Cold Brew Iced Coffee

Summers in Cambridge are a little...warmer...than summers in Berkeley.  :)  My usual morning coffee is definitely too hot to drink here, so I needed to figure out how to make iced coffee at home so that I didn't have to buy it at the Italian bakery every morning!  Cold brew is the trendy new thing, and for a good reason.  It's easy to make without special equiptment and keeps well in the fridge so you can make a big batch and drink throughout the week.  I like it with milk for an iced "latte," but you can also dilute the concentrate with water for regular iced coffee or add a bit of simple syrup for a sweet drink.  I also found a bunch of recipes for fancier drinks and cocktails, which I've linked to at the bottom of this post -- I am going to be working my way through this list over the summer!

Cold Brew Iced Coffee (adapted from Serious Eats, Bon Appetit, Smitten Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, and Food52)
Makes about 4 cups of coffee concentrate

1 cup ground coffee
4-1/2 cups cold water
Water or milk, to serve

Stir together the ground coffee and water in a glass container until all the coffee grounds are moistened.  Cover, and let sit overnight (at least 12 hours).

Line a strainer with cheesecloth, and place over a container that is large enough to hold the coffee mixture.  Pour the coffee over.  Then line the strainer with a large coffee filter, and pour the coffee through again -- it may take a while for the coffee to work its way through the filter, but be patient and don't stir!

Pour into Mason jars or a glass pitcher, and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

To serve, mix one part coffee concentrate with equal parts water or milk.  Taste, and feel free to add more water or milk if you like.  Serve over ice.

You can also use the coffee concentrate in some fun drinks/cocktails: Cafee Shakerato, Cold Brew Irish Coffee, Vietnamese Iced Coffee, with a spoonful of milk caramel and a pinch of salt, Fresh Mint Iced Coffee, Vanilla-Cinnamon Iced Coffee, and Thai Iced Coffee.