Recessionista Behind the Counter: How to Make Your Own Cold Brewed Coffee with a 2 liter pop bottle and felt
Have you ever noticed...
How acidic coffee can taste when it's been brewed traditionally and then chilled in the fridge? There's a very good reason for this: coffee contain a great deal of chlorogenic acid which becomes the highly astringent quinic acid as it cools. In order to avoid all this unpleasantness and have unbelievably delightful coffee throughout the summer months, all you need to do is brew coffee in such a way that you do not use heat. This, my friend, is perfectly doable - and is an excellent at-home recycling project to boot!
You will need the following:
- One (1) well-rinsed two-liter bottle. Husbee has an awful coke habit, so these are easy to come by in our house. If you're not similarly blessed, ask a neighbor or have a gin-and-tonic party.
- Six ounces (6 oz) of delicious, well-roasted coffee beanery
- A swatch of felt (from any self-respecting crafts store/crafty person)
- Two (2) good-sized coffee filters
- Some bits of thread and scissors (or "skizers", if you or your underage companion prefer)
And While You're Waiting for It to Brew
- To begin, cut the bottom off of the 2-liter bottle and stand it upside-down in a sturdy mason-jar-type thing. Fold the felt and twist it into a plug at the original mouth of your recycled bottle. Recap. NOTE: You can reuse the felt as often as you like, just rinse it out between batches.
- Get your 6ozs of good quality coffee: if in bean form, grind those suckers - if pre-ground, be proud your mamma raised you not to be a coffee snob and move on. NOTE: You will, however, want your coffee to be as coarsely ground as possible.
- Divide the ground coffee into the two large filters and make them into sweet-looking little pouches of coffee. Or 'Coffee-bags'. This is where that thread I mentioned comes in handy. Tie those suckers off, good and tight, and place them in your 'brewer'/old coke bottle.
- Make sure your 'brewer' has its cap on, so that the coffee can brew a good while before being run through the filter. Having thus ascertained your power in dictating the strength of your coffee, go ahead and pour 6 cups of fresh sparkling mountain dew over the 'coffee-bags' and into that there plastic monstrosity. It might have behooved me to mention earlier that this will brew between 12 and 24 hours, so make sure the aforementioned monstrosity is kept somewhere out of the way. And if it's smack in the middle of your kitchen table... heh, my bad. Tell the kids dinner will be in front of the TV tonight.
- Once you've let the brewer dominate your kitchen table for a sufficient period of time, unscrew that cap and let it slow-drip into your container of choice. Something suited to your fridge layout would be best, with a good solid seal.
- Um. Please note: this shit is *concentrated* and super caffeinated. Delicious, yes - but also amenable to some dilution for the faint of heart or lovers of naps.
And may I wish you a happy and productive summer!
Friends! With this cold-brew coffee in your fridge, you need never again fear the warning gurgle of an acid-filled tum. You need never fear an unproductive day of heat-filled lethargy! Bring it to your place of business, your friends' garden parties and picnics! Go forth and prosper, filled with adequate caffeine and love for all mankind.
