Monday, June 01, 2009

Cold-brewed Iced Coffee

It started last Thursday. I had a MAJOR grocery run to make. Despite my earnest desire to shop well and support the local guys, Super Target is cheaper, and well, cheaper is what we need right now. Plus, Super Target has a Starbucks. I veered right upon entering the store, headed straight for my coffee fix to get me through the gargantuan shopping trip I had ahead of me. But there was a lady in front of me ordering 6 different drinks, and only one barista working. So I shopped first. I'm glad I did, and I'm glad I made the decision to get my drink before I checked out, because that took forever as well.

I digress...
I saw a sign for "Iced brewed coffee with milk. Add a shot of vanilla or hazelnut for free." I gazed at the price- $2.25 for a venti?! Seriously? You have my attention. So I got a grande (just in case I didn't like it), added a shot of vanilla for free and...fell in love, after the first sip. Seriously. I couldn't believe I hadn't been drinking these for years! Then I remembered that I had a recipe for Iced Coffee that I had yet to try. So the next day I did. And, at least for the summer-time, I WILL NOT GO BACK TO BREWED COFFEE in the morning. (I tried today and wished with every timid sip that I was drinking my delicious iced dream.)

Yield: Two drinks

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
Milk (optional)--(I've been adding my french vanilla creamer, just like I would to hot coffee.)

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. (I put a coffee filter into a mesh strainer and strain into a large measuring cup.) In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. (My personal taste is to veer on the side of more coffee to more water, so it doesn't taste watered down.)

If desired, add milk.

**Check out this post for a few tips to make your iced coffee brewing easier!**

4 comments:

  1. This sounds, to me, like cold pressing/brewing coffee, and I was just thinking that if you're hooked for the summer, you might want to invest in a cold brewing system... you can make pitchers of the concentrate that will last up to a week in the fridge... just a thought. :) That way you only have to go through the brewing process once a week instead of nightly...

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  2. I've never heard of that! Thanks for the tip. Are they easy to find/relatively inexpensive?

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  3. Yep. :) I found one at The Wire Whisk for $30.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your link, I will add this to the list of recipes to try!

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