Been making cold brew concentrate

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
Bossman
Posts: 237
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by Bossman »

Since I sold my espresso setup and my Brazen plus died a couple weeks back I have been using my french press to make cold brew. I just fill my french press a little over 1/3 full of fresh coarse ground coffee and add room temp water to fill it the rest of the way. Stir it and put the lid back on but careful not to press. 12-24 hours later I press it and run it through a rinsed coffee filter and put the results in a mason jar and into the fridge. Then when I want hot coffee I fill my mug about 1/3 full off the concentrate and fill the rest of the cup with near boiling water.

It makes a fantastic cup of coffee with much less acidity then hot brewing. Supposedly the concentrate will stay fresh for a week or two, but I don't ever have it that long. Makes for an easy iced coffee too.

Bossman (original poster)
Posts: 237
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by Bossman (original poster) »

I am really enjoying this, very much to my surprise. I don't think I will replace the Brazen Plus, I think I might get one of the Kitchenaid cold brewers instead. Its a bit pricey but it would be easier then using the french press and more convenient to use. The nice thing about this is it makes a consistently great cup of coffee, drip brewers have always been hit or miss.

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Intrepid510
Posts: 968
Joined: 13 years ago

#3: Post by Intrepid510 »

You could always get a Toddy brewer too. Or just get some cheesecloth and make your own a little easier than the French press method you have now.

That kitchenaid thing I am a little skeptical of, for no other reason than the price.

Bossman (original poster)
Posts: 237
Joined: 10 years ago

#4: Post by Bossman (original poster) »

Yeah I actually opted for https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MT ... UTF8&psc=1 instead of the Kitchenaid, 1/4 of the price.

docholiday
Posts: 20
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by docholiday »

I highly recommend the Oxo cold brewer. I used to have a Toddy and this one is much better made. I picked it up at BB&B with their 20% off coupon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JVSVM36/re ... RzbQ3EXG3Y

Bret
Posts: 611
Joined: 8 years ago

#6: Post by Bret »

I've used a Toddy quite a bit in the past (it was about the only rig around at that time). Loved the result, but the process was not that great. I've recently been thinking of getting back into cold brew, so this thread was timely. I scoped out the links here, put the OXO in the cart, and stumbled across this Kitchenaid variant, which seems to solve some of the hassles from past experience with the Toddy. So I put the OXO in the save for later queue, and ordered the Kitchenaid. Will report back once I've received and used it some.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XNVZDC7/

Bossman (original poster)
Posts: 237
Joined: 10 years ago

#7: Post by Bossman (original poster) replying to Bret »

Let us know how you like that. I almost went with it but decided to try a cheaper one.

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Moxiechef
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#8: Post by Moxiechef »

In efforts to keep things simple, I use my V60 for the Japanese method. 150g of ice in the carafe, 40g coffee and 450g of just off the boil water, bloom with 80g water for 40 sec, ride the bloom till the full 450g of water are in. Brew in about 2:30 - 2:45. Iced coffee in less that 6 minutes.

Put it in a pitcher and drink it over the next 24 hours.

UelZing
Posts: 1
Joined: 6 years ago

#9: Post by UelZing »

There are a lot of cold brew systems out there these days. I think what matters most is the filter - paper, metal, nylon, or cotton muslin. When you run a metal filtered french press through a paper filter, at least it isn't so silty, but it takes quite a while to drain, and I think the texture is still not the best. I've also tried in-line filters of various micron levels and nylon beer brewing bags (for very large volume brewing) and still run into problems of clogging with the first, and too silty with the latter.
There's something magical about cotton muslin. It filters just the right amount, and makes for a really juicy, thick texture. I've always sewn my own to fit into buckets and jars like a giant tea bag. You can't roll it over the edge of the bucket though or litmus-science-forces will pull water up and out through it, so you have to suspend it with hooks or just tie it off and let it float in there. They're also very sturdy, so you can really stir it up for fuller extraction. For small jar brewing, you can just get some cotton muslin from your local fabric store, cut a 12 to 18 inch circle or so, put some coffee in the center, and tie it up around the coffee with another thin strip of muslin or some sort of string. There are also a few muslin filters you can buy on amazon. I just finally got a coffee sock and it seems great. You can get just the filter and use a jar you already have around, and you can reuse it a bunch, too. It's not quite as 'clean' to deal with as metal filters of the oxo or kitchen aid, but the texture is totally worth it.
https://www.amazon.com/CoffeeSock-ColdB ... offee+sock