Iced Coffee/Cold Brew Stacy’s Way

[ecowper]

Stacy has more or less perfected cold brew coffee to make Iced Coffee, in my humble opinion. To the point where it’s pretty much my only coffee that I drink now. Here’s how she does it.

1 pound dark roast coffee beans (we use Black Rifle Coffee’s Beyond Black)
12 cups cold, filtered water, divided into 4 cups and 8 cups

1. Grind coffee beans until coarse ground, with grounds roughly about same dimensions as kosher salt
2. In a large, non-reactive bowl, stir in 4 cups cold water until you have a "coffee slushy"
3. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes with grounds steeping.
4. Stir in remaining 8 cups cold water until well mixed
5. Cover tightly
6. Let stand on counter, at room temperature, for at least 8 hours.
7. Strain through doubled up cheese cloth several times until there are no grounds remaining in the coffee
8. Now you can use this concentrate to make iced coffee. Mix in equal parts of cold water and concentrate, then pour over another equal part of ice.

Enjoy CaptainMike

[Mr. Bones]

Vielen Dank

[grantgallagher]

We do something similar except i bought some washable cheesecloth/muslin pouches that you can put the coffee in to save the straining step. Usually do it in a pitcher overnight in the fridge.

agree, it makes fantastic cold brew.

[ecowper]

That sounds like it might be just the ticket. We go through a lot of cheesecloth

[barelfly]

Thanks! Me likes me some cold brew! This is similar to how i make the concentrate. I also use a device called "The Tube" for a smaller batch of non-concentrate cold brew. It’s cold brew in a mason jar basically.

[Mr. Bones]

Th Tube will be here mañana, thanks fer helpin simplify this process, Brother!

[barelfly]

Mr. Bones ur welcome my friend! Nothing better than helping with the caffeine fix!

[jfmorris]

I've got the same type device in the pantry - a big mason jar with a perforated or mesh tube that holds the coffee. I think mine holds 64 or 128 ounces though. I need to go dig it out and whip up a batch.

[DeusDingo]

so i've always wondered: why don't people cold brew in a french press, push down, and pour it out? it seems like it is specifically made for this task and it would save on extra materials/steps. i await enlightenment.

[ecowper]

well, I think the other answer might be that people that use French Presses are also people that have 22 different ways to make coffee? I honestly don't know .... I do know that Stacy makes 1.5 quarts of concentrate at a time, so a French Press kinda won't do unless she had 3 or 4 of them

[jfmorris]

I have done exactly that. For cold brew you need it to sit for 8-12 hours. The only drawback in a regular French press is that you typically use a lot more grounds, as the cold brew is usually done at concentrate levels. I suppose you can use the normal amount of coffee though and get cold brew that you don't need to dilute.

[ecowper]

One thing that I just thought about .... if you made the amount of concentrate that Stacy does, you could then strain the grounds out of 4 cups of concentrate at a time using the French Press and not need the cheesecloth method. Do that 3 times and done. Might try that and see how it goes.

[bbqLuv]

Thank you, Stacy.
All I do is put ice cubes in my coffee. EZ-PZ.

[jfmorris]

ecowper I started making cold brew a few years back using the basic technique you outline, as it required no new equipment. One of my kids got me the mason jar with the mesh tube thing for my birthday a couple of years later. I don't think it holds as much coffee as Stacy's technique, and I think you get better extraction from the coffee if it is loose in the water, versus packed tight in a tube suspended in the middle of the water. You've inspired me to get a pound of good beans and try this again. I've been wanting to try some Black Rifle, and haven't done so yet.

[ecowper]

Black Rifle is excellent. We tried several different beans, buying a pound at a time and finally settled on Beyond Black as our go to

[grantgallagher]

We used to do black rifle but it was getting pricey. We go through coffee pretty quickly. Discovered a german coffee from Aldi that is both delicious and cheap.

[Bkhuna]

grantgallagher - What is the name of it? We have an Aldi very close and I'm going to start looking for the things they have that interest me.

[jfmorris]

ecowper I just placed an order for some coffee from Black Rifle - a bag of "Just Black", a bag of "Beyond Black", both ground, and a bag of Beyond Black beans, to grind myself for cold brew. I'm looking forward to trying it and seeing what all the fuss is about. If we like it, I'll setup the subscription, and get it coming on a regular basis.

If I do that, I am tempted to do the 5 pound bean coffee, but Yvonne doesn't like to grind it if she doesn't have to. So if I have a couple of bags coming every couple of weeks, even pre-ground ought to be pretty darned fresh.

[ecowper]

Well, can’t wait to hear what you think.

[jfmorris]

ecowper I've finished a package in the automatic drop machine of "Just Black", and done a half gallon of cold brew using Beyond Black, grinding it course myself. So far I like it - a lot - but gotta figure out if I can justify the additional cost over what we've been buying locally.

[ecowper]

jfmorris that’s awesome …… and I get the issue about cost. I justify to myself that I’m supporting fellow veterans.