Cold-Brew Coffee

Do you remember that freaky snowstorm last October? The one that left millions of children across the Northeast in tears because they had to cancel trick-or-treating on Halloween? Where thousands of people were without power?


If you do, you might think I'm crazy for still being obsessed with this storm. What's the big deal, you might say. Halloween got rescheduled. There was pretty snow. It was romantic because of the darkness from power outages, so you could take a break from technology and really get back to connecting with people. I'm going to stop you right there, imaginary person who's arguing with me. I'm all for romancin' in the dark, but no electricity? You know what you need to make coffee? ELECTRICITY!


Throughout the three day long power outage in Massachusetts, I was berated. And shamed. Because at 8 a.m. when the power went out, I ran around like a crazy person insisting that cold-brew coffee existed, and that I could make it in an hour. Guess which one of those things is true? Right. It exists, but it's a pretty long (hands-off) process. So when I tried to serve nasty, slightly coffee-flavored water with huge grinds in it to several caffeine-addicted friends who were already getting headaches (you know who you are), they were merciless. This post is my vindication, my restoration to the halls of culinary awesomeness, and most of all--my revenge. Cold-Brew: it's a thing.

Mise en place: medium-roast beans and water. You can substitute a regular 'ol coffee filter or cheesecloth for the french press if you don't have one. 

Finely grind your beans.. They should look like this. Find a container large enough to hold the coffee as it brews, and pour room-temperature water over the grounds. 

A little raft of saturated grounds will rise to the surface. 10 minutes into brewing, break the raft with a spoon and give the coffee a stir. This is the only time you will touch your coffee during the brewing process.

Your coffee will foam up a bit after you've agitated the beans. Now cover it (with a tupperware lid, plastic wrap, you name it) and walk away for 24 hours. This is the consistent sweet spot. Don't touch it! Though you will be tempted!

I filtered the coffee twice, which is a good idea given the fine grounds. I used a combination of french press and a mesh filter, but cheesecloth or two rounds through coffee filters is just fine. 

You will end up with a disappointingly small amount of cold brew. But don't worry! This is about to double--you have made cold-brew concentrate, which needs to be diluted one to one with water (aka one cup of coffee concentrate needs one cup of water). 

While the coffee is great just poured over ice, using less water in the dilution so that the melting ice doesn't make it watery, I enjoy mine with a little sweetened condensed milk. And for those of you who love both salt and coffee, try putting them together by adding a pinch of kosher salt to the coffee (no milk, please!) It's pretty heavenly.

I can't talk this coffee up enough. It's actually life-changing. Because the grounds are never heated, there is no extraction of the bitter flavors. I love it because it's got a perfectly smooth taste, less acidity so it's easier on your stomach, and (crazily enough) MORE CAFFEINE thanks to the lighter roast and longer brewing time. Leave a comment once you're super hopped-up on cold-brew!


Cold-Brew Coffee

• 2/3 cups plus 1 Tbsp of whole (unground beans) for every 8 cups of room-temperature water

1. Grind the beans to a fine consistency.
2. In a french press or large tupperware container, pour water over the finely ground beans until all the grinds are saturated. 
3. 10 minutes into the brewing process, stir the cold brew. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
4. After 24 hours, uncover the cold brew and filter twice (through a press and strainer or coffee filter and cheesecloth). 
5. To make coffee, combine equal amounts cold brew concentrate and water to a glass with ice. Top with milk or a pinch of kosher salt.