Can’t abide cold coffee myself, but I can certainly give a glowing review for the Krupps grinder. I’ve had mine since 1991 and it’s been used, on average, once a day ever since.
The Toddy et al all seem like serious overkill for what should be completely simple: steep coffee grounds in cold water for a long time.
I was looking at this brewer (just a glass carafe with a fine metal filter), but I also like the simplicity of a nut bag (seen yesterday at my Whole Foods) with a Mason jar.
Even better to my mind would be a metal filter that fits in a Mason jar. Do any exist that are the right size? Could I make $$$$ by jumping into the (now probably fading) Mason jar-accessories fad and producing a metal filter that fit just right? (No, but someone else could.)
Searching on the web, there should be something almost like this, but (1) able to securely fit in the Mason jar with the lid closed, and (2) with the fine-mesh filter of the above brewer, so I can just sit the grounds in the basket for 15 hours, and then pull the whole filter out to enjoy my brew.
I typically let mine ‘steep’ for a few days, but I guess my coffee intake is somewhat less than a pitcher a day. I’m still awfully partial to the Aeropress filter method, as the resulting brew is very clean. I have a nutmilk I’ve used for almond milk, so I may just give that a go.
I usually have mine hot. I mix the cold brewed liquor with hot water about 1:2. The coldbrew steeped for a few days is more concentrated than most folks like their coffee, so treat it like the worlds smoothest Americano.
If you like your iced coffee not watered down, take some of your cold-brewed coffee and pour it into an ice-cube tray. Then you can use that instead of regular ice-cubes.
I use a french press. Add a bit more coffee than I would for regular hot french press style, fill with cold water and stir a bit, cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge overnight (without the press part of the french press). Next day, take it out, put the press part on and press gently down, then pour resulting liquid through a paper filter (I use a Melitta thing that takes #4 filters) to get any remaining grit out. Makes enough cold brew concentrate to last my wife and I 2 or 3 days. (We don’t drink a lot of coffee, YMMV.) Works great.
I also sometimes make several Aeropress batches in a row and then chill it all. That works great too, and the result is tastier than the cold brew (IMHO), but the cold brew is waaaay easier and quicker. (Well, quicker to prepare. Obviously the Aeropress coffee is ready immediately, but takes more of my effort to make…)
I use the French Press style as well, but the lazy way. At night I put grounds in the press, fill with water, and put the top on without pressing down (or pressing it only half way down). Next morning, I press down and pour out the delicious brew.
Does anyone have a good source for a disposable/paper filter that can be used for cold brew? The reason I want disposable vs the nut bag is that the lazy person in me wants to throw the whole thing in the compost when finished.
The closest I’ve seen on Amazon is something like http://amzn.com/B001EM9ZRM which looks like a giant tea bag to me. Haven’t tried it yet.
That brewer has a lot of problems; primarily keeping
the coffee (it wants to float) in the water.
We gave up after 5-6 tries; it sits unused.
15 scoops of coffee? Yow! Is that one day’s coffee consumption for you?
On a typical day, I’ll use the equivalent of 3-4 scoops to make 2-3 mugs of hot coffee (usually with French press, sometimes Aeropress.) You’re using 4-5 times as much coffee - is cold-brewing much less efficient, or is this two of you both drinking it like fiends?
Probably both: cold brewing is more coffee-bean-intensive, but based on the many previous threads it seems Cory is more than a little addicted to the stuff. 
I wonder if adding enough hot water to let the grounds bloom would enhance the end product?
I’ll try it and report back.
I use this method, using less coffee than Cory recommends (I use a bit more than I’d put in a French press the same size as my pitcher). We drink it hot and cold.
The best part for me is that there’s always fresh coffee in the house. It lasts for days without going off, so I spend much less time making coffee in the morning, leaving me much more time to drink it!
Reporting back.
I have an electric kettle with different heat settings, so I set it for 200ºF (French Press setting) and used that to bring up the bloom before adding cold water and putting the brew in the fridge overnight. I wouldn’t say there was a large noticeable difference, but enough that it’s worth it to me (because I have an easy way to set the temp) to do it that way again. If you have to fuss with a thermometer it’s probably not worth it, however.
I can’t prove it, but presumably the heat would bring out some of the acidity and oils that cold brew – by design – does not.
Great, thanks for being the guinea pig… One of these nights I will get around to trying it
I would think that avoiding the bloom is part of any cold brew method, speaking as both a chemist experienced in extraction, and also a total coffee snob.
At cooler temperatures the oils etc. will tend to stay immobilized on the grounds. Once you heat them (or apply pressure), the oils etc… are mobilized into/on the water. Keep it cool and they never leave the bean.
I used to hate cold coffee but then I threw in some ice cubes into my K cup coffee one morning and now I love it during the summer. Mix in some cream and cinnamon, BAM. Thanks for the article, Boing Boing.
