffee chilled in the 'fridge is too bitter.

We make it in gallon batches and leave it in the 'fridge until we are ready to drink it. Mostly between April 15 and November 1 (that's about the hot weather season here).

ttf_B0B · Post by **ttf_B0B** » Wed May 24, 2017 12:30 pm

Quote from: Matt K on May 24, 2017, 12:08PMYou drink it cold.
bleh.

ttf_BGuttman · Post by **ttf_BGuttman** » Wed May 24, 2017 12:35 pm

I like hot tea, and I like iced tea.
I like hot coffee, and I like iced coffee.
I like hot cocoa, but I don't like iced cocoa.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed May 24, 2017 1:09 pm

Quote from: Steven on May 24, 2017, 12:07PMHow do you heat the coffee when you are ready to drink it? Reheating tends to negatively impact the flavor.

I mix it half and half with water and nuke it in the microwave.

I don't find that reheating this way hurts anything. YMMV.

ttf_Posaunus · Post by **ttf_Posaunus** » Wed May 24, 2017 2:51 pm

I actually think you can make good drip coffee, with the right equipment and properly roasted and ground beans. Pourover not much better than the first cup of drip, to me. I've never had as good luck with French press - even with fresh coarsely ground beans. My favorites, though: Aeropress (at home) or espresso (from a good caffe/barista).

I don't like cold or iced coffee, and prefer hot (black) tea to iced tea.

ttf_Steven · Post by **ttf_Steven** » Wed May 24, 2017 3:23 pm

Quote from: Matt K on May 24, 2017, 12:08PMYou drink it cold.

I can do that. I'll probably try some this weekend.

ttf_Dombat · Post by **ttf_Dombat** » Wed May 24, 2017 3:34 pm

Quote from: Posaunus on May 24, 2017, 02:51PMI actually think you can make good drip coffee, with the right equipment and properly roasted and ground beans. Pourover not much better than the first cup of drip, to me. I've never had as good luck with French press - even with fresh coarsely ground beans. My favorites, though: Aeropress (at home) or espresso (from a good caffe/barista).

I don't like cold or iced coffee, and prefer hot (black) tea to iced tea.

French press can be great but can be muddy and bitter. My basic recipe is a 5:1 ratio at 98°, 5 min, press and then through a prewetted v60 filter.
The problem with french press is the fines left over from uneven griding (which even the best grinders leave a little of) and the extended contact time as you slowly drink the coffee which sits on the grinds. A good grinder (hand grinders tend to get better results at extremely coarse grinds), smaller french press, better quality mesh om the press and filtering the finished product all can improve the cup.
All that said, I generally stick to v60 and aeropress for filter at home.

ttf_PhilE · Post by **ttf_PhilE** » Wed May 24, 2017 9:20 pm

I used the Aeropress for a while. It was good. Then I got onto cold brew. So much better.

As others have said it's a bit of work to prepare. I use the Cold Bruer set up. Can be a bit fiddly but mostly it works well.

Unsurprisingly the end result depends a lot on the beans that go into it. I was buying freshly roasted beans but I've found a supermarket variety that works just as well.

The flavour is so much more complex with no bitterness.

In summer I drink it cold. In winter I just add hot water or give it a brief nuke. Adding milk or cream or sweetening dulls the flavour.

We had some Indian friends visiting a while back. He said that this type of brewing is very common in India.

ttf_Matt K · Post by **ttf_Matt K** » Thu May 25, 2017 3:08 am

Yeah, I definitely prefer the taste of black, which may be why I like the cold variety as much as I do.

ttf_Posaunus · Post by **ttf_Posaunus** » Thu May 25, 2017 3:13 pm

I'm not a cold-brewed coffee person myself, but apparently my favorite coffee bean supplier, Peet's, has your back. From today's Peet's e-mail describing their Baridi Blend:

"Baridi, Swahili for cold, reflects the Peet's point of view on cold brewed coffee. Some beans make much better cold brewed coffee than others, so we set out to craft a blend designed specifically to be refreshing and delicious over ice. That means finding beans with the perfect flavor notes and roast profile to be bold up front with a crisp, clean finish, and we put a lot of extra time and care into selecting ours.

After extensive testing and blending, we chose the best East African coffees, select washed qualities from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda. These coffees are overtly aromatic, even when chilled, and inherently bright and juicy, revving up the refreshment of an iced coffee drink. Roasting it more in a medium style, the payoff is as surprising as it is sweet. That's why, even though it's an excellent hot coffee, this blend makes the ideal cold brewed coffee."

ttf_PhilE · Post by **ttf_PhilE** » Thu May 25, 2017 6:44 pm

That's interesting. When I was buying direct from the roaster I tried all of their varieties of exotic blends but none of them matched the beans I found at the supermarket.

I'll look out for a roaster who has done a bit of homework on cold brewing.

Thanks

ttf_Larry Preston Roberson · Thu May 25, 2017 7:54 pm

Quote from: BGuttman on May 24, 2017, 12:35PMI like hot tea, and I like iced tea.
I like hot coffee, and I like iced coffee.
I like hot cocoa, but I don't like iced cocoa.

My sentiments exactly, Bruce.

ttf_Larry Preston Roberson · Thu May 25, 2017 7:54 pm

Quote from: BGuttman on May 24, 2017, 12:35PMI like hot tea, and I like iced tea.
I like hot coffee, and I like iced coffee.
I like hot cocoa, but I don't like iced cocoa.

My sentiments exactly, Bruce.