Cold Brew Coffee

In the course of our travels last year, we were introduced to Cold Brew Coffee at the Central Market in Austin, Texas. People consider chocolate to be the food of the gods, but I think coffee comes in at a very close second. I had never tasted such delicious coffee! Granted they used GOOD beans at the Central Market, but it was more than that. Cold brewing can even elevate less than fabulous coffee. Here is the recipe we found in the New York Times. (I tried it with some old Espresso grind that got forgotten in the back of the cupboard and it was a good save.) You can make extra and just keep it in the fridge too.

 (I put the filter in the coffee maker basket and use it to filter the grounds out the next day by pouring the jar of grounds & liquid directly into the filter - the coffee maker (off) ends up becoming merely a 'filter holder' as the coffee drips directly into the pot and you don't have to mess around with a strainer or trying to get the coffee to drip through the filter lining a strainer.)

Recipe: Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

Time: 5 minutes, plus 12 hours’ resting

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
Milk (optional).

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth. In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add milk.

Yield: Two drinks.

NOTE: To make hot coffee, dilute concentrate one-to-one with water and heat in the microwave.