Sunday, September 5, 2010

iced coffee - improved

Over the last two months, I've made 13 batches of iced coffee. Some ok, a few terrible, & a few great. Here are lessons I've learned and hope this improves your homemade iced coffee. From my calculations, my homemade iced coffee costs 3.3 cents/ounce. Out, it can be as much as 27 cents/ounce.

Tips for Iced Coffee
  1. Use fresh beans, bought in bulk. Buy 1/3 pound for 2 cups of ground coffee.
  2. Grind the beans as soon to use as possible. Have a shop grind them coarsely (3rd to most coarse setting)
  3. Use tap water that sat out overnight (why?).
  4. Use medium or light roasts - french and dark roasts produce a bitter iced coffee
Process for Brewing Iced Coffee
  1. 2 cups ground beans to 4 cups water in glass or ceramic.
  2. Stir for 30 seconds - you'll see a tan plume
  3. Cover with plastic wrap
  4. Leave on counter for 20 to 24 hours, stir 2 or 3 times during this time.
  5. Strain into a pitcher
  6. Using a pour-over brewing system (Chemex, Melitta, Clever, etc.), pour strained iced coffee through rinsed filter
  7. Store filtered, strained iced coffee in glass jar for 2 weeks in Refrigerator
Process for Making an Iced Coffee
  1. Fill 16 oz. pint glass with as much ice as you can fit
  2. In measuring cup pour 1 part iced coffee (I use 3 oz.) and 1 part water
  3. Add simple syrup to taste (into measuring cup
  4. Pour into pint glass slowly
  5. Add milk to taste