How To Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee  is my jam. For those of you who don't know about cold brew you are missing out. It is smooth, not bitter, and just better tasting coffee.  When I lived in Portland I got addicted to Stumptown Cold Brew coffee in the summer months. The minute the weather gets warm I can no longer do hot coffee. When I moved back to Tri-Cities I couldn't find the perfect cold brew.  I enjoy drinking coffee at HOME and I decided it was time to start making my own cold brew.

I have some more fun facts on why I drink cold brew too at the bottom of this post. But before we get to that, lets get started on how to make your own.

What You Need:

• 1 Bag of Ground Coffee
  
• Large Container (I use two 3 liter tupperware containers)
  
• Strainer
• Cold Water
• Pitcher

Process:

• I start out with 1 bag of regular coffee and 1 bag of hazelnut decaf coffee and two tupperware containers. I didn't have anything super big with a lid so I ended up using two tupperware. I like to make 1/2 decaf 1/2 regular coffee so I add about 1/4 of the regular and 1/4 of the decaf into each tupperware. I end up using close to a whole bag total of coffee. But this also lasts me for well over a week.

•  Pour in the coffee.
  
• Pour in 8 quarts of cold water.

• Stir the grounds so they all touch the water.
  
• Cover the container and let the coffee steep for at least 8 hours, I usually do about 12.  I put them in the sink so they are out of the way.
  

• Grab a new container I use a large mixing bowl and place fine mesh strainer over the top.
  
• Place a piece of paper towel inside the strainer.

• Pour the steeped coffee through the strainer.
• Transfer into a container for storage.
• I store my coffee for a week in the fridge. The best part with this coffee is that you can make the coffee weaker by adding more water or a TON of ice like I do.
  

So now you see how simple it is to make your own cold brew coffee at home.

Ok as promised here are a few of the reasons I am addicted to cold brew.

• It is simple and easy and tastes better than normal coffee.
  
• It is less acidic, which is helpful on the stomach.
• The cold brew method is less bitter and is much smoother than regular coffee.
  
• There is less caffeine per cup when cold brewed.
• The cold brew method allows me to make my own coffee creation and makes for the perfect iced coffee. I love when I use the cold brew method how I can subtly get the flavor the the hazelnut coffee that I use. More than I would get when using flavored coffee in drip form.
  

Hope you guys are as big of cold brew fans as I am. I just use a little nonfat milk in my coffee and I'm good to go.

Cheers,
Jess