Favorite cold brew technique?

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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keno
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#1: Post by keno »

It's summer time and getting pretty hot, so it's time for cold brew. I mostly pull espresso shots and sometimes brew up some V60 pourover. But my wife and son really like cold brew and it is nice just to have it ready made in the fridge when you want some coffee.

In the past I tried using a Hario Mizudashi which didn't give me the results I wanted. It tended to be too thin, bright, and it tasted more like regular old iced coffee than cold brew. Plus it made a relatively small amount.

I read some online reviews of cold brewers and the uniformly top rated model seemed to be the Oxo cold brewer. But $50 seemed like a lot for a simple plastic device and I didn't want another coffee maker cluttering up my kitchen.

I also read about the mason jar method and decided to give that a go since it was cheap and simple. I've been experimenting with it for a few weeks and have been getting great results. Here is my recipe:
  • Coarsely grind 6 ounces (half a bag of coffee), I'm using a setting of 24 on a Baratza Virtuoso
  • Dump the coffee into a 64 ounce (half gallon) mason jar
  • Add 48 ounces of water (this is a 1 part coffee to 8 parts water ratio)
  • Close the jar and give it a good shake
  • Put it in the fridge to steep for 18 hours
  • Triple filter it using a fine mesh kitchen strainer
This makes about 36 ounces of cold brew. It tastes really sweet, syrupy, and flavorful. Definitely not bitter or woody. It's strong enough to add ice and/or milk. Or its good to drink straight if you like it stronger.

The trick for me was figuring out to just use a regular fine mesh kitchen strainer. At first I tried a metal Kone type pourover filter, but it took forever because it kept getting clogged, made the coffee too thin, and took out too much of the flavor. One pass from the strainer let through too many solids but doing it two more times eliminated the sediment but not the flavor.

I think the problem with the Mizudashi and lots of cold brew makers is that they separate the water and coffee which makes for a weaker and less flavorful brew. This is why I like the idea of just mixing the grounds and water together in the mason jar.

While I'm happy with this recipe (my wife says it's way better than the cold brew she's had locally) I'm always looking for ways to improve. So I'm sharing in case some people are looking for a good cold brew method/recipe and maybe some of you will have some suggestions for worthwhile tweaks.
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sosha
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#2: Post by sosha »

Put the coffee in a nut milk bag (look at this: https://tinyurl.com/yaeeugn8 ) in the mason jar. It works like a very fine sieve, and you won't get any grounds in the brew.

Just a thought.
LMWDP #440
www.kelpfish.com
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Prescott CR
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Joined: 9 years ago

#3: Post by Prescott CR »

I've experimented and found that a 24hr cold brew in the refrigerator works well when done on a 'drip' or even 'cone Filter' setting. By doing a 24hr soak it's very easy to plan on finishing the cold brew the next day. By using the refrigerator you are keeping your mix out of the 'danger zone' that health departments don't like.

In order to get the same yield as I do when hot brewing - 1:16ish, I start with 5oz of water for every 1oz of ground coffee.

So for example- 2oz of coffee in 10oz of water in a pint jar. Swirl it nicely to make sure there are not any dry spots. Set a timer for 24hrs.

At the end of 24 hours set up a filter basket from your brewer (rinse if you like), take the jar & shake, then pour into your basket over a quart jar. Go away and come back in 30 minutes while it drains.

Now you have concentrate in the quart jar, you can add water or milk or whatever to make a quart or keep it concentrate and add as you go. Are you hard core? Keep it as concentrate and enjoy.

Once you add water to make 32oz (it'll look weak but taste smooth) you can use that to make ice cubes for your cold brew.

Any recipe that calls for 'strong coffee' will benefit from this concentrate as well.

FWIW- not all bags are created equal, for example I sell 1# bags, a lot of places sell 12oz bags and I have seen 10oz bags and tins so always weigh your coffee.
-Richard

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keno (original poster)
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#4: Post by keno (original poster) »

Thanks, good suggestions. May have to try some of those things.

Capac
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#5: Post by Capac »

When I was doing cold brew, I found the following recepie worked for me;
I took a 1L jug, 65g of coffee and 900g water water. 16 hours in fridge, coarse grind. I used chemex to filter it.


The reason I stopped is because I prefer the flavour profile of pour over (iced/chilled).

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chuckcoffee
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#6: Post by chuckcoffee »

keno
The trick for me was figuring out to just use a regular fine mesh kitchen strainer.
Can you provide a link for the fine mesh kitchen strainer. I am going to give this a shot.

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keno (original poster)
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#7: Post by keno (original poster) »

chuckcoffee wrote:keno

Can you provide a link for the fine mesh kitchen strainer. I am going to give this a shot.
Just had one in a kitchen drawer. You can use any 4" fine mesh strainer. Try home section at Target, look up on Amazon, or try Bed Bath and Beyond.

Prescott CR
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#8: Post by Prescott CR »

You can always start in a press pot and pour through a filter if you like. Or just use the press pot filter
-Richard

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chuckcoffee
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#9: Post by chuckcoffee »

Ok, going to start trying this out. Of course this means more coffee roasting :D

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SonVolt
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#10: Post by SonVolt »

With my Filtron I used to do 1lb of course ground coffee per instructions. Counter Culture's recipe calls for only 6oz of ground coffee for 6 cups of water. I thought what the heck, let me try it, that'll save me a lot of beans. Results? MUCH BETTER. Smooth and chocolaty. Less beans made for better flavor.

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