Cold Brew Coffee

I never start a day without coffee, and good coffee has been especially important over the past week. Because I have been out of town helping with the care of an adorable newborn grandson my sleep pattern has been altered, and I am drinking a bit more coffee to help keep me alert. My son and I were drinking French press coffee in the beginning of the week but later decided to make up a batch of cold brew coffee because it has a lower acid content and a less bitter taste.

Cold brew coffee is about 67% less acidic than regular hot brewed coffee, so the extra cups I am consuming have been well tolerated.

There are many different cold brew coffee systems available for purchase in a wide range of prices. The concept of making cold brew is very simple, and some folks even make their own cold brew systems. To make cold brew coffee, start with your favorite coffee beans and grind them coarsely. Place the desired amount of ground coffee beans in the upper chamber, then pour in cold water to saturate the beans. The rest is easy, just let the beans steep for about 12 hours. At the bottom of this chamber there is a filter and a cork, so after the beans have been saturated in the water, this chamber is placed on top of a carafe and the cork is removed.

The strained liquid will drain into the carafe, and the result is a concentrated cold brew coffee. This concentrate can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. To use the concentrate, mix as desired with hot water. For our concentrate we mixed about 1 part concentrate to 4 parts water, but the amount can be varied according to the strength of coffee desired.

This concentrate can also be used to make iced coffee or other coffee drinks. The cold brew systems can be used for tea, as well.

This has been a wonderful week with my precious grandson to cuddle and rock, and the cold brew coffee has helped this grandmother keep her eyes open in the wee hours.

All images copyright © 2011-2014 Sugar, Spice and Spilled Milk/Aunt Nubby's Kitchen.Blogspot.com