Cold Brewed Coffee

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days!  It was an eventful weekend full of wonderful friends and good times and I couldn't find time to think let alone write about what I was doing.  The exciting, non-stop weekend inspired me to write about this recent find and indulgence.

My fiance and I make a good team because I cook, and he brews delicious beer to have with our meals, a match made in heaven if I say so myself...and yes, I will write more about this later. 
Fortunately for me, in his world of making beverages he also stumbled across directions for Cold Brewed Coffee which has proven to be extremely delicious, easy to make and versatile.  Cold Brewed Coffee is essentially a super concentrated coffee that acts as a syrup for either hot or cold beverages and stays good for a while so you can stock up each time you make a batch. 

This is a huge plus for me for two reasons:
(1) I love iced coffee, especially during the summer, but would never make it for myself because I was too impatient to let my drip coffee cool before pouring it over ice, and naturally this quickly just becomes watered down coffee....(bleh)...
(2) I was reluctant to make coffee every morning because it was a hassle to have to wash the pot every day....plus, when I want coffee I am usually too tired to function.  It is so much easier just to pour something pre-made into a glass, consume, and wait for caffeine to take effect.

So, without further ado...How to Make Cold Brewed Coffee:

Ingredients and Tools:
1/2 Cup Ground Coffee
2 Cups Water
Coffee Grinder
French Press

 *You just need 1 part ground coffee, 4 parts water, so feel free to adjust the measurements above depending on how much concentrated coffee you plan to drink.*

1. Using your favorite type of whole coffee beans, grind coffee beans (easy right)?  If you end up with more than 1/2 Cup, you can store the other beans in the fridge for later use.  *Note - Make sure the coffee grinds aren't very fine, you don't want them clogging the french press strainer!

Coffee Beans...

Ground Coffee... =)

2. Place ground coffee in French Press and pour water on top.  Mix well.  Place the press inside the base of the French press so it is just above the coffee mixture (don't press just yet!!)

3. Store your brewing coffee in the fridge overnight.

4. In the morning, finish pressing the coffee (at a slow consistent pace) and pour the brewed coffee syrup into a container.  If you would like, you can pour the brewed coffee through another strainer to make sure no sediment makes it into the final container, but this isn't necessary.

5. For hot coffee, mix coffee syrup with hot water until you have reached desired strength.  For cold coffee, mix coffee syrup with ice cubes and milk until you have reached desired strength.  For some extra sweetness, you can add some vanilla extract to your iced coffee, or just prepare as you would any old (and clearly not as exciting) cup o' joe!

Bon Appetit!