Now we're getting somewhere... thanks so much. I read that, and read the detailed link he provided <http://beansandwater.tumblr.com/post/22 ... ced-coffee>. If I read it correctly, it seems that by steeping first hot, and then cold, water, you get the best of both worlds. And you wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg!!

His steps are:

100g of coffee, ground a little finer than drip
200g of hot water
steep for 60 seconds then add
800g of ice water
Steep for 12 hours at room temperature
Strain.
Fill kegs and connect to Nitrogen fed kegerator.
Enjoy!

cimarronEric wrote:I wouldn't say this. I'm using a combination Yirga Cheffe/Guatemala roasted C/C+ in a Toddy brewer and really enjoying it. I do not make Toddy though. I make a straight cold brew coffee meant to be drunk straight as brewed. Fine grind and a variation on the hot/cold technique outlined by http://cuveecoffee.com/one-man-sitting- ... ld-coffee/ turn out a tasty brew.

Of course, you'll probably want to skip the kegerator. Having operated one in the fraternity house in college, those things are very finicky.

CzechCzar wrote:Now we're getting somewhere... thanks so much. I read that, and read the detailed link he provided <http://beansandwater.tumblr.com/post/22 ... ced-coffee>. If I read it correctly, it seems that by steeping first hot, and then cold, water, you get the best of both worlds. And you wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg!!

His steps are:

100g of coffee, ground a little finer than drip
200g of hot water
steep for 60 seconds then add
800g of ice water
Steep for 12 hours at room temperature
Strain.
Fill kegs and connect to Nitrogen fed kegerator.
Enjoy!

CzechCzar wrote:Of course, you'll probably want to skip the kegerator. Having operated one in the fraternity house in college, those things are very finicky.

Cold Brew on draft is the latest craze. I intend to make it happen in my shop as soon as I can find room for it.

So, next logical question. Assuming I go with the below method, is it possible to expand it to the water amount of a Toddy or filtron? hot water/cold water/beans = 200g/800g/100g. Would the same ratio apply if I were to up the volume of coffee to a Toddy or Filtron? Same goes for the method... Would I still only pour the hot water in for a minute? Would I add cold water, or cold water and ice?

ANY tips from someone with experience would be great.

CzechCzar wrote:Now we're getting somewhere... thanks so much. I read that, and read the detailed link he provided <http://beansandwater.tumblr.com/post/22 ... ced-coffee>. If I read it correctly, it seems that by steeping first hot, and then cold, water, you get the best of both worlds. And you wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg!!

His steps are:

100g of coffee, ground a little finer than drip
200g of hot water
steep for 60 seconds then add
800g of ice water
Steep for 12 hours at room temperature
Strain.
Fill kegs and connect to Nitrogen fed kegerator.
Enjoy!

CzechCzar wrote:So, next logical question. Assuming I go with the below method, is it possible to expand it to the water amount of a Toddy or filtron? hot water/cold water/beans = 200g/800g/100g. Would the same ratio apply if I were to up the volume of coffee to a Toddy or Filtron? Same goes for the method... Would I still only pour the hot water in for a minute? Would I add cold water, or cold water and ice?

ANY tips from someone with experience would be great.

Dialing it will depend on your taste. My recipe is a similar ratio. I don't use ice.

Honestly, before jumping into purchasing new equipment, i'd give Japanese Iced Coffee a try. It would be a low cost effort to make iced coffee, and while you say cold-brew, it sounds like you're just looking for ice coffee, and not full immersion concentrate (and if you are, i'd still suggest giving Japanese Iced Coffee a try).

The easiest way for you to see if you like it would be to brew a normal pot of coffee out of your bonavita, but replacing half of the water you would normally add to the tank with ice that you put into the carafe. Make sure the hot plate is off. Brew the same ratio (for instance, i'll do 37.5g pourover to 300g ice in carafe / 300g hot water brew), but grind a little finer to keep the same contact time. The hot brew immediately cools when it hits the ice, which helps prevent oxidation and off taste. End result is high acidity, great clarity and good sweetness. Very tasty stuff.

I suspect in the next couple of months 80% of the coffee i drink will be Japanese Iced Coffee.

As far as immersion methods go, I just go with the Mason Jar method for 8-12 hours through a chemex filter for primary filtration.

Cold brew's primary appeal and health benefit is low acidity, so it sounds like Japanese iced coffee tastes nothing like it. And I'm curious as to why it's called 'Japanese' iced coffee when people regularly made iced coffee that way for a long as I can remember. I made it every day after school 25 years ago. It's just brewing concentrated coffee right into ice. (And the Vietnam made coffee like this as a cultural and national tradition).

weebit_nutty wrote:Cold brew's primary appeal and health benefit is low acidity, so it sounds like Japanese iced coffee tastes nothing like it.

Fair enough, however i'm fairly positive his original post has no indication of needing low acidity. In fact, it would look like Jeremy's just looking for a new way to enjoy coffee cold.

weebit_nutty wrote:And I'm curious as to why it's called 'Japanese' iced coffee when people regularly made iced coffee that way for a long as I can remember. I made it every day after school 25 years ago. It's just brewing concentrated coffee right into ice. (And the Vietnam made coffee like this as a cultural and national tradition).

Great question! I have no idea why it's called that. My gut reaction would say that it's because iced coffee originated in Japan in the early 1600th century and was traditionally done as a immersion cold brewing, referred to as "Dutch Coffee". Later on, in the early twentieth century (1920s), Japan started brewing hot coffee over ice, and as a result, the terminology needed to adapt to correctly describe each one. As a result, i suspect Dutch Coffee got renamed to cold brew when we found out about it, but since Japanese Iced Coffee never really made it big in the US (as it is the opposite of the way the majority of the US makes their iced coffee...brewed hot, then refrigerated and served over ice) it likely remained identified as the japanese method of brewing iced coffee.

In addition, Counter Culture & several others have popularized the term and method in the more recent years. So, there's that.

Some fun Encyclopedia Wikitanica articleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iced_coffee#Japan)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toddy_coffee

Irrespective, i'd say that for someone new to cold coffee techniques, it's an absolute necessity to give it a try.

Origin of the Japanese iced coffee name: Peter Giuliano of Counter Culture learned the technique in Japan, and when he began offering it in the states decided to call it Japanese out of respect and also to distinguish it from other types of iced coffee. As to who actually "invented it" I'm sure as long as humans have had access to coffee and ice more than a few stumbled on this method.

Thanks all. I sometimes suffer from an upset stomach, so that is definitely appealing about the Toddy or Filtron. However, I want to also extract as many flavors and beneficial compounds from my coffee as possible.

To be honest, I went out to a cafe this weekend, and got some of their coffee that they cold brew in a Toddy. While it was good, it was nothing revolutionary. I'll see what I experience with this guy's method (http://beansandwater.tumblr.com/post/22 ... ced-coffee), and, if it is good, I might consider getting a Filtron to do it in bulk.

Next question: does anyone have a site with a good mason jar for steeping/pouring/storing the coffee? I plan to just use a cheesecloth for the soak, but want to be able to make a large quantity. A scale and a cheesecloth are the only other things I'll need.