In the UK we’re currently experiencing the hell that is summer (I can’t cope in temperatures above 20C, mock if you wish) so wanting to get more into cold brew.
Anyone got any recommendations on the best piece of kit to do it?
Hario’s cold brew bottles are amazing. I’ve been using mine for years and it’s exception… and crazy easy.
A large container capable of holding the desired quantity of liquid and grounds, a very large strainer, a very large coffee filter, and another large container to pour the cold brew into. A kitchen scale if you want to be anal about the recipe.
Will keep for a few days in the fridge no problem. Maybe longer, I never made enough to find out.
I mostly think that any large container that can hold water is a cold brew maker. I used to use one of those large pitchers from the supermarket used for serving lemonade (really any sweet drink), but really any large container you have will work that you don’t mind having coffee leech in to.
Because all you really need is water and coffee grounds mixed together inside of something sitting anywhere for a long enough time. Nowadays I use a half gallon mason jar left sitting on my counter for 12-18 hours and then I filter
When I go filter, I filter out the bulk of the grounds using just a strainer. Then I use 2-3 coffee filter lined strainers over whatever bowls I have and let it drain
Or get a Toddy, they were recommended as well when I looked into cold brew
A cold brew “maker” is not a complex thing. All you need is coffee grounds sitting in cold water for a day or so. This can be accomplished in multitudinous ways.
We have a gallon jar with a tap at the bottom and a tall 3" diameter mesh filter with a flange to sit under the lid. I had to (food-safe) solder the filter back together after a few years, but it makes a huge stack of strong brew with which we are most pleased.
Yeah. Literally any glass jar will do the job. Add water. Add grounds. Shake. Refrigerate. Run it through a coffee filter or fine seive into another jar. Done.
You do not need a single purpose contraption for this task. This feels like consumerism.
TBF, we have a dedicated setup for this because we like having cold brew available at all times. It’s worth a little investment in something permanent if it’s going to be in constant use. A metal filter does the job for 90% of the gallon jar, and we pour the bitter dregs through a paper filter at the end of the week.
I’m lazy, so I literally just use a Mason jar and a steel filter. Something like this.
It’s probably not the most efficient, but it gets me my caffeine in the morning and tastes good to me!
Lazy is the key to success with cold brew.
I’m lazier – no filter. The grounds sink to the bottom and stay. Mason jar ftw!
I think cold brew makers might be a bit of a profiteering scam. (I could be wrong… I’ve never tried one.) I use a jar, or a french press, and get delicious results.
I know you can use glass jars but they’re something I would have to get anyway and ideally I would want something portable so I can take it to work.
Right on… report back if you find something good–I’d be happy to be proven wrong on this, as I’m always happy to try out new coffee gear (if it’s good). and yeah, summer is upon us 💦
I just use a French press. My current ratio is 30 grams of coffee grounds to 500ml of water. Mix together, place in the fridge overnight or about 8 hours. Transfer to teapot the following morning so as not to oversteep. Still experimenting though so I’m also curious about other techniques.
I’ve been a chef for awhile and at this one place we were making and packaging individual servings of things. Like cookies or granola bars.
Well we decided to start doing cold brews and one of the cooks wanted me to buy the Toddy System.
Absolutely no way was I going to spend the money on something like that when a bucket will do the same thing.
