Full Belly Fridays: Cold Coffee

I’ve been making cold-brewed coffee now for a few months, and thought I’d share my thoughts and process.

As a bit of a coffee fiend (and snob), I find myself preferring the cold-brewed stuff. Even my french-press hot coffee isn’t quite as good! The upsides I’ve found are that it’s a lot smoother, less bitter, and (I think) more caffeinated. The biggest downside is that it takes a little bit of planning ahead, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do. After all, running the coffee grinder while the baby sleeps might be fine most nights, but one just never knows…

Anyway, here’s the process I’ve been using:

1) In a 1L mason jar, put about 1/3 cup coffee grinds. I use a medium-corse grind, so that more surface area is exposed, and thus (hopefully) helping to make the infusion stronger.
2) Fill with cold water, up to the point where the lid screws on. Screw on lid, shake up a bit, and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours – the longer you brew, the stronger it’ll be.
3) When you’re ready for coffee, shake the jar again, then dump the contents in to a french press. Press as you would hot coffee.
4) Optional: If you’re feeling fancy, make up a simple syrup (1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of hot water) with some cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks. Gives the coffee a bit of a chai-like flavour.

Do you make cold-brewed coffee? If so, post your tips below! If not, give this a try!