It wasn't until this spring that I actually learned what cold brew coffee was. Paul asked if I was interested and I was like, "oh, you mean iced coffee?" and then he explained that COLD BREW is NOT iced coffee. Cold brew is normal coffee that is brewed with cold instead of hot water. It uses more beans and takes longer to steep.
Since our house is pretty much already home to All The Coffee Items I was on board to add one more tool. We bought this pretty inexpensive cold brew pot, Paul read the directions and we made our first batch.
It was awesome. Cold, obviously, but also a totally different flavor that coffee brewed hot with the exact same batch of beans. Below is our at home brew method.
We generally "pre-chill" a lot of the water that will be going into the batch. I have no idea if this step is necessary, but it's easy enough. We use 110 grams of coffee beans (so 35 more grams than with our traditional brew).
We grind the beans. (A lot of these steps are shared here in our Chemex process.)
We fill the pot about halfway with cold water. And then pour the coffee grinds into the filter (this is a reusable filter that comes with the pot). Be sure to clear any extra coffee flakes from the top and sides, you don't want those floating in your brew.
And then the filter goes into the pot and we pour water through the grounds.
Keep pouring until it's full - the coffee will be a pretty amber color. Then the lid goes on and the pot goes into the fridge for at least 12 hours.
After twelve hours it will have brewed properly and the coffee will be a normal dark color. If you're a proper hipster, you'll drink it in a mason jar. If you're me, you'll stick it in a mug. No ice needed. It's perfection as is.
If you're not so into black coffee (and I get that) add just a bit of cream. I assure you - no sweetener is needed.
