how to be a cold-brew convert

Who’s up for off-topic? You, I hope. My Facebook friends know me for nonstop yammering and an addiction to coffee. For some reason, my posts concerning cold-brew coffee have generated a surprising number of comments, so I thought I’d bring up the subject here.

On my recent holiday trek to the local mall of shame, I stopped by Williams-Sonoma and spied something new…

toddy cold press spotted at williams-sonoma

That’s the Toddy Cold Brew System we’ve been using for a few years now. Back in ’07, I had to hunt ours down online.

It was a New York Times article that hipped me to the bitter-free joys of cold-brew and the Toddy, although you can use a plain ol’ jar if you want. Apparently the cold-brew method results in a coffee with 67% less acid than the standard hot-brew method — you actually can taste the difference. And you don’t have to plug anything in!

Official instructions are here but I’m going to show you how easy it is to use a Toddy.

THE TODDY SETUP

A plastic brewing container…

toddy plastic brewing container

A glass pitcher with a rubber lid…

glass pitcher/decanter

Two reusable filters (you only need one to brew, the other is a bonus)…

toddy filter

And a rubber stopper…

rubber plug

WHAT YOU BRING TO THE PARTY

A pound of your favorite coarse-ground coffee (the coarser the grind the better, in my opinion)…

a pound of coffee

A big pitcher of water…

a pitcher of water

And a chopstick…

a chopstick

David, my kickass brewer, says it helps. Explanation coming up.

NOW THE EASY-PEASY INSTRUCTIONS

See the hole in the bottom of the brewing container?

hole in bottom of brewer

Plug it…

plug the container

Press the filter into the bottom of the inside of the container…

add the filter

Pour in 2 C of water…

pour 2C of water

Then add 1/2 the bag of coffee and don’t stir the grounds…

pour half the bag of coffee

Pour in 5 C of water on top of that and then wait 5 mins while the grounds begin to soak it up…

pour 5C of water

Add the remaining 1/2 bag of coffee and again, don’t stir the grounds…

add the rest of the coffee

As you can see, the coffee will mound up — you’ll need to level it out. This is where the chopstick comes in handy…

flatten the mounded coffee

Top it off with 2 C of water…

add 2C of water

Then leave it for at least 12 hours. The longer you ignore it, the stronger the brew. It’s a good idea to check the topmost coffee grounds an hour or two later — if they’re not wet, press them down with the chopstick.

When time’s up, position the container over the pitcher…

set container on pitcher

Quickly pull the plug and set the coffee freeeeeeeeeeeee!

pull the plug and release the coffee

When the container is fully drained, your caffeinated bliss is ready to enjoy.

pitcher of coffee to last you DAYS!

Stash it in the fridge and, depending on how much coffee you drink, you’re set for days and days and days. A pitcher typically lasts me for a full week of daily coffees.

This is concentrated coffee, so you’ll have to play with how much water (if any) is the right amount to add to a cup of concentrate. By the time I add ice and soy milk, I only need to cut mine a tiny bit with water. If I add a ton of ice on a hot day, I don’t even bother to add water cuz the ice melts fast.

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