Clear coffee mug with swirls of cold brew and cream.
Photography, Art Direction & Food Styling: Anthony Contrino

Cold brew is all the rage – and for good reason.  It’s delicious and a little bit of concentrate goes a long way.  In a past life, I opened a small cafe with a Cooking Channel personality. (Any guesses??)  We were both addicted to Blue Bottle’s New Orlean’s-style cold brew, spending so much money on the stuff that we decided to make our own.  This is a simplified version (without the chicory, which to be transparent, I outgrew loving).  For a fuller flavor, be sure to use a dark roast with sweet notes.

Cold Brew

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time: 12 hours

Ingredients
 

  • ½ pound coarsely ground coffee *See Note
  • 6 cups filtered cold water

Instructions
 

  • Place the ground coffee into a large glass jar or pitcher.
  • Add 2 cups of the filtered water and stir until all the grinds are fully saturated.
  • Add the remaining water, cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours.
  • Strain the coffee through a fine mesh strainer into another large jar or measuring cups; discard the grinds. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  • Strain the coffee through cheesecloth (90 grade), pouring slowly to allow the cheesecloth to filter any finer bits of ground coffee. Pour all but the final bit of sludgy liquid through the cloth; discard.
  • Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Notes

If purchasing whole beans from a coffee shop, have the barista grind it for cold brew. Coffee ground for cold brew should be approximately the same size as coarse sea salt.
I like to use a bolder coffee with sweeter notes like chocolate, caramel or marshmallow.
Course: Beverages, Drinks
Author: Anthony Michael Contrino