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

[afro_lou]

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

Counter. I start with very cold water from our water dispenser (store bought RO), use a 64oz mason jar, add about 100-110 grams of medium/fine ground medium blend coffee, let sit for 24 hours-ish (we make a batch every night), then the following evening I pour through a #6 paper filter bialetti, then into the fridge to chill til morning.

Works for me!

 

[SHAIV]

Hmm. I've always let it steep in the fridge. I wonder if there's a difference

 

[afro_lou]

Hmm. I've always let it steep in the fridge. I wonder if there's a difference

The only thing I've noticed is on the counter the grounds tend to float to the top (if not shaken), and in the fridge the grounds tend to sink to the bottom. I haven't done enough batches in the fridge to actually tell the difference, but I'd bet it'd be a good experiment!
I'd be interested how the hopped coffee turns out too! What hop variety would you think to put on there?

 

[SHAIV]

I noticed this morning from the fridge in my French press the grounds were floating. I used pre ground 8 o clock coffee. Ive got some whole bean I'm gonna try soon.
So about the hopped cold brew there's a company in Colorado that makes dry hopped cold brew from citra whole leaf. I think some other company makes it from centennial. And northern brewer has a cascade cold brew recipe kit they sell I just found out today

 

[SHAIV]

Well yesterday I used a gallon carboy to make some cold brew to last me all week. And some of the coffee grounds were floating and some were settled to the bottom. It was in the fridge for about 18 hours I think. Maybe over time it starts to settle. I haven't ever really paid attention to it

 

[BalloonGuy]

I use this http://www.nispira.com/Ice-Cold-Brew-Dripping-Coffee-Maker-137.htm.
It is a cold brew dripper. I am still dialing the process in. I am using regular ground (for a drip brewer). I have tried very slow dripping (1 drop every 4-5 seconds) and slow (1 drop every 2- 2.25 seconds). I like richer coffee so I am going to try a finer grind one of these days.
Over all I am very pleased with the cold drip.

 

[geoffm33]

Hmm. I've always let it steep in the fridge. I wonder if there's a difference

The way I learned from researching methods online is that brewing coffee is a function of heat and time. Hotter temps/shorter exposure to grounds. So letting your coldbrew sit on the counter will extract more from the grounds compared to putting it in the fridge for the same amount of time.

 

[bobbrews]

The problem I have with cold-brewing at home (aside from the time and the clean-up) is the "dead, dull" flavor it has. There are no delicate aromas or interesting tasting notes. It is just one note. It seems to lose some of the subtle nuances vs. a really good cup of 195-205 F hot brewed coffee.

The excess muddy flavor contributed by the residue at the very bottom of homebrewed cold brew is also quite nasty, and will be very noticeable if you don't have a very good burr grinder. This can cause too many fines to build up, sneak past the filter, and become over-extracted/muddy in flavor.

The easiest way to make cold brew coffee at home is to start with a large cylindrical container that can hold up to 3 qts or more.

1. Line the container with a paint strainer bag. -- 5 gallon paint strainer bags can be found at any hardware store.
2. Using a burr grinder, coarse grind 6 oz. dark roast beans, ensuring evenness and proper thickness. Some units thickest grind setting is still too fine. The coffee should be the consistency of coarse sea salt.
3. Pour the fresh ground beans into the paint strainer bag.
4. Pour about four to five 16.9 fl. oz. bottles of filtered water over the beans.
5. Let steep 12-24 hours with a lid at room temperature.
6. Lift the paint strainer bag out of the water and gently squeeze the excess liquid from the sack. Don't squeeze every last drop, just enough to stop the steady stream of dripping.
7. Clean the bag to reuse in the future. I imagine you could reuse the spent beans once more, but I never have.
8. Refrigerate the strained cold brew coffee. When cooled, pour off the top 9/10's of the cold brew into a new container, discarding the muddy residue at the bottom. I find that there is still a good amount of residue even if you do this 2-3 more times.

My suggestion is to use the Japanese Iced Coffee Method instead. It is simply coffee brewed with hot water, directly onto ice. More on that here:

https://handground.com/grind/complete-guide-to-japanese-iced-coffee

 

[applescrap]

My wife got me a cold brew cup. Its awesome. Its not like one of these but you get the idea. Love this thing can drink out of it, when I am in a rush and fits right under my grinder. Dump on ice with coffee creamer and away I go. Fill it to water line with spring water and grind basket coarse.

View attachment 1504070891736.jpg

 

[4of7]

half gallon jar one cup coffee12-18hrs on the counter ,then filter out to other jar