# Cold brew coffee



## chiffonodd (Jul 19, 2015)

This summer in Seattle has been ridiculously hot - we're up to 90 by noon and we have NO air conditioning in houses up here. We just aren't equipped to deal with the heat.

So I want to adapt our drug of choice to the heat by making my own cold brew coffee. I've never attempted this though and don't have the gear. Anyone have any suggestions for gear and technique?


----------



## brianh (Jul 19, 2015)

I've nothing to add other than my sympathies. HATE the heat. It's 95F here, the AC is blasting, but I'm still boiling.


----------



## chiffonodd (Jul 19, 2015)

brianh said:


> I've nothing to add other than my sympathies. HATE the heat. It's 95F here, the AC is blasting, but I'm still boiling.



I've been sticking my head in the freezer lol

[EDIT] just checked the forecast though, back down to 70s next week hallelujah. You're in the NYC/NJ area? Gonna stay 90s/high 80s for a while yikes. Too hot almost to even grill outdoors without sweating your b**** off!


----------



## brianh (Jul 19, 2015)

Eeeyup, 20 min outside NYC. It's hot as ball$ for the next few days. I need to move to Chicken, Alaska. Stay cool!


----------



## tkern (Jul 19, 2015)

We make cold brew at the restaurant and we make it pretty strong. Our recipe is large so adapt as you see fit. 5# ground coffee in a large filter with a bag filter around it. Steep for 24hrs in 4gal water at room temp. Remove coffee, squeeze gently to get it all out, then cool. We use the Toddy container.


Edit: on a ball sweating side note, I did a burger competition yesterday outdoors. 1000 burger sliders in front of a grill in direct sun for 5 hrs. 103 degrees w/ humidity. Lucky the DC Brau/Atlas brewery tent was next to us.


----------



## chiffonodd (Jul 19, 2015)

brianh said:


> Eeeyup, 20 min outside NYC. It's hot as ball$ for the next few days. I need to move to Chicken, Alaska. Stay cool!



5pm and 97 out right now! No central air but running a portable unit so hard it's probably gonna fry the electrical grid. Costco said people have been lining up at 6am to buy ACs and they've been selling out in an hour.

Alaska don't sound half bad!


----------



## chiffonodd (Jul 19, 2015)

tkern said:


> We make cold brew at the restaurant and we make it pretty strong. Our recipe is large so adapt as you see fit. 5# ground coffee in a large filter with a bag filter around it. Steep for 24hrs in 4gal water at room temp. Remove coffee, squeeze gently to get it all out, then cool. We use the Toddy container.
> 
> 
> Edit: on a ball sweating side note, I did a burger competition yesterday outdoors. 1000 burger sliders in front of a grill in direct sun for 5 hrs. 103 degrees w/ humidity. Lucky the DC Brau/Atlas brewery tent was next to us.



DC summer heat is so bad dude with the humidity, I lived there for a year. You are a brave soul haha. Thanks for the cold brew tips.


----------



## TheDispossessed (Jul 19, 2015)

my home recipe.
12-16oz fresh ground (coarse coffee)
add to 64oz filtered water and steep @ room temp for 12hr
strain through coffee filters in a chinoise, hario cone (v60) , whatever. this is a pain in the ass and takes foooorrrreeverrrr, but is essential to a clean brew. if you just strain through mesh it will be all cloudy and oily. 
enjoy and dilute as desired, keeps cold about a week or so.


----------



## oldcookie (Jul 19, 2015)

What I've been making recently:

Coarse ground Coffee + Water(coffee to water ratio 1:5 by weight)
Put both coffee ground and water in an iSi Whip Siphon.
Stir lightly just to get the grounds wet
Close and charge with 2 charges of NO2 

Leave in fridge over night.

Release gas with a little mug over the nozzle so it doesn't spray everywhere.
Then filter through a filter with a funnel, hario, or whatever u have.

What you get is coffee syrup, which you can dilute to taste.


----------



## lukehod (Jul 21, 2015)

Woah never thought to use an ISI for cold brew. I like it :doublethumbsup:


----------



## knyfeknerd (Jul 21, 2015)

I've got no clue about cold brew. Never had it.
What are the differences in taste and how does the cold brew make it different?
Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but why not just hot brew and ice it down?

I'm sure I could google it, but I'd rather hear it fro y'all.
And FWIW, the ISI method sure as hell sounds cool!


----------



## oldcookie (Jul 21, 2015)

In general, there's less bitterness and less acidity, it's also a lot less noise in the morning. (I want a cup of coffee and don't want to wake the wife with the grinder. ) With bitterness and acidity reduced, you can taste the other notes in the coffee better. Like pour over, single origins works best because they tend to have more character. It also make it easier to make cold coffee and a better cup of cold coffee for that matter.  The other interesting part is that, with pour over, some people find it too weak for their taste. With cold brew, you usually get a concentrate as a result, so you can dilute it to the strength you like, you have less options with hot brewing methods. 

The iSi method increases and speeds up extraction, so you get a bit more flavour compared to simply steeping. You can get coffee two to three hours rather than overnight, but I usually make it at night, so overnight works out well. I think the end result test a bit fuller/better.


----------



## oldcookie (Jul 21, 2015)

Also, forgot to mention, for filter, a cotton coffee filter works better than paper. The coffee end up with more body, and it can be reused pretty much indefinitely if you keep it wet.


----------



## chiffonodd (Jul 21, 2015)

knyfeknerd said:


> I've got no clue about cold brew. Never had it.
> What are the differences in taste and how does the cold brew make it different?
> Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but why not just hot brew and ice it down?
> 
> ...



Can't explain it any better than oldcookie just did, but the only thing I would add is that the problem with brewing hot and pouring over ice is that the ice will melt, diluting coffee that was probably only brewed to a typical strength. So when you order an "ice coffee" (very popular in these parts) it's usually some form of concentrate, mixed with some cold water and then served over ice.

One of the cafes here in Seattle uses this for their cold brew:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EBUZ2E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Blows my mind.


----------



## lukehod (Jul 22, 2015)

chiffonodd said:


> Can't explain it any better than oldcookie just did, but the only thing I would add is that the problem with brewing hot and pouring over ice is that the ice will melt, diluting coffee that was probably only brewed to a typical strength. So when you order an "ice coffee" (very popular in these parts) it's usually some form of concentrate, mixed with some cold water and then served over ice.
> 
> One of the cafes here in Seattle uses this for their cold brew:
> 
> ...



DAMN thats cool. The last thing I need is something else expensive to blow my money on though... :coffeelots:


----------



## oldcookie (Jul 22, 2015)

Lol, first J-knives, that J-coffee gadgets... I need to buy a bigger house before I can buy something like that.


----------



## chiffonodd (Jul 22, 2015)

oldcookie said:


> Lol, first J-knives, that J-coffee gadgets... I need to buy a bigger house before I can buy something like that.



Oh but they have a 6-8 cup version!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EBUZ1A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

We're all enablers lol :angel2:


----------



## SyndicateNova (Jul 24, 2015)

ChefSteps has a great method for a quick cold brew coffee. Mix 100 grams drip size ground coffee and 500 grams water in a siphon. Charge with three n2o cartridges, chill in fridge for two hours to infuse, release gas, filter out grounds, and voila. 
http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/quick-cold-brew-coffee


----------



## Mrmnms (Jul 24, 2015)

Toddy maker is an inexpensive way to try cold brewing . I have used them with good results. Oxo has an inexpensive one as well.


----------



## Ucmd (Jul 25, 2015)

Isi I dead is realy interesting


----------



## MyScarGo (Jul 25, 2015)

I hope Im not violating any policies here. 
But I like the Toddy for SCG Seattle Coffee Gear
here is the vid
[video=youtube;KNV3EdNCayM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNV3EdNCayM[/video]


----------

