Cold Brewed Coffee

I've been hearing all the rage about cold brewed coffee. It's supposed to be "all the rage." Benefits boasted are that the coffee is less acidic, more caffeinated and less bitter than conventional coffee. You also preserve the oils like you would in a french press. What I'm banking on is the convenience of it, you make a concentrate and then you can either use it for iced coffee or heat it up and have traditional warm coffee.

This is fairly easy to make. The hardest part for me was straining it. I only had a normal plastic colander. I think a metal sieve lined with a coffee filter would work MUCH better. As for the coffee, make sure you pick something you like. I went to the bulk aisle in my local HEB, picked out my favorite whole bean and then grounded it in the store on the coarsest ground they had. For those of you with bulk aisles in your local HEB, I'd recommend the Houston blend. It turned out so nicely and I didn't even need any sweetener! This will be one of those no recipe recipes. The ratio of coffee to water should be about 1 parts coffee to 4 parts water, but I fudged a little bit and it turned out great. Then this will make you concentrate and you theoretically should add 1 part water to 1 part concentrate, but who has time for measuring these days? I mean, really? So do as your hearts content, if you concentrate ends up weak, add less water when you make or if it ends up too strong, add more water. It's your coffee! Drink it how you like it!


Sorry, pictures of coffee aren't that exciting.

1 c. coarsely ground coffee
4 c. filtered water (yes, this will make it taste better, promise!)

Mix coffee grounds and water in a sealable container. I used a 1 qt. mason jar. (Yes if you do the math, I fudged a little bit on the coffee.) Steep the grounds over night. In the morning, strain coffee through a coffee filter lined sieve. After initial filtering is done, strain through a double lined coffee filter, just to remove any last bit of grounds. Store in the refrigerator. When you are ready to drink coffee, add 1 part concentrate to 1 part water. Either warm in microwave or serve over ice with cream, my personal favorite. It really does taste different from your traditional brewed coffee. You'll definitely be happy you don't have to deal with coffee breath afterwards!