Hey all,

It's finally getting warm here in Southern, Ontario. What's your favourite cold brew method and/or device?

I'm leaning toward a simple immersion method. Something I can throw in the fridge overnight. This would be my first foray into cold brewing.

I have a dedicated espresso bar in my kitchen, already crowded with my two grinders and my HX. So, unfortunately, I don't have room for a glass Japanese tower better suited for Walter White's lab.

Cheers!

Cold brew is generally pretty horrible, but I found using the ROK with room temp water and very fine ground coffee produces an OK result.

I use a Yama drip tower for cold brew. It looks pretty, and I like the results a lot for cold milk drinks in the summer, but it requires a lot more attention than immersion brew methods that can be left completely unattended. I'd probably get something like the new Oxo Good Grips cold brew maker or a Toddy or Filtron; it's worth a few bucks for the hands-off filtration.

If I want a quick iced drink, I'm quite happy to pull a shot straight over ice. I'm also partial to Japanese-style iced pourover, though it's harder to get a proper full extraction with pourover at higher strengths than many people think.

Bob_McBob wrote:I use a Yama drip tower for cold brew. It looks pretty, and I like the results a lot for cold milk drinks in the summer, but it requires a lot more attention than immersion brew methods that can be left completely unattended. I'd probably get something like the new Oxo Good Grips cold brew maker or a Toddy or Filtron; it's worth a few bucks for the hands-off filtration.

If I want a quick iced drink, I'm quite happy to pull a shot straight over ice. I'm also partial to Japanese-style iced pourover, though it's harder to get a proper full extraction with pourover at higher strengths than many people think.

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Thanks for the suggestions Chris. Didn't know about the Filtron. Seems like many roasters like the Filtron, though I'd have to scale down the recipe. Not sure I'd make 1lb of beans for each batch.

That Yama tower is a nice looking setup. Need to wait until the kids are older for something that fragile. Don't think it would last long in my house.

What kinds of coffee do you recommend for cold brewing? Since cold brew is low in acidity and oils, and big on body.

Has anyone used this Hario cold brewer? Hario also just released a wine bottle shaped version http://www.eightouncecoffee.ca/index.cf ... brewer.cfm

My SO loves the chemex brewed over ice. Otherwise just pull espresso over some vanilla ice cream

We do a toddy at my shop and then I usually add a little chemex for some sparkle

I use japanese iced coffee method. Tough part is getting the grind at the right point to where its a long enough brew. Immediately quenching the brew on ice is the secret to locking in the flavors

canuckcoffeeguy wrote:Thanks for the suggestions Chris. Didn't know about the Filtron. Seems like many roasters like the Filtron, though I'd have to scale down the recipe. Not sure I'd make 1lb of beans for each batch.

Some people prefer the Filtron, but I don't think there's a really big functional difference between it and the Toddy. The Toddy (and filters) is by far the most easily available of the three models I mentioned in Canada. Bed Bath & Beyond had the OXO brewer listed for a while, but it now just redirects to their US site and shows as out of stock.

I definitely wouldn't get the Yama if you have children or cats. It's also much faster and easier to make large amount of high strength concentrate with any of the immersion brewers I mentioned. Several HB members use the Hario Mizudashi you mentioned and are very happy with the results. I prefer my cold brew to be as cleanly filtered as possible, so I'd probably get a Toddy or similar to make large batch brews. You can also make smaller batches with most of these brewers.

Thanks everyone for your input. What kinds of coffee do you like to use for cold brew? Single origins, blends, both?

Chris, I definitely have to wait for a Yama style tower. Two young kids at home makes it a recipe for disaster.

Bob_McBob wrote: Several HB members use the Hario Mizudashi you mentioned and are very happy with the results.

I guess I'm one of those members. I started out with a Toddy which I still have somewhere around here. Tired of the medicinal cold brew flavor & switched to a glass Mitzudash Grande. The M/G's cold brew flavor falls between the Toddy & traditional brew as it brings out more of the origin flavors that the Toddy tends to mask. I use the same single origin coffees for cold brew that I use for my Americanos or vac pot brews.