Of course things can always be tweaked.
I use the cold brew coffee recipe that is pretty much everywhere via the internet and the recipes are all basically identical. I grabbed the recipe from NY Times. I figured the site is fairly reputable (sarcasm).
Now remember, the cold brew coffee is less acidic. So if you like coffee that puts hair on your chest and kicks you in the gut, I don't recommend the cold brew (did you just have an image of a cup of coffee grow legs, run over and high kick some unsuspected person in the gut? Yeah, me neither). This is for people who don't want the acidity, and wants to drink a more Isaac Hayes kind of iced coffee (mellow & smooth).
The caffeine amount on this has been mixed on the internet. Some say this is more concentrated so it has more caffeine. Others say this doesn't have as much as a hot brewed coffee. Either way it still has caffeine, so be careful how much you drink of this.
The cold coffee recipe:
Yields 2 drinks
1/3 cups or 5 tablespoons of ground coffee (medium-coarse grind is best)
1 1/2 cups water (preferable at room temperature and filtered)
In a jar (preferable a glass one since plastics can absorb tastes and smells) stir together the coffee and water, cover and have it sitting out (at room temperature) for either 3-4 hours (for the impatient person like myself) or 12 hours (if you want more caffeine and also a little more acidity). Really the brew/sitting time is personal preference. However I wouldn't go over 12 hours? I accidentally had it sit for almost 20 (I forgot about it! Don't judge me!) and it had an odd kick to it that I didn't enjoy. Also don't brew it for less than 3 hours. Obviously any less than 3 hours is not enough time.
Once it has sat for your desired time, you need to filter out the grinds.
I use the coffee strainer from my coffee maker with a coffee filter in it to filter out the grinds. You can use other methods, but make sure you filter out the grinds. You want it smooth, not chalky or crunchy. Because trust me, if you don't filter out the grinds completely, it becomes chalky.
So coffee strainer with filter and slowly pour in a little at a time and allow the filtered coffee to strain in a new clean container. Once again, I recommend using glass since plastics tend to absorb tastes and smells. So if you end up using the plastic container that was used for coffee, for some juice, it might smell funny.
Now the coffee is done, its now time to make the Mocha.
Just a note, I would wait to put the iced coffee in the fridge. Its easier to mix the mocha syrup that we will make, into room temperature coffee, rather than cold refrigerated coffee.
Mocha Syrup:
Why Mocha Syrup? Well puny mortal, when you just put the coco mix in with the coffee and stir or shake thinking it will all dissolve, it doesn't. It ends up being kind of chewy, chalky and clumpy. So instead, making a syrup maintains the smooth consistency that I enjoy out of a nice cold cup of iced coffee.
Yields for 2 drinks
4 Tablespoons hot coco mix
3 Tablespoons water (boiled or not boiled, that is the question)
4 tablespoon soy creamer
I use a fairly straight forward ingredients, kind of hot coco mix. I avoid partially hydrogenated oils like the plague so I found a decent hot coco mix. I also used soy creamer because I don't like milk. But you, of course, can use regular creamer and whatever hot coco mix your heart desires.
Take the hot coco mix and water and you can do either of 2 things. You can mix the water and the hot coco mix together, then throw it in the microwave. Or you can take boiling water and mix with the hot coco. I will microwave because I'm being lazy. I microwave it for about 1 min. My microwave sucks so it may take a shorter time for you.
Once your hear your microwave beep, (or if your kettle starts to whistle) take out of the microwave and mix the water and coco mix. Make sure to mix the hot coco and water thoroughly. No chunks for you! I want to see that mixture smooth like a baby's bottom or smooth like silk or smooth like, well you know, syrup.
Add the mocha syrup and the creamer into the coffee.
Stir thoroughly. The syrup may start to harden a little and create little coco floaties. Don't worry, its ok and normal. Keep stirring and eventually it will all go away.
Once you no longer see chocolate floaties in the ice coffee, throw it in the fridge and enjoy when you want. Hell, enjoy it now. Drink the delicious coffee! What do you mean its 2AM and you'll be up all night? Whatever. JUST DRINK IT!
If you still get some tiny clumps from the chocolate, don't worry, you will not notice them while drinking the iced coffee.
Now you don't have to throw the creamer into the whole iced coffee batch. You can add it in the individual servings. I make it this way so I can enjoy it right out of the pitcher. Kind of like grabbing a Starbucks frappachino that are premade off the shelf at the local Walgreens or CVS.
Of course you don't have to add in the mocha to the whole batch either. You can make individual servings of the mocha syrup. But once again, my recipe, my rules, my blog, my way. If you don't like it, then tweak it. I won't get offended. I may cry a little but whatever. Go ahead. Make a 29 year old girl cry. See if I care.
If you do add the mocha to the whole batch, then make sure to stir it or shake (if the container allows you to) to mix up the coco, since it will settle to the bottom, before you pour yourself a glass.
For an added tip, you can make coffee ice cubes to prevent diluting your delicious drink of taste and caffeine. Using the cold brew iced coffee recipe, pour the completed cold brewed coffee into an ice cube tray (a spare one perhaps), throw it in the freezer (Note: Do NOT actually throw the tray in the freezer!) and use them in your drink (once they are frozen). I would recommend just using black coffee as the coffee ice cubes (no creamer, sugar or coco).
Also I don't know for sure how long the coffee left in the fridge will stay good for. I've heard anywhere between 2 days - 2 weeks.
I would not wait 2 weeks, but I tend to keep it in the fridge for 5 days before I decide it may no longer be good. But either way, fresher is always better so enjoy quickly, maybe not all at once. Unless you want to OD on coffee and caffeine and be up for days. But yeah, I don't recommend it. (Same principal for the ice cubes. I wouldn't have them sitting in your freezer for too long)
So if you made too much have a caffeine party. Invite some friends and make them drink your iced coffee. Even if they don't want to, guilt them into it until you get rid of the excess coffee.
Who would have known this blog would have been this long.
My apologies.
Are you still paying attention?
Really?
Amazing!
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