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August 6th, 2007
02:24 pm
So Cold-Brewed coffee.
The  homebrewing community had a bit of a discussion about it a few weeks back, and I gamely gave it a shot as I said I would. Below is the method I used and thoughts.
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Extract:
-.5 lbs coarse ground coffee (darker roast works best)
-5 cups of room-temp water
Combine in a pitcher or bowl, and let sit for 12+ hours. (I did mine for about 18 I think, just how my weekend went.)
Strain coffee grounds out. (more on this later)
You should have 3-4 cups of coffee extract now. Put it in a mason jar in the fridge, should keep for at least a few weeks.
Coffee:
Mix one part extract with 3-4 parts cold or hot water. Drink.
(If you like milk in your coffee, do 1 part extract, 1 part milk, and 2-3 parts water.)
This is one of the best parts, coffee exactly when you want it. Grab the extract, add water, coffee. Tada!
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- Straining the grounds:
This part is the sucky part.
I had decent success doing a preliminary strain through a standard colander, then lining a sieve with a coffee filter, and pouring the extract through there. Downside was that it took a good half-hour or longer.
Next time I'm going to try cheesecloth.
- Flavor thoughts:
I used an Ethiopian bean that I like a lot when hot brewed, because it makes a full-flavored but mellow coffee. As a cold-brewed coffee it's a whole lot smoother and mellower. You get a lot more depth of flavor than you get when you hot-brew it. It's missing the 'edge' that hot-brewed coffee has, which is great for my tummy which don't appreciate acid much. I think this is what a lot of people mean when they say that cold-brewed coffee tastes weak.
I don't find it week, it's just a less harsh flavor profile with a lot more nuance.
 prosicated, a life-long coffee hater and tea-geek, took one sip and said "holy shit, I'll happily drink that!"
I proclaim it awesome.
Current Location: work
mood:  calm
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next project: acquire home-roasted decaf beans, and cold-brew them :) (er, i meant next project for me, not you. but i would imagine prosicated would appreciate the decaf version :) heh.
Yes, yes she would.
She made herself a double-sized cup for her first coffee drink, because that's what fit in her travel mug. I guess I should have warned her to not use more than 1/4 cup of the extract for a 'standard' cup of coffee.
Cold-brewing apparently pulls out about 1/3 less caffeine than hot-brewing, just fyi. (i saw her too-caffinated post about it, which is why i thought of it.)
1/3 less caffeine than hot-brewing
even better :) ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/49104179/452415) | | From: | komos |
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| Date: | August 6th, 2007 07:02 pm (UTC) |
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a) I would guess that the resulting extract would make fantastic ice cream.
b) I'd recommend trying butter muslin before cheesecloth. Most readily available cheesecloth is of a very loose weave that will let all sorts of sediment through. good to know!
Where do I find butter muslin?
We did a white coffee ice cream a few months back, by soaking the crushed beans in cream for a few days. Made the best coffee ice cream evar, I usually hate the stuff. | | From: | komos |
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| Date: | August 6th, 2007 07:18 pm (UTC) |
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hmm, would cost $11 with shipping. You placing an order from there any time soon? ;-) | | From: | komos |
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| Date: | August 6th, 2007 07:26 pm (UTC) |
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May do. I'll have to get back to you once I've returned from the South. ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/13636949/842513) | | From: | macthud |
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| Date: | August 16th, 2007 02:18 am (UTC) |
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I work in Burlington, and drive through/past Woburn daily...
...*and*, I've been thinking about this cold-brewed coffee idea for a while, and haven't gotten around to a test with gear I already own, before shelling out for a cold-brew kitchen accessory.
So, here's my offer -- for a good sample of what you produce, I'll fetch the cloth you want from Woburn... and give you a taste of my own favorite brew (Dancing Goats), once I've restocked.
So, where's that shop? *looks* | | From: | macthud |
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| Date: | August 16th, 2007 02:34 am (UTC) |
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I think this is what komos was talking about? Though it seems awfully cheap compared to what you were looking at... oh yeah -- the accessory I'm considering... the Toddy system gets good reviews, I may invest in one if I can't sort out how to filter it well myself.
Muslin bags are different than butter muslin, but I'm not sure how different. I have muslin hop bags for brewing that might work, perhaps I'll give it a shot with one of them.
I'm due to brew a new batch, almost out of my first batch, and you're definitely welcome to try it! YOU MADE COFFEE ICE CREAM AND DIDN'T TELL ME??!?!?!?! evil evil man. ::pout::
Also, may I try some of this cold brewed coffee thing sometime before i attempt it myself? ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/83713035/465094) | | From: | jbsegal |
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| Date: | August 6th, 2007 09:51 pm (UTC) |
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The Abode had HUGE size coffee filters, that they used with a jumbo colander. Would that do you?
(I hate coffee. I hate the SMELL of coffee.. I'll stick with tea. :) well the issue was that it got gummed up with all the fine dust-sludge, and the last half-cup of liquid took 90% of the total time.
I don't think a bigger filter is the answer, I'm thinking the ability to squeeze it manually is probably the way to go, thus cheesecloth or something similar.
although a big enough filter could, in fact, be squozed, but probably it would rip. hmm. the ability to squeeze it manually is probably the way to go
french press? I've never had french pressed coffee that didn't have the dust sludge still in it, I don't think it's fine enough. Oh, and I am in fact a tea lover as well, but the tannins in tea make my stomach very unhappy. Also red-wines, sadly. I only discovered this fairly recently after thinking I was developing acid-reflux in my old age. Took me about 4 years to figure out what it actually was.
Coffee, acidic foods, and hard liquor though? no problemo!
go figure. you have tummy problems too? Are there ways in which we're *not* the same person? |
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