Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

In the summer, caffeine is the foundation of my food pyramid.

And all the mamas said "amen".

But really, if it weren't for iced coffee, I'm not sure if I'd make it to August. If I could take it intravenously, I would. I keep a gallon of this chicory concentrate on hand at all times (which my husband and I go through in less than a week) which makes it easy to mix up a latte whenever the need strikes.

First thing's first: the ratio. I use 1 1/3 cup of coffee grinds for a gallon of water. This makes a pleasantly strong coffee that's perfect when cut with almond milk to make an iced latte. Chicory coffee can be kind of strong in flavor anyway, and cold brew has more caffeine than a regular cup of coffee, so if you're drinking this black, I'd recommend watering it down for an iced Americano.

Add the coffee to a gallon pitcher and fill it with water. Stir to make sure all the coffee grinds are wet. Place the lid on the pitcher and set it out of the way on the counter for 12 (or up to 24) hours.

For this recipe, I used Café Du Monde. You could, of course, use any coffee you like. I was gifted the chicory + coffee for my birthday and love the subtle sweetness and depth the chicory adds.

Next, you have to strain out the coffee grinds. I use a two-step process for straining to eliminate as much of that coffee soot at the bottom of the glass as possible.

I strain the coffee first through a fine mesh sieve, then I filter it again through a paper filter in my Chemex.

If you have cheesecloth, you could use it to line the sieve and reduce this to one step. I just never have cheesecloth on hand.

Pour the filtered coffee back into your (washed) pitcher.

Now, it's ready to be sweetened. For a gallon of cold brew, I use 1/4 Cup honey. The reason I sweeten the whole batch is so that I don't forget... it never fails that I'll add the ice, coffee, and milk to my glass and then remember to add honey. The honey never dissolves and ends up in a clump on my spoon. So I just started adding honey to the concentrate, itself, and now I don't have to worry about it.

Add the honey and stir until it's completely dissolved.

Store the sweetened coffee concentrate in the refrigerator. It'll stay good for a couple of weeks, but good luck making it last that long!

When it's time to make yourself an iced latte, here's how.

Fill a glass with ice (I love my 1" ice cubes for this). Fill the glass halfway with coffee concentrate. Add milk, almond milk, or whatever other kind of milk, the rest of the way. Stir and enjoy!

RECIPE

Ingredients

1 1/3 Cup chicory coffee grinds (or any ground coffee)

1 gallon water

1/4 Cup honey

Directions

Add the coffee and water to a gallon pitcher with a lid and stir to ensure all the coffee grinds have come into contact with the water.

Place a lid on the pitcher and allow to steep on the counter for 12-24 hours.

Strain the coffee though a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth (or, if you don't have cheesecloth, strain it through a sieve, then again through a paper coffee filter. I use a Chemex for this part.)

Clean the pitcher and pour the strained coffee back into it. Stir in the honey until completely dissolved.

Store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Add to a glass with ice and your favorite milk for an easy iced latte!