Last year I learned how to make the perfect cup of coffee. The method is not widely known, but that's changing. I'd like to do my part in increasing the popularity of cold-process coffee- I'm going to teach you how to do it. It's not nearly as difficult as you might think, but the twelve hour brewing time can be a bit of a drag if you're in a hurry. That's right- twelve hours. But it's worth every minute.
Let me explain. No wait, let The Washington Post explain. Or MSNBC.
So your read all about it? Good. Now you know that cold-process coffee is a wonderfully low-tech method of making a strong coffee concentrate with almost miraculous properties: it has a smooth, mellow flavour with the convenience of instant coffee, it's far lower in acid and caffeine than traditionally brewed coffee, can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks without loosing its flavour or aroma, and is delicious hot, cold or for cooking. Interested? Good. Let's get started.
Equipment and ingredients:
You'll need a cold brew coffee maker. Mine is a Toddy, and it's the most popular one out there, but there are others. You can even make your own if you're handy that way. Try running a search for "cold brewed coffee" or "cold process coffee" for more info. The Toddy comes with a plastic bucket for brewing, a re-usable filter, a plug, a glass "decanter" and lid. Other optional equipment: a coffee grinder and a scale.
You'll also need coffee- 1 pound of it. Regular grind. In these pictures I'm grinding it myself, but that's not necessary- since the coffee is all used at once you don't have to worry about pre-ground coffee losing flavour (but if possible, buy your coffee on the same day you make it, at a shop that stores beans whole and grinds them fresh for each customer). You need 9 cups of cold water, and you'll get better results with good bottled or home-filtered water.
Instructions:
Place the plug in the bottom of the bucket. Wet the filter and place it inside the bucket, above the plug. Add 1 pound of regular grind coffee. If you've ground your own coffee, use a scale to make sure you have exactly one pound.
Pour 4 cups of cold water slowly over the coffee. Wait 5 minutes, then add the remaining 5 cups. Do not stir. Cover with plastic wrap and let it steep for 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator or other cool dark place.
When "brewing" is complete, lift the bucket by the handle (watch out, it's heavy) and hold over the clean, dry glass decanter. Carefully remove the plug and place the bucket on the decanter.
Let the coffee concentrate drain through the filter completely. Filtration takes about 30 minutes. When finished, you will have six cups of coffee concentrate. If you always sweeten your coffee, you can do so now (with artificial sweetner or sugar syrup- sugar won't dissolve in the cold concentrate).
You will also have a whole bunch of wet coffee grounds for your compost. Or to fertilize the acid-loving plants in your garden. If you don't have a garden, try some of these hints. The last one, about drying the grounds to use as a deodorizer, is especially good here in Japan during the humid months.
Keep the coffee concentrate in the fridge. To make coffee, the Toddy instructions recommend using 1 part concentrate to 3 parts boiling water, then flavouring with cream and sugar if desired.
I like to use 1 part concentrate with 2 parts milk. For ice coffee I just add ice, for hot I'll heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes. I can even use skim milk and I end up with a milky cup of coffee that is rich and not watery at all. Microwaving the coffee for too long will render your coffee undrinkable, so be careful. Another treat is a latte-- microwave a small amount of coffee concentrate for 40 seconds or so, and top with hot steamed milk. And when the weather warms up a bit, I'm going to have fun making frozen coffee drinks with my new Magic Bullet mixer.
A big bonus is that this coffee is acceptable on my eating plan. The South Beach diet discourages the (excessive) use of saturated fat, so being able to use skim milk instead of whole milk or cream is great. Also, coffee, while not strictly banned, is better avoided because caffeine can increases cravings. But a cup or two a day of this low-caffeine brew doesn't make much of a difference at all.
Has cold-process coffee completely replaced hot-brewed coffee in my kitchen? No way. As much as I love the mild mellow flavour of cold brewed coffee, sometimes I like an acidic and highly caffeinated cup of coffee. Sometimes I need coffee with a little more character. And there are few smells better than the aroma that fills the house when a fresh pot of coffee is brewed. That doesn't happen with my Toddy. So I'm keeping my coffee maker and espresso maker. But for my everyday coffee, cold-process coffee can't be beat.
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