While we were in San Francisco, I fell in love with a New Orleans’ style coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee. While browsing around the Ferry Building I kept hearing people comment on the coffee from this coffee shop being the best. I decided that I needed to try the place everyone was raving about, but wasn’t really wanting a hot cup of coffee. After asking the Batista what the New Orleans coffee was like and hearing that it was a cold-brewed coffee brewed with chicory, I knew I had to try it. (I love Vietnamese coffee which is brewed with chicory so I was excited to try this new type.) It was delicious which lead me to my new found love. (This coffee was what I made Jeffrey “run” to get before we headed to Alcatraz.)
I really enjoyed the coffee and struggled trying to decide whether or not to grab a bag of the beans to take home. I ended up leaving without buying any beans, but was still thinking of the delicious coffee once I got home. I searched online and was considering ordering some beans to have delivered to my home. The only problem was that the price was rather hefty. I decided that before I forked out the money for Blue Bottle’s beans I would do an experiment and try cold-brewing the beans I had on hand. After a quick search on the Internet, I had a recipe to use as my starting place. Deciding there was nothing to lose, I went about cold-brewing my coffee with great expectations for the morning. I was very pleased with the results!
Everything that I had read said that cold-brewing the coffee brought out the flavor in the coffee without some of the bitterness that sometimes occurs during regular brewing. Jeffrey and I both enjoyed our iced coffee and decided it was a great alternative especially to have on a hot summer morning. I made a quick simple syrup to use to sweeten the coffee (since the coffee is cold, regular sugar won’t dissolve), and we ended up using about 1 tablespoon of the syrup in our large class of coffee. The original recipe called for diluting the coffee; however, Jeffrey and I both just poured the coffee over ice and then added some half and half. You will have to decide for yourself how strong you like it. (Jeffrey and I both really enjoy strong coffee.) Have fun with this coffee and enjoy the savings!
Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee
Printer Friendly Recipe
Yeild: 3 cups (about two large glasses if you don’t dilute the mixture)
Ingredients:
⅔ cup coarsely ground coffee beans
3 cups water
1 quart jar or french press
Directions:
In a french press or jar, stir together ground coffee and water. Cover and let rest at room temperature 12 hours or overnight.
The next morning strain the coffee mixture twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth into another jar or 4-cup measuring cup. (If using a french press just press the grounds down and serve or if desired run it through a coffee filter one time.)
Fill a tall glass with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water (if using), to taste. If desired, add milk and simple syrup.
*For the simple syrup combine ½ cup sugar with ½ cup water. Heat on the stove until the sugar has completely dissolved. Store in the refrigerator.
Coarsely ground beans in the bottom of my french press.
Pour water over the beans.
Give the mixture a quick stir.
Cover and Wait.
Slightly sweetened iced coffee with a splash of half and half. YUM!
I knew without a shadow of doubt that half n half woud be in there some where.
After having this two days in a row, I’ll definitely step up and say that this is a keeper. I’m betting we will be making our own iced coffee more than buying coffee this summer. Great find!
The information is beautiful and glorious about the cold brewed iced coffee. Thanks for your excellent information about preparing cold brewed iced coffee.
I’ve been addicted to this for almost 2 months now…It gets made daily and put in the fridge for the next day…I haven’t really been able to have regular coffee since! of course, I’ve nearly been asked to take a drug test at work due to being a little..um…how do I put it…”unusually hyper”… 🙂
I can certainly understand why you might be addicted. We really enjoy this coffee and try to keep some on hand at all times.