KAB Guide to Cold-Brewed Coffee
Although this is more suited for the beginning of summer, I had to share what I believe is the best way to make cold brew. Not to mention, it’s really simple and cheap. The final result is very concentrated so you only need to add a bit to some milk or water. I’m a big fan of cold brew with seltzer and soy milk. Sounds a bit weird but is really good and everyone I’ve served it to loved it.
You’ll need:
- A vessel to brew in, such as a big pot or jar. I use a gallon jar from HWFC.
- A CoffeeSock cold brew filter. This is the most important piece to this method.
- Good coffee. Ground as coarse as the grinder will go.
- Water.
- A scale and a measuring cup.
- Optional: Roasted Chicory Root. 1/10th the amount of coffee. (ex. 1oz of chicory root for 10oz of coffee.)
I used 10oz of coffee so I used about 1oz of roasted chicory root to give it that New Orleans Iced Coffee flavor. This step is totally optional, but I like it since I enjoy Blue Bottle’s cold brew, and they do this also.
The CoffeeSock is the real magic in this method, and makes cleanup and filtration extremely simple. It basically lets you make an enormous tea bag filled with coffee. Fill up the CoffeeSock with the coffee (and chicory if you choose) and tie it up.
Pop the whole setup into the big jar, or bucket, or whatever you’re using, and add water.
Water to coffee ratios:
10oz of coffee gets 64oz of water. 16oz of coffee gets 102oz of water. 8oz of coffee gets 51oz of water. Math!
Add water. And wait. I do about 12 hours. Some people do 8. Some do 24. So whatever between those is probably good.
Now, all I do to “filter” this is remove the CoffeeSock. Then whatever comes out of the CS gets added back in with the rest of it, and then bottled.
Almost two whole quarts of concentrate! Use it like liquor, just a little bit per drink. I like to do 2oz of concentrate, 6oz of seltzer, 2oz of soymilk and a little splash of simple syrup. Have fun with it!
