Iced Coffee: Cold Brew

So it appears to be summertime. It hasn't been as hot as usual here yet, but I know it's only a matter of time before the roads get melted around the edges again and the cats beg me to shave them. How can a dedicated coffee drinker like myself manage to survive in such a harsh environment? I'm so very glad you asked.

This link will tell you all kinds of useful information on how to cold-brew coffee. I've heard of it referred to as 'toddy' or 'gravity-brewed' coffee as well.
I did mine a little bit differently from the link. I used a thermos I had handy that holds 6 cups of water with a little room left over. I added 20 scoops of a medium roast coffee, capped it, shook it a few times, and left it on the counter overnight. The next morning I poured it into the basket filter on my coffee maker, then poured that through again, making sure to have a clean filter in place the second time. The regular grounds I used were all caught by the first filtering, but I did it twice just in case. Then I poured it into a small glass jar and stuck in in my fridge.

What this means is you can always have a quantity of cold coffee starter in your fridge, so you don't even have to operate the coffee-maker first thing in the morning. Just add milk (almond, soy, or cow) and you have a lovely summer beverage that used no electricity and added no heat at all to your home. Ice cubes and a shot of caramel simple syrup will raise this to a whole new level, if you want to spend a little extra time and wash a pot afterwards.