Does anyone here cold brew? What's your process?

[rshortt]

Hi all, I've been experimenting with cold brew coffee. I've been doing small batches (1L mason jar) trying to work out the kinks. Eventually I want a keg on tap but I have to get the process down pat first.

Is anyone here cold brewing with success? If so, what's your process?

Thanks.

 

[grathan]

I use a 2L pitcher. I think 1 day on the counter (room temp) and then one day in the fridge to help settle out grinds and then decant to another pitcher.

 

[rshortt]

How much coffee are you using and what kind of roast?

Maybe I'm not leaving it long enough (12 hours) and it's in the fridge the whole time. My attempts so far have been watery.

 

[Hobanon]

If it's coming out watery, your grind might be to blame. Are you grinding at home, in store, or using pre-ground?

 

[rshortt]

Grinding at home. Using a "grinder" with a blade.

I checked the batch I started yesterday evening, it's still kind of watery. I'll check it again this evening and again in the morning.

 

[Hobanon]

Make sure your grind is fine enough you want it slightly more coarse than what you'll see pre-ground from the store. Make sure there are.no large pieces of the bean still visible. I use the same style grinder and hold the button at least 5 seconds at a time for about 3 passes to make a good "French press" grind. I also make cold brew and I was having the same problem at first

 

[grathan]

I think the warm countertop for a day would aid extraction. Don't be afriad to add more coffee because you can always just put more cream and ice (or even water) in later to balance.

I used store ground maxwell house or folders, not a bad idea to use cheaper coffee until you get your process down.

I think it was an even amount off coffee per 2L of water something like a cup or 2 cups, can't remember now... The lady here uses 1LB per 2 gallons.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

So a cup per liter sounds about right.

 

[caferacer73]

I do a rough grind (similar to what would be used for a French press) of about 3oz of dark roasted beans. Add these to my wife's tea infuser and then add 3 cups of cold water. Use a non-metal spoon to make sure all the beans are wet and then leave for minimum of 12 hours.

Drain the coffee goodness out and refrigerate for up to a week or so. I mix with milk, water, sugar, chocolate syrup and ice.

I doubled what they use in this article. http://noshon.it/blog/2013/08/how-to-make-the-best-cold-brew-iced-coffee/

 

[bucfanmike]

if you want good cold brew, with little fuss then go for the toddy.. Its so easy and just works. They have the filter process down. https://toddycafe.com/

 

[rekoob]

huh, never tried this but I'm a coffee .... , I don't know what to put there.
I have a very nice espresso machine and a fantastic grinder. I started roasting my own beans about a year or so ago and enjoy it.
I'll have to give this a shot. Can't hurt right...

So a cup of grounds to a liter of water? or there about?

edit - can i just dump coffee in the container and then let it settle out or does this need something else?

 

[grathan]

I leave it in the fridge and with fine grind (folders) it compacts on the bottom and I can pour it off without disturbing the sediment. If it didn't compact right, you could always pour it through a coffee maker filter.

 

[fmaurice]

I've kind of given up on cold brew, but only somewhat.

To start, I work at sbux, so I only get that coffee. It's ok, but it's free and I'm not making enough to warrant buying high quality coffee. I've only done it w sbux coffee, but my results were lack luster. It was too watery, no matter what coffee I tried and no matter how long a cold brewed it (up to 48 hrs).

I've taken to doing warm brew coffee. It's just as easy and tastes way better to me, my preferred method to drinking coffee really. Also, it might have more caffeine, for whatever that's worth.

I go with around 100* water to start. If you don't have a thermometer it's about 50:50 with room temp water and the hottest water your tap makes.

I have a food scale, it just makes life easier really. If ppl want to know the weight to volume ratio you could look it up or I'll make a measurement for you. Always 16:1 water coffee ratio for me, it's the standard anyway.

I also grind for turkish, but any fine grind should do (the reason I weigh it, I can compact it quite a lot, so volume is too inaccurate for me. plus, weighing on the scale means no measuring cup to clean lol).

If this is too strong for you, I've tried the same method, instead of leaving out on the counter after, just throw it in the fridge. Best of luck to you guys.

 

[HIM_Tattoos]

Since I work at a coffee shop and get free coffee quite often, I've been doing this a lot with the warmer weather upon us. The place I work at, uses a large toddy system to do theirs, but this is how I do mine.

I use a good medium roast (I've done dark roasts but it tends to bring out the "ashy" flavors too much and I don't care for it. But to each their own) I grind my beans to a "french press" grind, any coffee shop can do that for you on their consumer grinders. I use about twice what a normal person would use for grounds, so roughly 2 tablespoons per cup. I load up my french press' with said coffee, and heat my water just slightly, maybe 85-90 degrees. Pour my water into the press'. It's important to let your press sit for roughly a minute now so that the coffee can bloom, or release gases. After a minute I stir and let them sit on the counter top for 24 hours, then they get pressed and placed into the fridge for 24 hours. After the 48 hour brewing process, I decant them into containers and try to drink the brew within a couple days.

 

[1977Brewer]

I am so trying this. My 15 year old Mr. Coffee shat the bed, so I got a French press a couple weeks ago. I'm in love so far.

 

[smAllGrain]

http://januaryharshe.com/2015/04/08/6-easy-steps-to-cold-brew-coffee-euphoria/

I used the process from this blog for my wife. She really liked it

 

[joshjv]

2 cups pre-ground coffee into a growler. Fill with water, cap and shake.
Sits in the fridge for 18-24 hrs. Then pour through a screen into another growler.
Dump the grounds from growler 1. Pour back into the first growler, this time through a standard paper coffee filter. Repeat this again. Top the growler off with fresh water.

Turns out great each time! Add some creamer and sweetener - I use agave nectar simple syrup. YUM.

 

[DurtyChemist]

I just started. I'm using a French press at work. I found some recipes online but I've cut a Dixie cup down and went to 1 scoop and fill the rest with water. I push the press down just enough to be submerged and let it sit until the next morning.

Either I'm drinking too much, I'm not watering it down enough, or the Kirkland brand doesn't agree with me because I always get a weird feeling after drinking it. It definately doesn't have the jot coffee astringency.

 

[RyanDe680]

I use a Toddy.

2 cups of coarsely ground coffee (burr grinder) to 4 cups of room temp water. Cover and sits on the counter for 18-20 hours. Drain into Toddy glass.

8oz cold brew to 8oz cold water makes the perfect 16oz cup for me.

 

[BSquaredBrewing]

if you want good cold brew, with little fuss then go for the toddy.. Its so easy and just works. They have the filter process down. https://toddycafe.com/

Agreed! I love mine and it's super simple to use. Makes great cold brew.

 

[HansPolonio]

It's been some time since anyone last posted here but anyways, I'm using a 5 gallon plastic fermenter and 4 to 13 hanging cloth filters filled with coffee (depending on the batch size. Each filter holds 150-200grams of coffee grounds) and I just let it sit about 22 hours, slowly and carefully shaking the fermenter every now and then.

 

[afro_lou]

Definitely a thread zombie, but this stuff is fun!
I make cold brew batches daily, and my process thus far has been:
104g (approx) medium coarse, medium roast coffee into a 64oz mason jar, fill the jar to the very top with RO water (our well water sucks), then let sit on the counter for about 24 hours, or until I make the next batch the next day. Once it's brewed, I pour it over a #6 filter into a bialetta 12 cup pot. Chill overnight and it's ready to go for the morning!

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I just made a test batch of cold brew as an experiment for a coffee stout that I currently have in my fermentors. I used my daily coffee, which is Yuban. This stuff is delicious. I plan on getting some Jamaican blue mountain for my beer. I can't wait to see what really nice coffee will taste like cold brewed.

 

[IKR]

Home roasted beans 35g/475ml coffee bean to water ratio in a French press for 16 to 48 hours at 39F. Water is filtered and beans are coarse ground just prior to immersion. With a good Sumatran or Ethiopian dry process bean that's freshly roasted I don't even consider buying commercial cold brew no matter what process they use.

 

[SHAIV]

I've got a question. I've made some cold brew before but I was just reading something about how you want the coffee to stay in suspension and not sink to the bottom right away or it won't extract all the flavor from the beans. Has anyone had a problem with this? This made me think about using my stir plate to agitate the coffee as it steeps and maybe get more flavor? Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[SHAIV]

I guess I didn't think about it adding oxygen to the liquid maybe it would need to be in an airtight container?

 

[geoffm33]

I cold brew in a French press which isn't airtight. Not sure what the effect of oxygen is on the process. I do think I'll try the stir plate cold brew this night and see what happens.

 

[SHAIV]

Nice yeah I just made a batch in my French press earlier too. I was thinking in case there was any wild yeast or anything it could multiply just like a yeast starter. I mean I guess there's not a high chance of that with proper cleanliness nor would there be any sugars for it to consume but and I also don't know what effect it would have other than it maybe going stale quicker? But maybe not idk. Also let me know how that works out. I was gonna try it soon too

 

[afro_lou]

I like the idea! Might be time to put the stir plate to use...
Although, I usually just shake it up a couple times a day, as I'm walking by. Seems to work pretty well

 

[SHAIV]

Nice. So do you leave your cold brew on the counter or in the fridge?

 

[SHAIV]

So I found a video on YouTube of a guy using a stir plate for coffee. It's kind of odd. I think he said something about it being luke-warm brew instead of cold brew. I was thinking of using the stir plate in the fridge. And he said something about oxygen making it go stale but he used a jar with a lid on it so I'm sure not too much oxygen would get into it.
Also has anyone used hops in their cold brew? I love hops and I've searched hoppy coffee and apparently it's a thing. I don't know how popular it is but I think it may be pretty good. I want to try it