I was chatting with the staff at a grocery store I frequent and the subject turned to cold brew coffee. They had the store brand label CBC on the shelf and I'd always passed it by as all I wanted was whole bean arabica (always fresher if you grind your own). After the discussion on the merits of CBC I did a google search and liked what I read. I'm drinking some of the store brand as I type and it's not bad at all, better than most.

If you prefer Ice Coffee in the summer as many do, it's especially a good option. Recipe's/instructions are on the web, but essentially as the name implies, it is brewed with cold water and so has a lower acidity. As I understand the caffeine level is also decreased but I'm thinking not by much. It's brewed strong so it can be used as a concentrate (adding ice is one way to dilute it, but I just use very cold water. The store brand I bought to try out recommends 1 part CBC concentrate to 2 parts water or milk. I used 2 parts water and then added milk to taste. If you use sugar, remember to add it first with a bit of very hot water otherwise it doesn't go into solution as well.

(No brand names above so no disclaimer required)

Very cool! Thanks for this, Russ!

I am a coffee fan addict. I rarely think that it's too hot outside for coffee, and then there a heat waves like we're in the midst of as I type. Many times on the trail, I just want cold sweet caffeine, without the fizz of a soda pop. (See what I did there? My own little move for good CAN-US relations.)

I'm going to check these out. Much appreciated!

I've never been able to accept the idea of drinking cold coffee. I guess I'm just too narrow minded....

I hear that, I can only drink it in the summer, but large coffee franchises (too avoid naming one or too) insist on using ice which melts meaning the coffer dillutes as you drink and the lower half of the cup is watery. Brewing my own means I can make it at a strength I like without ice. Half the enjoyment of coffee is doing it myself. That said, it doesn't get hot until about 9 AM ...

A month later and I'm brewing my own cold brew coffee. It's about the brewing temperature, not the drinking temperature. In August in SOCAL it goes down great at 41ºF, I don't use ice so it doesn't get diluted. When the cooler temps arrive, I'll heat it. Brewing it cold is simply easier imo; the reduced acid is a benefit, I'm not seeing reduced caffeine.

The past few days here in SOCAL have been cooler in the AM, not cold, still shorts weather, but cool enough to drink my morning cold-brew-coffee hot. Forget what I said about just heating the same mix/ratio (CBC:milk:water) used when drinking CBC cold; I drank the result of my first attempt but it was not friendly to the tongue. So yesterday I decreased the water % and increased the milk %. Attempt #2 was okay but still not great; today I decreased the water and increased the milk even more (attempt #3) and it worked.

BTW (this entire topic is a BTW), I also switched from 100% Colombian beans to 100% Guatemalan (organic) beans. Coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so in this case, organic is significant. Flavor-wise, meh...

We had a huge discussion about cold brewed coffee at a dinner party on the weekend. Now I really want to try to make some!

I tried and made some. Turned out to be OK, better than hot brewed coffee that has cooled.
Mr Google said that it should be very course grinded but I had only dark roasted coffe ground for french press so that is perhaps too fine. Used 1 dl coffee and 4dl water. But still it turned out drinkable.

There is now a bottle coffee cold brewing in my fridge. Not sure I can be patient for another 12-14 hours, so I may have to resort to coffee with ice for now. Thanks again, gang!


Coach me on how best to add cream and sugar, please?

No need to brew in the fridge, most CBC recipe's call for brewing at room temp. After you filter the grounds, the concentrate is stored in the fridge.

I use raw sugar which doesn't go into solution well in cold water. If I'm drinking it cold I use a bit of hot water to mix it and then add water and milk in equal parts to the coffee. If drinking it hot, I use one part coffee, two parts milk and just enough hot water to get the sugar in solution.

There are other ways to do it, experimentation is recommended to find the best flavor for you.

Thanks so much, Russ. It's now on the counter and I'm already tempted to make another bottle or two using different ratios.

I think I'm going to try using condensed milk. I used to live around the corner from a Vietnamese restaurant and that's how they did it. I loved it and haven't had it in years.

YUM! I love it! SO easy!!

Here's a little video of my trial: https://youtu.be/6I6tjCwWXc8

Okay, nice video, shows how simple the process really is. BTW, I really like that coffee screen/mesh basket you used to filter the grounds that hadn't settled out. I need to find one of those.

Edit: and there it is -- GCI Outdoors H2JO! Percolator

I made my cold brew with my french press.

I found a number of manual, adjustable ceramic burr coffee grinder's (Amazon). They all look very similar -- a stainless steel cylinder with a hand-crank on the top. There is a slight variance in size, but I have a feeling they are probably made in the same plant and just carry different labels. Once this is in, I should be able to set it for a coarse grind and pull my French Press out of storage.

As it is, I use a medium-fine grind and let the coffee brew for 8-9 hours. BPJ's 12-24 hours implies a coarse grind as does her use of a SS screen to filter the grounds. I like that video, it gave me a number of pointers. Thanks.

I pulled my French Press out of storage too and it works great for cold brewing. Now to find the old coffee grinder.

I am really enjoying this method. It's convenient and easy, and I like the flavour better. Thanks again, Russ! You've reignited my passion for a good cup of coffee!

BTW - I used a fresh can of condensed milk this weekend and it works much better than the old stuff I used in the video.

In the Boise, Idaho area this summer we’ve had Matt Bishop and Richard the Mule serving cold brew coffee on the mountain biking and hiking trails in our foothills. He does this free of charge for the love of coffee. Very unique and really fun. Check it out here: https://www.cafemule.com

That is very cool, Scout. The generosity of some people is truly inspiring!