I like iced coffee and I drink it most of the year, not just in warm weather. Cold brew is my preferred drink, and I have been making it for many years. But this is really a journey. I used to just cool and ice the rest of the coffee, which was fine in a pinch. Then I discovered the strong flavor of cold brew coffee, I couldn’t ask for anything else. This is a two-part article about making your own cold brew: first the equipment, then the recipe.
Twenty years ago, my early attempt to make cold brew coffee was to mix coarsely ground coffee and water in a large bowl (or a huge jug) and let it brew overnight. (The bowl is too big to fit in the refrigerator.) The next day, I carefully poured the coffee into a large colander lined with cheesecloth. No matter how careful I am, I will make a mess-if I am lucky, it is limited to the sink and countertop, not the entire floor.
The original cold brew coffee machine was Toddy. I have never bought one of them because it may seem as messy as my method. This is a review.
You can also make cold brew coffee in a French press. Put the coffee, add cold water, let it stand overnight, and then press the coffee powder to the bottom of the pot with a plunger. I like French press coffee, but it is never as clear as filter coffee, hot coffee or cold coffee.
A few years ago, the Third Coast Review published an article about making cold brew coffee with Philharmonic Press. Games & Tech editor Antal Bokor wrote an article on how to use Aeropress to easily make a cup of hot or cold coffee.
I prefer to make larger quantities. For the past few years, I have been using the Hario Mizudashi coffee maker, which can make four to six cups of cold brew coffee. (It can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or more.) The coffee grounds are located in a filter cone lined with a fine mesh. You don’t need any additional filters. When the brewing is ready, you can easily (and neatly) dump the used coffee grounds in the trash and clean the filter. My cold drink will be left on the refrigerator door for 12 to 24 hours before it can be brewed. Then I took off the filter and enjoyed my first cup.
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This seems to be a stupid title, because the usual recipe is just: ground coffee. I prefer to grind coffee beans as close as possible to fresh roasting. Just like a French press, you need to coarsely ground coffee. I have a basic coffee grinder that can grind beans for about 18 seconds. I use about eight cups of coffee (8-ounce glass) of coarsely ground coffee and my secret ingredient (will be described in detail later) for my 1000 ml Hario kettle. In this way, you can get about 840 milliliters or 28 ounces of cold brew coffee.
Dark roasts like Sumatra or French roasts or Metropolis Coffee’s Redline Espresso are good choices. Metropolis also offers Cold Brew Blend and Cold Brew disposable brewing packs. My secret recipe is chicory-ground chicory root and coarsely ground coffee. It gives coffee a strong caramel flavor, which is addictive. Chicory is cheaper than coffee, so you can save a little on your family coffee budget
My chicory was inspired by a trip to NOLA in 2015. I found Ruby Slipper near the hotel on Canal Street, a fashionable cafe, and on the day I arrived, before the theater critics meeting started, I had my first meal. New Orleans is certainly a good place to visit, and it’s hard to find a bad meal. I had brunch and the best cold drink I have ever had. During the first meeting break, I went back to Ruby Slipper and sat in the bar so I could chat with the bartender. He told me how he made coffee-cold boiled in a mixture of chicory and coffee in medium batches and shaken with milk and cream. I bought a pound of coffee with chicory to take home. That is a great cold brew; because it is a blended coffee, the coffee has been ground and mixed with the chicory.
Back home, I was looking for chicory. Treasure Island (RIP, I miss you) drank New Orleans-style chicory coffee. Not bad, but no. They also have Coffee Partner, a 6.5-ounce package of coarsely ground chicory. That’s perfect, I tried for a while to get the ratio I like. When Treasure Island closed in 2018, I lost my source of chicory. I bought Coffee Partner several times in 12 6.5 ounce boxes. This year, I found a source in New Orleans and bought a 5-pound bag from New Orleans Roast.
The cold brew coffee recipe in my Hario coffee maker has a coffee to chicory ratio of approximately 2.5:1. I put the coarsely ground coffee and chicory in the filter, mix it slightly, and then pour cold water on the coffee until the water partially covers the filter. I put it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours and then remove the filter. This coffee is very strong, but not very concentrated. You may need to add some milk, cream or cold water to make it reach your preferred consistency. Now this is a great cold brew.
(Of course, it is called cold brew, because coffee is never affected by hot or boiling water. You can heat and cold brew to make a hot cup of coffee. By the way, it is claimed that cold brew has lower acidity than hot coffee The argument may not be valid. Recent studies have shown that the acidity of dark roasted coffee is lower than that of light roasted, and the water temperature is not much different.)
Have you had some great cold brew experience? How did you make your own – still prefer to buy from a nearby coffee shop? Let us know in the comments.
Third Coast Review is one of 43 local independent media members of the Chicago Independent Media Alliance. You can help #savechicagomedia by donating to our 2021 event. Support each export or choose your favorite to get your support. Thank you!
Tagged as: chicory, chicory coffee, coffee buddies, cold brew coffee, Hario Mizudashi coffee pot, New Orleans cold brew
Post time: Jun-25-2021