If you've never heard of cold brew, you might as well just close this tab and sign yourself up for some remedial education ASAP. Who let you on the internet in the first place?Assuming that you're literate in both human words and beverages, however, you already know that cold brew—the less-acidic, high-octane cousin of drip coffee—has seen a surge of popularity over the last few years. Every cafe worth its coffee grounds sells it, and you can buy perfectly decent bottled versions at any well-stocked supermarket.
Advertisement
Heck, maybe you've even tried to make your own with a can of Folgers and an old sock. It probably worked! But like so many things in this life, the devil's in the details if you want a supremely tasty cup of iced coffee.We recently met up with Dan Solomito, owner of S,T Coffee, at his Brooklyn cafe to learn more about cold brew."It takes careful preparation, attention to detail, and patience to make," says Solomito, "which might be why there are fewer people making it at home in the way they make drip."Solomito suggests using a Toddy cold-brewing system, an inexpensive all-in-one device that filters your grounds after they've steeped. But if you don't happen to have one, you can use a French press or even improvise a setup using a pitcher with a coffee filter set into a strainer. Just throw away that dirty sock.
Weigh out your coffee beans and grind on the coarsest setting. If you don't have a scale, just grind some beans (again, you need to grind them as coarse as possible). The basic ratio is 1 pound of coffee to 9 cups of water.
If using a Toddy cold-brewing system, place a filter in the bottom and then a coffee filter on top. If you're not using the cold-brewing system, simply carry on to the next step.
Pour your grinds into the toddy or a large jar.
If you have a Toddy water container, place that on top of your Toddy. Fill with the proper ratio of water. If you don't have a Toddy water container, simply cover your beans with water. The water should be filtered and at room temperature.
Advertisement
Cover the Toddy or jar and let sit at room temperature for about 12 to 14 hours.
The next day, carefully drain your cold brew. If you didn't use a Toddy, make sure to strain your cold brew through a fine-mesh sieve set over a jar.
Congrats, you have cold brew concentrate! Now you can dilute it with water (Dan uses equal parts water to concentrate).
Add some simple syrup and milk and enjoy! Or, better yet, make a cocktail. Cold brew concentrate will keep refrigerated for 7 to 10 days.