Summertime is in full swing and with it soaring, oppressive temperatures. In the valley where I live it is especially muggy and humid in between spells of rain. So when morning hits, the thought of piping hot coffee to shake off the mental cobwebs that accumulated during dreaming hours seems like a bad idea. Cold brew coffee is the answer! It is all the rage at coffee shops like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. This beverage facilitates my daily caffeine fix , thus enabling me to function at a productive, human level that doesn’t involve eviscerating anyone unfortunate enough to cross my path during my initial “wake up” phase.
But, going out to get the cold brewed coffee when I am already bleary eyed and ferocious just isn’t feasible, so I decided I’d try and make my own! I mean how hard could it be, right? And wow, I can’t believe how easy it really is! I wish I had discovered this stuff years ago – it’s that delightful. I found a great recipe I’d like to share from the free magazine, Savory, that I pick up at Giant.
So let’s get cooking!
Step One:
Gather ingredients.
- 2 cups of ground coffee
- 2 tsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups cold water
A few notes on ingredients:
Coffee: Use beans – the highest quality you’ve got – and grind them coarsely. I’ve used grounds before (as pictured) and it’s still good, but to get the best flavor, freshly ground beans work best. I’d suggest getting an unflavored roast you prefer, but a flavor that compliments the spices might be nice too!
Cardamon: I didn’t have any ground, so I used my coffee grinder and sifted out the hulls.
Vanilla: I make my own extract because it is just so much tastier than store bought and it, like cold brew coffee, is so incredibly simple that once you make your own, you’ll never go back to store bought! I shall do a tutorial for some diy extract soon, but for now you can check out this tutorial or just Google it.
Step Two
Combine all ingredients. It’ll make a fluffy slurry, but stir it up well to make sure all the grounds get good saturated.
Step Three
Cover it and let it sit over night. You can put it in the fridge or leave it on the counter. I leave mine on the counter.
Step Four
Strain through a few layers of cheesecloth in a strainer. I tried straining it through a coffee filter, but it didn’t really go through it for me and the precious cold brew just soaked the paper filter so I found cheesecloth works better.
Step Five
This is concentrated stuff, so when you serve it do so with equal parts of another liquid. I’ve used water and creamer, but there are other options too: milk, maybe something alcoholic like Bailey’s for an adult treat! I imagine it could also be put into a blender with equal parts ice to make a frozen drink.
Experiment and have fun with it. Serve and enjoy!
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