The perks of coldbrew coffee?

LiquidChaos66

Whats the difference between cold brew and brewing normal coffee and putting it in the fridge? Is there any sort of benefit or noticeable difference to the taste or quality?

peter4jc

Cold brew loses some of the brightness and nuance, but the result is a smoother/milder coffee, which some people prefer.  IMHO, brewing coffee normally and then refrigerating it gets funky because the brightness/acidity (that wasn't lessened by cold-brewing) gives it an edge and some extra bitterness.

Some of it has to do with which one of the many cold brew methods you use.  I like the Toddy system (there's a new, very similar, but cheaper cold brewer by Ronco) because it yields a much more concentrated product.  Originally, the concentrate was used by adding some hot water to it, and that was your morning coffee w/o having to brew it...  like I said, it's overly smooth and bland for my tastes.  But, the concentrate works great for iced coffee, as it can stand up flavorwise to the dilution from the ice.

LiquidChaos66

That's good input! I personally enjoy cold or iced coffee more than hot coffee a majority of the time... I might look into that. We have our Keurig (which I love cause it makes just the right size cup of coffee and its pretty effortless) but that doesn't do anything for iced coffee.

I found a nice little cold brew setup for $20 on ThinkGeek.com that I might look into. maybe ill find it on eBay so I can get free shipping. lol

jarubla

'Perks' of cold brew? I see what you did there...and this needs a..ba dum tiss!

I am a big fan of cold/iced coffee. The Missus and I have cold brewed before with as simple of a setup as a pitcher, and a wire mesh strainer: grind the beans, put them in the pitcher w/water for 18 hours, afterwards, pour the liquid off through the wire mesh into another container, and as they say, profit.

Peter is right, it can be a little on the bitter side. I like mine with milk.

Any linky to the setup you are considering?

-Jay

badandy24

I've gotten into making some cold brew recently as well.  I like it so far.  Been playingwith different beans to see what I like better.  Biggest issue I had at first was using preground coffee, it was a pain to strain.  I use it in the mornings sometimes with my protein shake...its a nice boost to start the day and AM workout.

I just have a basic set up using a french press.  I make it strong and thick but cut it with ice/water as I need it.  Sometimes its like a shot of espresso!

LiquidChaos66

I will have to dig into this... if it is that easy I might just try that today after I hit the store. I have a pitcher and a fine mesh strainer....

Here is what im looking at (I cant ever remember how to make it linky lol

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/hsls/

LiquidChaos66

Oh look at that!!! Links do it themselves now!!!

ChazMN

My wife cold brews. She grinds the beans then soaks them in the fridge overnight and strains through a large coffee filter lined mesh strainer. Add ice, half n half and some caramel flavoring and you have what she likes. She says she gets the coffee flavor w/o the bitterness.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 I on the other hand love strong black brewed coffee. 

LiquidChaos66

Yup... its been decided.... im making some tonight.

jarubla

Chaz mentions a good point...put that paper filter in the wire mesh when you pour off the liquid. And go slow -- pour some, let it drip through, pour more. I got impatient one time and had a lot of grounds in my drinks for a week, lol

-Jay

jlmarta

Had a chance this morning to try firsthand a Keurig coffee Brewer. The casino hotel where my child bride and I stayed last night had them in all their rooms. I figured I'd see what all the fuss is about. 

For starters, let me just say that I'll keep my Clever Dripper pour over method, thank you very much. 

The "K-pods" or whatever they're called contained a French Roast coffee. Naturally, they also had the decaffeinated version on hand. So, ya put a pod in its designated place, pour 10oz of water in the hopper, set the mug under the spout, and press "Brew". 

The instructions say that it takes 3 minutes to deliver this 'wonderful' coffee into your mug. I'll assume it's correct. I didn't time it. But what you get is about 8oz of something lukewarm that tastes a little less like dishwater than what the restaurant served as coffee last night at dinner. To say I was underwhelmed would be an understatement. 

I don't know where the other 2oz of water went but the lukewarm coffee is understandable - ya didn't pre-warm the mug like ya do when using the Dripper. 

Not only do I pre-warm my mug, but I get a full 12oz of some mighty fine coffee to boot. I know there are a number of folks out there who just adore their Keurig and to them I say, "Whatever blows your skirt up, chillun's"....

I'll stick with my Dripper..

Ooops!!  I got this in the wrong thread. I was looking for just the plain "Coffee" thread. My bad....

Usaf06

I use a keurig because it's convenient for me. I have gone through many different kinds of coffee to find the ones I can enjoy. 

jlmarta

Usaf06 said:

I use a keurig because it's convenient for me. I have gone through many different kinds of coffee to find the ones I can enjoy. 

So, does your Brewer make hot or lukewarm coffee?  I guess what I'm asking is - is lukewarm what they all do?

And do you get a full 10oz cup?  Or where did the other 2oz go?

Usaf06

No, mine brews hot coffee. Two sizes on mine also, a small 6oz and large 10oz. Mine also uses a large water reservoir on the side to brew it.

jlmarta

And you can use your choice of coffee to put in the pods?

Usaf06

They sell a cup that you can brew regular coffee in if you don't want to use a k-cup. I haven't tried it yet but I probably should so I can get some from Peter.

jlmarta

It begins to look like I chose a poor model Brewer to base my opinion on. At the time, it didn't occur to me that a model used in a hotel, albeit a fairly swanky one, might not be the super-deluxe model. Oh, well, even us oldfarts get our comeuppance every once in a while.... 

peter4jc

Keurigs rock if the equation you're concerned with is convenience vs. complexity.

If you primarily care about what's in the cup and can forget about the convenience, then you look to having control over the brewing parameters...  proper grind, proper water temp, saturation and steep time.  Not everybody has the time to devote to the "best" cup of coffee, so I'd never say toss the Keurig, but it's not much more tedious to source great beans, grind them, and control the brew.  I'm grateful that my mornings are not in a time crunch and I can brew a cup that I know is all it can be.  Marty's Clever Coffee Dripper is an excellent way to make coffee, and there are others, but the Keurig (outside of the convenience it offers) isn't one of them

I'm always careful to tell the people I encounter that whether or not they end up buying coffee from me, I'm more than happy to help make their coffee world a more beautiful place...  maybe we should have a new thread dedicated to coffee, and how to enjoy it more fully.

Martel

We use a keurig because my wife rarely drinks coffee and only one cup at a time.  I will have a couple of cups in the morning, but it's nice to have variety and relative freshness.  Nothing beats fresh roasted and fresh ground, but K-cups are sealed pretty good and last a while.  I'm starting to prefer french press over anything, but use the Keurig regularly.  Nice to have for company, too.

  I've used the fillable kcups.  There's some varieties, but I use the ecobrew. 

My machine has multiple sizes-5 I think-and a couple of temperature settings.  It comes out hot.