My New Drink

This Summer both my husband and I began to enjoy iced coffee more than in the past, so I decided to make it at home more often. We don't have a toddy, and I'm actually not a woman who enjoys one more kitchen gadget, so I brainstormed on how to make iced coffee with what I already had in the kitchen.

This is what we do at the Bowman home for cold brew coffee:

• Put 1 1/2 C. roughly ground coffee beans in our French press.
• Fill the with cold water, all the way to the top.
• Cover and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
• Pour the coffee concentrate in a 1/2 gallon pitcher and add water to fill.
• Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

This pitcher will last us for 4 days/8 cups of coffee.

In the cold weather months we used the same amount of beans  and drank the entire French press amount each morning. So we are now stretching our beans, aren't we?! Stretching those dollars and resources is always a great thing.

My husband's coffee co-worker mentioned that cold brewing is easier on the beans and provides a smoother flavor. He is right! He also mentioned that you can heat the cold brew for a hot cup of coffee when wanted. We have tried this, and the hot coffee was smoother that hot brewed.

I'm not a coffee expert. When I go to a coffee shop I simply order black, or if I'm going out on limb a vanilla latte. However, I need my cup of coffee in the morning, so coming up with something practical, frugal, and delicious about a topic that I don't know much about was fun.

(We also tried this is with our coffee maker so see how the coffee tasted. It tasted fine, and you can do the cold brew this way if you don't have a French press, but the pressed version tastes better.)