It's been so very very record-breaking hot OMG-I'm-melting here that I've been reluctant to generate even the little bit of heat that brewing fresh hot coffee in my electric drip coffee maker emits. I could brew the coffee at night when it's cooler, and put it in a bottle to make lovely ice coffee in the morning—if you make the coffee a bit stronger than usual, that works quite well on an unbearably hot summer morning.
But then I discovered cold-brewing (or, technically, steeping). That's right; brewing coffee without heat. It takes longer, so it's something you do ahead of time, but the coffee is intensely flavorful, with much lower acid. The end product of cold brewing is a very very rich "coffee essence"; you dilute it with hot or cold water before drinking it, typically, using an equivalent amount of water and coffee essence.
I first made cold-brewed coffee using a commercial kit, the Toddy Cold Brewed Coffee Maker, but it's pretty easy to do without one. To start, you need good freshly ground coffee (use a medium grind), and good cold water.
Cold Brewed Coffee (Two Cups)
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup medium ground good coffee
- 1 1/2 cups good water
- 1 glass jar, or bottle, with a lid
- Coffee filters, cheesecloth, or a very fine mesh sieve
Procedure
- Pour the ground coffee into the jar.
- Add the cold water.
- Cover the jar, and let it sit, out of the way either overnight or for 12 hours. After the coffee has "brewed" at least overnight, strain the coffee twice, using a coffee filter, a very fine mesh sieve or a less fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
You can let the coffee brew in the refrigerator, or on the counter. If you want hot coffee, add equal parts coffee essence and hot water to a mug. For iced coffee, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste, in a glass with ice. If you want sweetened iced coffee, sweeten the coffee before you add it to the ice. You can easily double or multiply this basic recipe to make more coffee, or adjust the water and coffee amounts to make stronger coffee. The brewed coffee will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
If you want something a little more elaborate, here are two other methods for cold-brewed coffee.