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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jul 15, 2014 8:09:29 GMT -5
We don't really have a coffee thread, so, what the hell. Even though we're having somewhat unseasonably cool weather today and tomorrow, I decided it was a good week to finally try making my own cold-brew coffee. It's really easy, but my main hangup thus far has just been planning ahead, because it has to sit 10-12 hours at least. I basically used Thug Kitchen's recipe. (Note: Thug Kitchen is delightful but has a lot of NSFW language if you're worried about that sort of thing.) 1 cup of coffee grounds (I used freshly ground Terrazza from Trader Joe's) 3 1/2 cups of cool tap water And... that's it. I put it all in a pitcher, stirred a couple times, and let it sit overnight. I poured it out through a mesh strainer the next day, but I used fairly fine grounds, so if you're antsy about that kind of thing, you can filter it through a paper coffee filter too. Added some homemade vanilla simple syrup and about 4 parts coffee to one part milk. I'm betting almond, rice, soy etc milks would all be pretty good. It's nice and smooth, I like my coffee strong so I might even add more grounds next time, but you can reduce it to 3/4 cup if you're a wuss. |
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Post by Great Unwashed on Jul 15, 2014 8:39:24 GMT -5
Well god damn, I can do that. I may even have to do that.
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GumTurkeyles
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Post by GumTurkeyles on Jul 15, 2014 12:37:32 GMT -5
I've tried cold brewed, at various ratios (the most I've seen is 1:1 water to coffee, but then you add water to the coffee when ready to drink). Also, I've read various literature on cold brewing. Some claim you don't get the bitterness from brewing at too hot of a temperature. Others claim you need to at least reach a certain temperature to start breaking down the bean, and if not you get a bitter cup (as a beer brewer, I can understand this). Anyways, this is far too much research for someone who gave up caffeine 4 years ago. Ideally, I want to see science say "coffee needs to be brewed at X temperature", and once that's proven, I'll follow that method. Though, different varieties probably have different temperatures, and grind size may matter.
Honestly, the "planning ahead" aspect of it isn't hard to deal with. If you start the cold brew while making dinner the night before, it'll be ready for you to drink the next morning.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jul 15, 2014 13:16:11 GMT -5
I've tried cold brewed, at various ratios (the most I've seen is 1:1 water to coffee, but then you add water to the coffee when ready to drink). Also, I've read various literature on cold brewing. Some claim you don't get the bitterness from brewing at too hot of a temperature. Others claim you need to at least reach a certain temperature to start breaking down the bean, and if not you get a bitter cup (as a beer brewer, I can understand this). Anyways, this is far too much research for someone who gave up caffeine 4 years ago. Ideally, I want to see science say "coffee needs to be brewed at X temperature", and once that's proven, I'll follow that method. Though, different varieties probably have different temperatures, and grind size may matter. Honestly, the "planning ahead" aspect of it isn't hard to deal with. If you start the cold brew while making dinner the night before, it'll be ready for you to drink the next morning. I don't know what the science is -- but I can tell you that what I produced is definitely coffee, and doesn't have some of the bitterness hot coffee can have.  And you're right that planning ahead shouldn't be hard -- but you're overestimating my ability to multitask I usually have five other things on my mind and starting coffee isn't a high priority. |
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jul 15, 2014 14:32:35 GMT -5
Sheer synergy working in the populace of TI. I too made my first cold-brewed coffee last weekend with the Kona blend from World Market. It turned out tasty, lacked the conditioned bitterness of hot-brewed coffee, and was steeped in a presse-café carafe. Soak time was approximately 12 hours. Grind was coarse to very coarse.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2014 1:48:49 GMT -5
I used to make iced coffee in a French press, just used twice as much coffee and stuck it in the fridge overnight. Then mixed it cup by cup with whole milk.
Damn, now I want iced coffee.
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jul 16, 2014 2:22:35 GMT -5
I buy my coffee from an Ethiopian guy in the eastern docklands and then French press it. II don’t really pay attention to temperature—I just poor when it sounds like the kettle’s hot enough. It is delicious. If I didn’t care about my health I’d drink it at the same rate as Freud puffed his cigars.
Although I think I have it a lot easier than most of you right now in terms of temperature, I can’t drink iced coffee—even if I lived in Recife or Algiers I’d be drinking my big cups of hot coffee. The two times I’ve been legitimately near the equator I typically had hot black tea (S. Asia) or hot coffee (Hawai‘i, because of course you’ll have coffee in Hawai‘i). I still find it really refreshing when it’s muggy, for some reason.
Actually, I kind of think drinking something cold if you’re really hot doesn’t work that well. It’s temporary relief that ultimately brings you out of equilibrium with your surroundings.
Those little piping-hot cups of Turkish coffee (be sure to put in lots of sugar) are also pretty nice in hot weather, strangely enough. I had a mpriki back in Chicago, but I have an electric stove here and can’t imagine operating one without an open flame (it can be tricky enough with a gas stove).
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Post by Great Unwashed on Jul 16, 2014 4:40:52 GMT -5
So I just put some of this on, using a large coffee plunger (or french press, whatevs) so I can maybe just use the press tomorrow (just covering the pot tonight so that it's easier to store in the fridge) that instead of fiddling around with too much filtering, although I didn't take into account the volume the grounds would take up when I was making it so it may be a bit strong.
Basically 1 cup plus about 70 ml (ie (1/3.5)x 250 ml), for what I thought might be about 4 1/2 cups of water, but is closer to that original 3 1/2. My main concern is really more the mess I'll create tomorrow, because I ended up going right to the brim (which is, ah, not so good when you're doing the pressing) to make sure I got the water in.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jul 16, 2014 8:07:25 GMT -5
I saw a lot of recipes recommending coarse grind -- but I feel like finely ground might be better because there's more surface area. I don't know. I'm not a scientician. I imagine coarser grinds would be a little easier to strain, but I already had finely ground so I went with it. Anyway, I drank the last of my first batch this morning, so my one cup of grounds produced three days' worth of coffee for me. I wonder how much I use for three days worth of hot coffee... I might have to measure tomorrow. |
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Jul 16, 2014 11:22:37 GMT -5
I buy my coffee from an Ethiopian guy in the eastern docklands and then French press it. II don’t really pay attention to temperature—I just poor when it sounds like the kettle’s hot enough. It is delicious. If I didn’t care about my health I’d drink it at the same rate as Freud puffed his cigars. Although I think I have it a lot easier than most of you right now in terms of temperature, I can’t drink iced coffee—even if I lived in Recife or Algiers I’d be drinking my big cups of hot coffee. The two times I’ve been legitimately near the equator I typically had hot black tea (S. Asia) or hot coffee (Hawai‘i, because of course you’ll have coffee in Hawai‘i). I still find it really refreshing when it’s muggy, for some reason. Actually, I kind of think drinking something cold if you’re really hot doesn’t work that well. It’s temporary relief that ultimately brings you out of equilibrium with your surroundings. Those little piping-hot cups of Turkish coffee (be sure to put in lots of sugar) are also pretty nice in hot weather, strangely enough. I had a mpriki back in Chicago, but I have an electric stove here and can’t imagine operating one without an open flame (it can be tricky enough with a gas stove). Ayurvedically speaking, you're absolutely right about cold drinks in hot climates. They bring the core body temperature down a bit, which forces your body to produce more heat, in order to bring you back up to speed. Having said that, there's nothing like an ice cold Coca Cola, beer, lemonade, or iced tea on a sweltering day. I just temper those with lots of room-temp water. |
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Post by Great Unwashed on Jul 16, 2014 22:17:45 GMT -5
First batch: uhhhhhhh, tasted like cold coffee. I'll have to get the proportions more exact I think in the future and maybe different beans, as these are cheap ones that are a bit bitter. The aftertaste was smooth though, better than the actual taste really.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Oct 2, 2014 16:04:43 GMT -5
I finally had coffee from a Chemex a couple weekends ago, and damn, what a difference it made!
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Oct 3, 2014 14:09:49 GMT -5
I haven't made any more coldbrew in ages because I'm lazy and it hasn't been hot.
I did have some totally delicious coffee from a new local roaster -- Two Brothers Coffee Roaster, which is a new arm of the Two Brothers Brewing Company that make delicious beer. Coffee and craft beer, two of my favorite things.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Oct 3, 2014 14:13:14 GMT -5
I haven't made any more coldbrew in ages because I'm lazy and it hasn't been hot. I did have some totally delicious coffee from a new local roaster -- Two Brothers Coffee Roaster, which is a new arm of the Two Brothers Brewing Company that make delicious beer. Coffee and craft beer, two of my favorite things. Surely they'll put the two together at some point, if they haven't already. Speaking of. Snape-brand Coffee Porter debuts this weekend. Check the Homebrewing Thread for thoughts, probably late late Saturday (because I know that is appointment reading for you people :/) |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Oct 3, 2014 14:44:51 GMT -5
LazBro we are finally going to drink our latest homebrew this weekend so I'll update that thread at some point with that. And yes, part of the reason Two Bros started roasting coffee was so they could use it in their beers
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Post by disqusf3dme on Oct 3, 2014 23:15:26 GMT -5
I've tried cold brewed, at various ratios (the most I've seen is 1:1 water to coffee, but then you add water to the coffee when ready to drink). Also, I've read various literature on cold brewing. Some claim you don't get the bitterness from brewing at too hot of a temperature. Others claim you need to at least reach a certain temperature to start breaking down the bean, and if not you get a bitter cup (as a beer brewer, I can understand this). Anyways, this is far too much research for someone who gave up caffeine 4 years ago. Ideally, I want to see science say "coffee needs to be brewed at X temperature", and once that's proven, I'll follow that method. Though, different varieties probably have different temperatures, and grind size may matter. Honestly, the "planning ahead" aspect of it isn't hard to deal with. If you start the cold brew while making dinner the night before, it'll be ready for you to drink the next morning. See, I've heard that bit about brewing it at a certain temperature cuts down on the bitterness too. So when my last roommate got really into coffee, french press, fresh beans, hand grinder, the whole shebang, I was really stoked to put to the test all this coffee knowledge I had been gathering over the internet. Every cup I had was somewhat disappointing. The flavour I was promised by everything I read just wasn't exactly there. Better than your average cup for sure, but I wasn't overly impressed. There was only this one time, a cup my roommate made, that just had the most perfectly balanced flavour, but we were never able to replicate it. |
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Post by dＬᵒ on Oct 3, 2014 23:22:29 GMT -5
I've tried cold brewed, at various ratios (the most I've seen is 1:1 water to coffee, but then you add water to the coffee when ready to drink). Also, I've read various literature on cold brewing. Some claim you don't get the bitterness from brewing at too hot of a temperature. Others claim you need to at least reach a certain temperature to start breaking down the bean, and if not you get a bitter cup (as a beer brewer, I can understand this). Anyways, this is far too much research for someone who gave up caffeine 4 years ago. Ideally, I want to see science say "coffee needs to be brewed at X temperature", and once that's proven, I'll follow that method. Though, different varieties probably have different temperatures, and grind size may matter. Honestly, the "planning ahead" aspect of it isn't hard to deal with. If you start the cold brew while making dinner the night before, it'll be ready for you to drink the next morning. See, I've heard that bit about brewing it at a certain temperature cuts down on the bitterness too. So when my last roommate got really into coffee, french press, fresh beans, hand grinder, the whole shebang, I was really stoked to put to the test all this coffee knowledge I had been gathering over the internet. Every cup I had was somewhat disappointing. The flavour I was promised by everything I read just wasn't exactly there. Better than your average cup for sure, but I wasn't overly impressed. There was only this one time, a cup my roommate made, that just had the most perfectly balanced flavour, but we were never able to replicate it. That's because he peed in it when he was drunk. |
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Post by disqusf3dme on Feb 27, 2015 3:17:46 GMT -5
So I've had an Aeropress for a few weeks but only had pitiful preground coffee. I finally went out and got some fresh, locally roasted beans yesterday. The difference is so immediate. I need a burr grinder though, although my electric blade one seems to be doing an all right job. I've never tried anything like cold brew before. This is a dangerous world for me to enter, so many different things to try, techniques, beans, equipment. I don't have the money for this ;_;
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Post by Pastafarian on Feb 27, 2015 9:41:17 GMT -5
So I've had an Aeropress for a few weeks but only had pitiful preground coffee. I finally went out and got some fresh, locally roasted beans yesterday. The difference is so immediate. I need a burr grinder though, although my electric blade one seems to be doing an all right job. I've never tried anything like cold brew before. This is a dangerous world for me to enter, so many different things to try, techniques, beans, equipment. I don't have the money for this ;_; I've never had an Aeropress coffee (though I discovered a shop that will do it for you nearby so that may soon change) what would you say the difference is? And are you comparing it to brewed or French Press (or both?) Also, if I secretly replaced your Aeropress coffee with decaf Folgers Crystals, would you be able to tell the difference? |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Feb 27, 2015 9:56:51 GMT -5
So I've had an Aeropress for a few weeks but only had pitiful preground coffee. I finally went out and got some fresh, locally roasted beans yesterday. The difference is so immediate. I need a burr grinder though, although my electric blade one seems to be doing an all right job. I've never tried anything like cold brew before. This is a dangerous world for me to enter, so many different things to try, techniques, beans, equipment. I don't have the money for this ;_; Switching to a burr grinder made a huge difference in my coffee. I still use a fairly standard drip maker most of the time, but my blade grinder always left it very uneven; having freshly and evenly ground beans just tastes better. I have considered using an Aeropress, but it seems a bit fussy and I would still want my drip brewer when I'm making a quick cup to take to work. |
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Post by disqusf3dme on Feb 27, 2015 11:10:12 GMT -5
I've never had an Aeropress coffee (though I discovered a shop that will do it for you nearby so that may soon change) what would you say the difference is? And are you comparing it to brewed or French Press (or both?) Also, if I secretly replaced your Aeropress coffee with decaf Folgers Crystals, would you be able to tell the difference? Compared to a French press, which I was never too fond of based after my own attempts, I find the flavour more well rounded, not bitter or burnt tasting at all, very smooth. I'm not as well versed in coffee as I am in something like beer, but I still like to think my palate is refined enough to tell the difference. Or maybe not and this whole coffee thing is a sham and I should just toss it all out and head back to 7/11 coffee with the vanilla flavored creamer. Pedantic Editor Type There's a cheap burr grinder I wanna get once I save up a bit. I don't find the AeroPress too fussy at all, it's really easy to clean and fairly quick, although I guess there are a lot of parts and steps that would be annoying if you just wanted to brew a cup quickly in the morning. I would just like one of every coffee maker, that's the dream. |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Feb 27, 2015 11:38:03 GMT -5
I've never had an Aeropress coffee (though I discovered a shop that will do it for you nearby so that may soon change) what would you say the difference is? And are you comparing it to brewed or French Press (or both?) Also, if I secretly replaced your Aeropress coffee with decaf Folgers Crystals, would you be able to tell the difference? Compared to a French press, which I was never too fond of based after my own attempts, I find the flavour more well rounded, not bitter or burnt tasting at all, very smooth. I'm not as well versed in coffee as I am in something like beer, but I still like to think my palate is refined enough to tell the difference. Or maybe not and this whole coffee thing is a sham and I should just toss it all out and head back to 7/11 coffee with the vanilla flavored creamer. Pedantic Editor Type There's a cheap burr grinder I wanna get once I save up a bit. I don't find the AeroPress too fussy at all, it's really easy to clean and fairly quick, although I guess there are a lot of parts and steps that would be annoying if you just wanted to brew a cup quickly in the morning. I would just like one of every coffee maker, that's the dream. When I'm at home (I work from home 2 days a week), I could take a few extra minutes, no problem. But when I'm heading to the office I just want to dump the grounds in, hit the button, and get the rest of my stuff ready while it brews. I am trying not to be a kitchen-gadget collector, and sometimes failing. But I guess an Aeropress doesn't take up that much space. Oh, as for burr grinders, I have this one: www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/My mom has this one: www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-BVMC-BMH23-Automatic-Grinder/dp/B004T6EJS0/ Both seem to work pretty well, they do create some coffee dust flying around when you take the compartment out, but that seems to be par for the course. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2015 12:36:42 GMT -5
The aeropress makes an excellent cup of coffee. Well, really it makes a very strong extraction (like espresso w/o crema) that you can then dilute with hot water to taste, if you wish. Also, pressed directly into a cup of ice cubes it makes a very very nice iced coffee.
However it CAN be kind of fussy to use, and recently I've switched back to a melita-type single-cup pour-over brewer, and I like it very much.
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Post by Judkins Moaner on Feb 27, 2015 13:30:23 GMT -5
I'm worried that I've been drinking too much. Coffee, I mean. Yesterday I had about a quart of regular and I usually enjoy a quart of decaf in the evenings when I get home from work ('cause it's cold and all). My heart doesn't seem to be going any faster yet, but I worry it might take if I turn this into a major habit. Admittedly, I've read or studied next to nothing about the health risks/benefits.
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Post by disqusf3dme on Feb 27, 2015 13:39:54 GMT -5
When I'm at home (I work from home 2 days a week), I could take a few extra minutes, no problem. But when I'm heading to the office I just want to dump the grounds in, hit the button, and get the rest of my stuff ready while it brews. I am trying not to be a kitchen-gadget collector, and sometimes failing. But I guess an Aeropress doesn't take up that much space. Oh, as for burr grinders, I have this one: www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/My mom has this one: www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-BVMC-BMH23-Automatic-Grinder/dp/B004T6EJS0/ Both seem to work pretty well, they do create some coffee dust flying around when you take the compartment out, but that seems to be par for the course. Those look great, I hadn't been planning on getting an electric one, but the prices on those aren't bad at all. I really do need a new one, mine was, uh, more of a herb grinder than a coffee grinder if you know what I mean. It took me a good while to clean it up well enough to be able to use it for coffee. |
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Post by Pastafarian on Feb 27, 2015 19:18:42 GMT -5
When I'm at home (I work from home 2 days a week), I could take a few extra minutes, no problem. But when I'm heading to the office I just want to dump the grounds in, hit the button, and get the rest of my stuff ready while it brews. I am trying not to be a kitchen-gadget collector, and sometimes failing. But I guess an Aeropress doesn't take up that much space. Oh, as for burr grinders, I have this one: www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK/My mom has this one: www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-BVMC-BMH23-Automatic-Grinder/dp/B004T6EJS0/ Both seem to work pretty well, they do create some coffee dust flying around when you take the compartment out, but that seems to be par for the course. Those look great, I hadn't been planning on getting an electric one, but the prices on those aren't bad at all. I really do need a new one, mine was, uh, more of a herb grinder than a coffee grinder if you know what I mean. It took me a good while to clean it up well enough to be able to use it for coffee. Oh, I get it, making your own homemade curry blends eh? Yeah those are tough to get out. Try grinding dry white rice in it for a couple of minutes. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 13:53:48 GMT -5
Pro tip for aeropress users: if you find it difficult to press the plunger down, lube the shaft with coconut oil. (bowchickabowbow)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 15:14:41 GMT -5
anybody have one of these? i have a french press (cracked & on its way out, and all the new ones i've seen have plastic components that will make contact with the water), a bialetti moka express (but i'm afraid of the aluminum), and i broke my chemex years ago  (it was a 'find' at a thrift store and missing the neck/insulation/grip part) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 16:29:50 GMT -5
@cub no, but that's a niiiice looking coffee brewer. I've had my eye on this gal for a while, but these days I rarely drink more than a cup at a time. But it's pretty, no? And it's 100% stainless steel. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2015 20:05:30 GMT -5
@cub no, but that's a niiiice looking coffee brewer. I've had my eye on this gal for a while, but these days I rarely drink more than a cup at a time. But it's pretty, no? And it's 100% stainless steel. hell yes! getting away from breakables is the way to go-- good looking out! |
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(it was a 'find' at a thrift store and missing the neck/insulation/grip part)