Cold-Brewed Coffee - What's The Secret?

[Twintix]

OK, so I'm not sure if this belongs in the Advice forums or not, so if it's in the wrong topic, please move this thread.

Anyway, I started teaching myself to drink coffee sometime last winter, and while I've learned to handle the bitterness, I still much prefer my coffee with a lot of milk and three teaspoons of sugar to kinda balance the bitterness. I'm still not crazy over just the coffee.

But then I heard about a technique called cold-brewing. Apparently the reason that coffee is so bitter is because the hot water releases some oils from the beans that are bitter (Or something like that. Those of you who know coffee better, feel free to correct this part). Cold-brewing doesn't have the same reaction, resulting in a beverage that is said to have a more rounded, "sweeter" taste. The basic steps are that you soak the coffee in some cold-to lukewarm water (preferably in a french press [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press]) and let it sit in a fridge for at least 12 hours. The coarser the coffee, the "sweeter" the result. Since it doesn't become as bitter, it's ideal for ice coffee and other frozen coffee drinks. (Cold coffee has a tendency to taste like ass, you know?)

Of course, this all sounded very intriguing to me, and since I'm not that fond of how bitter coffee usually is and I have a french press, I decided to give it a shot.

I've tried it three times. And every single try has been a failure.

The result is always a mucky liquid that tastes like watered-down coffee. I mean, it's not bitter, but it doesn't actually taste like anything. The first try is obvious: we didn't have a coffee grinder, so Mom suggested that I just coarsely chop the beans. This didn't work for obvious reasons. The second try was a coarse coffee blend that Mom bought. This didn't work, either. I figured it was because the beans weren't freshly ground. The third try was made with a coffee grinder that Dad got for his birthday. It still didn't work.

Any experienced coffee drinkers out there: Do you perhaps know what I'm doing wrong? And for those of you who aren't: Have you ever heard of cold-brewed coffee? If you don't drink coffee, would you consider trying the cold-brew?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

If you have to force yourself to drink coffee, and then only like it when you add an ungodly amount of sugar and milk, then maybe, just maybe, coffee isn't for you XD


Not me though. I fucking love coffee.

Sweet baby Jesus...

 

[DefunctTheory]

While I've never done it myself, a quick google search came up with methods where you use room temperature water, and just let it sit without putting it in the fridge.

You could give that a try. Perhaps you're cooling it too much. Diffusion is affected by temperature.

 

[Twintix]

If you have to force yourself to drink coffee, and then only like it when you add an ungodly amount of sugar and milk, then maybe, just maybe, coffee isn't for you XD

It's an acquired taste.

Like olives.

But I hate olives.

"Ungodly" amount?! Well, I guess this is the last time I'll see the Sun Goddess in this thread, then.

While I've never done it myself, a quick google search came up with methods where you use room temperature water, and just let it sit without putting it in the fridge.

You could give that a try. Perhaps you're cooling it too much. Diffusion is affected by temperature.

Hmm, I see. I'll make sure to try that.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

If you have to force yourself to drink coffee, and then only like it when you add an ungodly amount of sugar and milk, then maybe, just maybe, coffee isn't for you XD

It's an acquired taste.

Like olives.

But I hate olives.

"Ungodly" amount?! Well, I guess this is the last time I'll see the Sun Goddess in this thread, then.

While I've never done it myself, a quick google search came up with methods where you use room temperature water, and just let it sit without putting it in the fridge.

You could give that a try. Perhaps you're cooling it too much. Diffusion is affected by temperature.

Hmm, I see. I'll make sure to try that.

Three sugars is an ungodly amount of sugar.

I can taste the diabeetus from here, you peasant.

 

[Twintix]

Three sugars is an ungodly amount of sugar.

I can taste the diabeetus from here, you peasant.

But Your Majesty, I need the energy! I work out in the fields all day!

Besides, the sugar I get is the low-quality one. You rich people hog all the good stuff!

 

[Ratty]

I get the occasional coffee craving but most of the time I view it purely as a tool to keep me awake. And thus just gulp it down black.

Speaking as a Tea enthusiast though, there's no real substitute for hot brewing. Whether you're serving your drink cold or hot you just can't get the same body and depth of flavor out of something that's mixed cold. Or at least I've never seen that happen.

I have heard about the oil problem in coffee, but I've also heard that was mostly a byproduct of using an old fashioned percolator, and is not much of a concern with modern coffee makers. Again I'm not a coffee expert but it sounds to me like your problem might just be that you're drinking coffee that's too strong for your taste. Me, I usually get sick to my stomach if I drink anything other than a Dunken' Donuts medium roast or Folgers. Most everything else is way too acidic for me. Maybe you should try some of Dunken' Donuts Hazelnut, that's pretty delicious especially with a touch of milk or cream and sugar.

 

[MHR]

Olives are an acquired taste? First I've heard of that, I freakin' love olives.

I don't really like black coffee much, but coffee in general I will drink sometimes. It's not something I go out and get. I prefer sodas, mostly diet ones.

I've had a couple ice coffees. It's mostly just what you'd expect; cold coffee that is getting watered down by the ice. I tasted it, only like it as much as regular coffee, and thought to myself that people usually get pissed if they're served a cold, weak coffee so I didn't see the consumer appeal.

In my estimation, you'd just have to make the coffee stronger. I don't know how you'd go about that, maybe use more coffee or let it brew longer.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I can't drink coffee anymore since it has some extreme side-effects in my case. However...

http://thugkitchen.com/post/56332922966/i-know-you-need-caffeine-sometimes-but-dont-even

You're welcome.

 

[DoPo]

If you have to force yourself to drink coffee, and then only like it when you add an ungodly amount of sugar and milk, then maybe, just maybe, coffee isn't for you XD

It's an acquired taste.

Like olives.

But I hate olives.

I hate olives, too. No amount of eating them has made me more favourable. I have found that some types of olives taste less vile and at most I could say "I don't mind having them" but I find it hard to come up with a reason to actually eat any of them.

Anyway

But Your Majesty, I need the energy! I work out in the fields all day!

Coffee wouldn't give you that much actual energy. Some boost but you should look at other stuff to get energy. If you don't like coffee but still feel the need for caffeine - then you can have tea or if you're feeling either cheap or just want something that tastes sweeter, then energy drinks. There is little difference between the brands in terms of what they give you, so pick the one that tastes the best. Or pick the cheapest store brand ones, if you're not that picky[footnote]they are usually sour-ish and I like sour. Though having a lot makes the taste less pleasant. Monster is something I like, though it costs more[/footnote]. But energy drinks aren't that...well, good overall.

If you do want caffeine, but coffee tastes bad, you don't like tea, and you are are obsessed with minor details like "having teeth" or "not having diabetes", then you could quite simply buy caffeine tablets. They are dirt cheap and are pretty much like drinking coffee without any of the taste. A cup of coffee has roughly 150-300mg caffeine (depends on the strength of the brew/size of cup) with an average of 200-ish or so. I just checked eBay and the top result is 250 x 200 mg caffeine tablets for £5. That's £0.02 per tablet, so pretty much £0.02 for a cup of coffee. I doubt you can get coffee cheaper than that (but other tablets might be).

Source: I've lived on caffeine in Uni.

 

[Twintix]

I hate olives, too. No amount of eating them has made me more favourable. I have found that some types of olives taste less vile and at most I could say "I don't mind having them" but I find it hard to come up with a reason to actually eat any of them.

Amen, brother!

Coffee wouldn't give you that much actual energy. Some boost but you should look at other stuff to get energy. If you don't like coffee but still feel the need for caffeine - then you can have tea or if you're feeling either cheap or just want something that tastes sweeter, then energy drinks. There is little difference between the brands in terms of what they give you, so pick the one that tastes the best. Or pick the cheapest store brand ones, if you're not that picky[footnote]they are usually sour-ish and I like sour. Though having a lot makes the taste less pleasant. Monster is something I like, though it costs more[/footnote]. But energy drinks aren't that...well, good overall.

If you do want caffeine, but coffee tastes bad, you don't like tea, and you are are obsessed with minor details like "having teeth" or "not having diabetes", then you could quite simply buy caffeine tablets. They are dirt cheap and are pretty much like drinking coffee without any of the taste. A cup of coffee has roughly 150-300mg caffeine (depends on the strength of the brew/size of cup) with an average of 200-ish or so. I just checked eBay and the top result is 250 x 200 mg caffeine tablets for £5. That's £0.02 per tablet, so pretty much £0.02 for a cup of coffee. I doubt you can get coffee cheaper than that (but other tablets might be).

Source: I've lived on caffeine in Uni.

I was just kidding about the energy - I don't actually work in the fields all day. Daystar called me a peasant, so I played along. (I was talking about the ungodly amount of sugar in my coffee)

Anyway, I'm actually quite an avid tea drinker. I don't drink tea or coffee to get energy, I drink it because I like the taste. See, I have a slight sweet tooth, so the mix of bitter and sweet in my coffee is quite pleasant to someone with slightly childish taste buds. The sugar amount is one reason why I don't drink coffee all that often. And I'm not that high on energy drinks - they mostly upset my stomach.

I'll keep the caffeine tablets in mind, though. Might be useful if I have to cram for exams or something.

 

[CWestfall]

Olives are an acquired taste? First I've heard of that, I freakin' love olives.

People become less sensitive to bitter flavours with age. That's why younger people tend to dislike things like olives, coffee (especially black cofee; cf. OP's prodigious sugar usage), and Brussels sprouts.

 

[Vicarious Reality]

Coffe is to original chocolate as what Budweiser is to Ricasoli
Never liked the burnt crap, the people who use it seem to get horrifying breath

I have eaten enough caffeine to last many lifetimes, bit hard to break a habit like that