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“Police work wouldn’t be possible without coffee,” Wallander said.
“No work would be possible without coffee.”
They pondered the importance of coffee in silence.
-Henning Mankell, One Step Behind
For many people (ok, ok, including me), coffee is a favorite morning drink. For me, it has never been about the caffeine, as I like decaf just as much … I just enjoy the aroma and taste of coffee.
I don’t drink it every morning, but when I do, I typically drink it straight out of my favorite French press and blended with some butter, coconut oil, and vanilla, or with a splash of peppermint coffee creamer. Other days, I blend this same concoction into a tea of some kind or just enjoy some plain herbal tea.
(Really, there are endless ways to drink coffee … just please, don’t drink the kind that comes in the coffee pods!)
Cold Press Coffee, My Summertime Treat
Iced coffee is everywhere in the summertime, and usually contains more milk and sugar than coffee. While yummy (to some) this type of iced coffee does nothing good for us and can awaken more cravings for sugar by flooding our dopamine receptors.
(Still need convincing? Check out the sugar stats in popular coffee shop options here.)
I’ve found a good alternative in cold brew coffee, which isn’t just hot coffee poured over ice. If you enjoy a quality brew, cold brew coffee stays good to the last drop as it won’t get diluted as the ice melts, and it has none of the downsides of the coffee shop concoctions.
Best of all, it isn’t complicated at all to make at home and saves a ton of money over a grande frappe addiction.
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew coffee, as the name suggests, actually brews the coffee cold, resulting in a less bitter and more aromatic cold coffee. The result is a naturally slightly sweeter, full bodied coffee that isn’t watered down by ice.
Some people (like my dad) are coffee purists and would never even consider drinking it cold, but if you aren’t part of that group, give cold brew a try!
To make cold brew coffee, you’ll need:
- a pitcher or bowl
- a fine mesh strainer
- a coffee filter that fits the strainer
- your favorite coffee, ground coarsely
That’s it! The only catch to this super simple recipe is needing to plan ahead, as this method takes about 12 hours to brew. The advantage is, with a little advanced planning, you can brew coffee in your sleep! (Yay for multi-tasking!)
Cold Brew Coffee Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups high quality coffee coarsely ground
- 4 cups filtered water
Instructions
- Place the coffee grounds and water in a bowl or pitcher and stir to combine.
- Cover and put the mixture in the refrigerator.
- Leave for at least 12 hours or as much as 24.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter. This process will be slow.
Notes
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
I read all your post wellness mama, you’re awesome!
If coffee beans act like a seed, should they be soaked or sprouted to remove phytic acid? Also, is there a link to the coffee brand you prefer? I always trust your reccomendations 🙂
I love making cold brew coffee in the summer. Just add a splash of coconut milk and I am set for the day!
I know its a cold “brew” but once its complete can you heat it back up on the stove and still receive the benefits?
Also, do you add the butter/oil to cold brew if you’re drinking it cold? Or is that just for warm coffee?
Thank you!
This sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Thanks.
Thanks for posting, Katie! Love me some cold brew 🙂 Like almost every variation I’ve tried, but my favorite is still something like a mocha – a bit cocoa or chocolate and heavy cream, maybe a bit of cinnamon and cayenne thrown in for kick. For fun, layered presentation, slowly add the cream after the coffee and ice (and cocoa or any sweeteners you use).
This is also known as acid free coffee and can help to allow the villi to suffer less damage from coffee consumption, according to Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods. The liquid is a concentrate, you add two tablespoons of cold concentrate to a cup of hot water to make a regular coffee. We are just starting to harvest our coffee here, and this gives me a push to make some acid free coffee from our first roast if the season. Thank you.
I love very mild organic decaf coffee once in a while as a real treat. But its expensive for a small bag. This cold press sounds ideal for a mild coffee, but you do I really need to use 2 cups of organic decaf coffee grounds with just 4 cups of water? How long does this cold press coffee remain fresh in your fridge? Could you freeze it to help make it last longer?
Thank you!
That just makes a strong concentrate, you could absolutely do less and if leaving to cold brew for 24 hours, could even do a ratio of about 1/2 cup to as much as 3-4 cups of water, depending on how strong you like it…
I’m eager to try this, thank you for sharing! Since a have a glass pitcher with removable infusion fruit insert, I was thinking of using it, but I’m curious if this coffee concentrate stains the pitcher or leaves coffee lingering in the container. What do you use to clean the container or do you use it as a dedicated pitcher for this? TIA
That sounds really good, I would brew it with cinnamon sticks and mint leaves, maybe add a bit of Jamaican Wray and Nephews white rum.
Generally I like my coffee hot with Cinnamon, a touch of sea salt, Virgin coconut oil,Black strap Molasses, honey, a pinch of Cayanne pepper and a bit of Macha and organic chocolate powder.
I mix all the ingridents together in my favoriite mug, with a little hot water and mix into a paste, then add more hot water and coconut or rice milk and microwave til frothy. Yummy and a good kick start to your day.
So many ideas, so little time… I’ll have to try your cinnamon/mint combo!
This recipe uses an excessive amount of coffee in a 2:1 ratio of water to ground coffee. Can’t we do better than that? I will try with a little more dilute, but longer soak time.
Love* iced coffee, especially the smooth, well-rounded cold-brew variety. Bonus to having it be a concentrate is it’s more versatile once brewed – I love using the concentrate as espresso as a basis for other drinks or smoothies. But it’s not everyone’s cup of… I won’t finish that pun.
If concentrate isn’t for you, maybe try 1:4 and adjust from there to 1:8 or more based on your results and preferences. A colleague makes a big batch for the office using 1lb coffee and 2 gallons of water, and it turns out really well, and it’s the drinkable strength, rather than the concentrate. The steep time is about the same at 12-24 hours (I think it turned out fine at 48 hours too…). I think this is roughly a 1:8 ratio.
Mary, you’ll have to let us know what you try and how you like it!
I’m curious what she’s using to strain the grounds out cuz I bet that’d take a bit of time!
Katie mentions lining a strainer whith a coffee filter. I personally like to run it through a strainer to get most of the grounds out and then strain that with a tea towel – seems to be a nice balance of quick (relatively speaking) and effective. Only downside is that you have to clean the tea towel afterwards, so maybe not a real time saver (works for me though!).
I’ve had friends just use their french press with the appropriate proportions. Tasted great but I couldn’t replicate the results.
Just some ideas!
I find that if I pour nice and slow from my french press or from a large pitcher I don’t have any grounds to worry about straining.
I’ve used my nut milk bag a couple of times with results that I’m happy with. 🙂
I make it 1c grounds, a little bit of a finer ground, to 6 cups water. The recommened grounds to water ratio is 2 tbsp to 6oz water, but I’m a professional coffee drink maker for a big chain, and enjoy my homemade cold brew just as much as store bought.
I keep the cold brewed coffee on hand all summer and the make my own cacao syrup for cold brew iced mochas! Y U M
That sounds good. Would you mind sharing the recipe for the cacao syrup?
Can I get your cacao syrup recipe?
Try honey and cocoa powder or cacao powder and cook on low in small pot stirring frequently. Dilute with a little milk if needed.