I started drinking coffee when I was 14 years old. It was the early 1990s and Portland, Oregon was ground zero for the onslaught of espresso bars that was soon to sweep the nation. Boyd’s, one of the early local chains, had a location just a block from my high school and whenever my budget allowed, I’d get myself a latte (often with hazelnut syrup) or when the weather warmed, an iced coffee.
I’ve been a fairly regular coffee drinker ever since. And so, when the nice people at Driftaway Coffee got in touch a few months back to see if we could team up in some way, I said of course. They are a subscription coffee company that will send you installments of freshly roasted beans every two weeks.
They trick is that they like each new subscriber to start with their Rise & Grind kit, which includes four different varietals in one-ounce samples. Once you’ve brewed through each one, you let them know which one you liked best and that’s the one you’ll get in each shipment. It’s a pretty great idea, particularly for people who are just starting to explore single origin coffees.
They sent me one of the two-ounce Rise & Grind kits and once I was finished admiring the packaging (I’m a sucker for good design), I popped open one of the 2 ounce packets and got to work making a batch of cold brew.
I’ve been a cold brew coffee fan for years now (you can see that the first time I mentioned it was way back in 2010) and make it a lot when the days warm. I’ve refined my approach and upgraded my equipment slightly in the last five years, so an updated post on the topic seemed like a good idea.
I’ve found that everyone has their own ratio for cold brew. My preferred recipe is 2 ounces of coarse ground coffee to 3 1/2 cups cold, freshly filtered water. This makes a strong brew that produces enough to last 2-3 days (depending on how many deadlines I’m pushing to meet). I don’t typically add water to thin it out, but instead add a couple of ice cubes and a generous pour of milk and call it good.
I grind the beans and funnel them into a quart jar. I add a splash of cold water and swirl the jar a little to dampen the grounds and let them bloom a little. Once they’ve grown a little, I add the remaining water and put a lid on the jar. I tuck into the corner of the kitchen and let it sit for 12 to 18 hours.
The next day, I perch a cone filter over a clean quart jar and fit it with one of Coffee Sock cloth filters that Cuppow sells. I pour the sludgy coffee through the filter in a couple of batches, until the lower jar is filled with perfect, ready to drink coffee.
One of my favorite things about cold brew is that it has the ability to take mediocre or slightly elderly beans and make them drinkable. However, when you’re shooting for more than just simply drinkable, using good, freshly roasted beans creates a brew that is transcendently good.
For the batch of cold brew that is pictured here, I used Driftaway Coffee’s Guatemalan beans and it was magical. Earthy and a bit chocolatey, with just a bit of acid for lightness. Oh, and if making your own cold brew feels like too much work, I hear that Driftaway Coffee is soon going to be making their own concentrate.
The nice folks at Driftaway Coffee want to give a three-month subscriptions away to one of my readers so that’s what we’re going to do. Here’s how to enter!
- Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you’re drinking these days. Cold brew coffee? Homemade kombucha? Hot tea with honey?
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Saturday, June 6, 2015. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog soon thereafter.
- Giveaway open to US residents only. Void where prohibited.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Driftaway Coffee sent me their Rise & Grind kit and are providing the giveaway subscription, both at no cost to me. No additional financial compensation has been provided and all opinions expressed are mine alone.
Hot coffee, because it’s still chilly where I am. I really want to try cold brew, though.
I love iced coffee these days. It can be cold-brewed, or espresso over ice!
these days, it’s tea, cream and sugar, but i started with coffee, and even had a setup with a hotpot at high school so i could make it ‘fresh’ (in quotes, as the teenage me used instant coffee). my husband does a lot of coffee, and has experimented with cold brew before. i love the idea of making it in a mason jar!
I am drinking coffee while plucking up the courage to try my first batch of kombucha! Here is hoping the fermentation gods are in a good mood!
I am totally a lemonade girl. My husband is the coffee drinker of the family.
We drink regular old Mr Coffee brewed and Seattle’s Best has been our choice of late. The cold brew method sounds interesting and I just may try it.
Mosty water. I love a cup of coffee in the morning, but have found the recently it’s giving me some problems. I’ve heard that the acid in coffee is reduced in cold brew and that it is gentler. I just haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.
Just discovered a new project nearby called refuge coffee company – a local, sustainable, workforce development coffee company and food truck in Clarkston, GA! Sadly, they are only open once a week, and I like my coffee daily 🙂
Cold brew with mediocre beans. A splash of milk smooths them right out, though. And gallons of sun tea!
I cold-brew my coffee year round to reduce the acids, due to health issues. I make iced cappucino during the warmer months by blending the cold-brew concentrate with some ice, milk (almond or dairy), simpe syrup, and a spoonful of homemade chocolate syrup. The only problem is, it’s so good that I drink it in about a minute 🙂
On the warmer days of spring and summer, I love having homemade cold brew coffee. Somehow it has gotten cooler here in New England the last few days, so I was back to hot coffee. However, I had a cold brew this morning because I wanted to get through the jar I had in the fridge. Cheers to good coffee!
I love a hot cup of coffee from my French press with some homemade almond milk. Yum!
We’ve been enjoying strong coffee brewed in our moka pot!
I start everyday with hot coffee- mexican beans.
I just purchased Trader Joe’s Cold Brew. It’s premade and looks pretty strong. I will find out this weekend.
I am a morning coffee drinker because I like the taste, the caffeine not so important. And a nice big glass of iced tea in the summer months.
I have an old Krups Mini Espresso Machine. Since they are not longer in production, I shop at thrift store to find replacement parts! I first kept it in my office at work and now I keep it in my kitchen, cranking out double shots of great espresso! I buy Kirkland Signature Espresso Roast, roasted by Starbucks Coffee.Everyday! It is my old Krups Mini, KS Espresso Roast and me!
I love homemade cold brew coffee! Thinking about trying it Thai iced coffee style for an extra special treat.
Hot coffee in the winter and mornings and cold coffee on hot days with coffee ice cubes in it.
i drink iced coffee on vacation only- hey they know how to do it in Maine! Rest of the time its diet sodas, water, juice. I would like to make cold brew here in KY and not have to wait for my Maine vacation.
Piping hot coffee is my morning brew of choice. However, I’ve been debating on starting some cold brew – I love a good iced coffee in the summer.
I usually start my day with a very large cup (you know the one I mean) of decaffeinated coffee and would like to expand my horizons.
I’m usually a big cold brew fan, but I haven’t ever made my own. Right now I’m drinking whatever sounds good (which changes day to day), since I’m pregnant, but I can’t wait for iced coffee to reenter my life.
It’s black or ginger tea through the day, but there’s nothing quite like that locally-roasted pour over to brighten my morning.
I have a jar of cold brew in my fridge right now! That gets me out the door in the morning and then it’s iced hibiscus tea in the afternoons.
Drinking hot tea right now!
Yay, so glad for warm weather and the return of cold brew-appropriate temperatures outside. 🙂 I have been drinking Food52’s “magic coffee” lately — it’s cold brew infused with cinnamon and brown sugar, and then a pour of heavy cream to serve. Sooooooooooo good.
I do cold brew with a cinnamon stick thrown in. It’s delicious!
Breakfast is currently 2 cups hazelnut flavor with half and half. Would love to learn to make iced coffee for the coming summer months.
We are drinking coffee from a French Press. At night I drink warm water with lemon and honey.
Iced tea. It’s the only thing for hot summers!
Mostly I’ve been drinking water. Trying to stay hydrated.
When I get bored with that I’ll have some iced tea or Almond Chocolate Milk. One of my favorite things.
Sun tea with honey on the weekends and coffee on the weekdays
I’ve been wanting to try cold brew because the acid in the coffee from normal brewing upsets my stomach. I normally like Yerba Mate tea, a Mate Latte is really good. Thank you for this post I’m going to try cold brewing now : )
Locally roasted, fair trade, fully caffeinated, hot Sumatra and Guat. (mixed) coffee – and lots of it! We recycle our bags – our local store gives us 20 cents back for every time we bring back in the old coffee bag to use for the next time (we buy our coffee in bulk). We think this is a great idea! 🙂
Cold. Few coffee makes fabulous summer drinks. I have also used it for chocolate bread instead of milk.
I love both iced coffee and tea
Cold brewed coffee, every morning!
I’ve been drinking hot coffee from our french press and an occasional cold brew over ice on the hottest days. Thanks for this awesome giveaway!
Yes, cold brew daily! YUM
I’ve been trying some different K cups made by Pete’s Coffee.
Here in Pa., you know how fickle the weather is! One day is cold-brewed iced coffee, one day is a warm brewed cup of coffee… Either way, coffee is the beverage of choice!
Well, it depends…
Just got a new and wonderful drip coffeemaker. Not that it’s probably anything special, but compared to the previous one, it’s amazing. At the moment, I’m drinking whatever it is that DH chose most recently, but what I’d like to be drinking is Burlap & Bean, which is kind of amazing.
At times of the day which are not first thing in the morning, I’ve recently been drinking tumeric tea, which requires a generous amount of ginger and honey to be palatable.
coffee–sadly I start out drinking it hot in a jar…but as I get distracted through the day and don’t finish it, I add ice and by the afternoon I’m drinking my morning coffee as iced coffee. I need to try the cold brewed method–perhaps I’ll get it together enough some weekend soon to make it!
Love a great mug of french pressed Kenyan coffee! I also make gallons of cold brew iced coffee during the summer.
Love cold brewed coffee!
lately it’s been either nespresso or chemex style coffee, black, or teavana’s earl grey creme tea, also black! I’ll be back on iced coffee once philly warms back up 🙂
Just drinking various k-cups lately. Going to try this cold brew process. Thanks!!
I never thought about making cold brew at home in my jars! I am going to try this tonight!
It is finally summer so Sun Tea! I would love to add cold brewed coffee to the mix.
I’ve heard of cold brewed coffee and it has always interested me. I think I can give it a try now with your easy recipe. I normally make a coffee using the French press (morning and afternoon)and then have homemade Kombuchu for a special treat, it’s pretty good paired half-n-half with a red wine!.
Thanks for your great tutorials!
Carolyn