Cold-Brewed Coffee
Last summer, Mike was having some reflux issues. We always like to see if we can’t help things out naturally before going to pills, so we did a little research to see what we could change in our diets first.
One thing we came across that could be changed was our morning coffee preparation, which we were doing with a regular old coffee maker. I had always assumed that coffee was acidic, no matter how it came to be. However, regular hot-brewed coffee is two times more acidic than cold-brewed coffee. And, in the last eight months that we’ve been doing this, Mike’s reflux issues have completely cleared up. It could be coincidental, but why mess with a good thing?
But what’s cold-brewed coffee, you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like!
Though not as fast as coffee made with an electric coffee maker, people claim that cold-brewed coffee is actually tastier and better for you — all you need is a little prep time. Coffee grounds and cool water sit together for hours and hours (usually overnight) before being filtered or strained. The resulting dark liquid is a “coffee concentrate,” and all you need from there is hot water or cold milk.
Instead of using a contraption made just for cold-brewing and which really can’t be used for anything else, we opted for a cute little French press instead. We also invested in an electric kettle (which we’ve found to be really handy for more than just coffee!).
Before I go to bed at night, I mix the water and grounds in the French press, and by morning we have a dark, strong “concentrate.” The press makes it virtually mess-free and is itself easy to clean (the whole thing can go in the dishwasher), which you can’t really say for a regular coffee maker. I usually pour the concentrate and my creamer into a microwaveable cup and zap it for about a minute while the kettle heats up. You have to figure out your own preferred ratio of coffee/creamer/hot water, but once you do it’s a really good cup of coffee!
Other great side benefits include being able to use the concentrate for iced coffees without melting ice cubes and watering the drink down, and you can reuse the grounds a second time. The concentrate also keeps in your fridge for about a week, which is perfect if you want to make a few extra batches for guests or to have on hand for an iced latte on a Sunday afternoon.
Be aware, though, that once you get into the cold brew habit, trying regular hot brewed coffee won’t taste nearly as good anymore.
See also: Easy Homemade Iced Coffee
More cold-brewing coffee info:
~ Cold Brewed Coffee at Macheesmo
~ Cold-Brew Experiment at Slashfood (I agree with missing out on the smell of traditionally brewed coffee)
~ Home Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee
Interesting….I’ve been having what I’ve come to refer to as “work tummy” for a while because…..well…..it’s along story….but it’s really starting to become an issue 🙂 I might try this to see if it helps at all…..sounds easy enough so I should be able to manage and still keep my fingers crossed that a new job pops up – LOL 😉
(P.S. – we’ve been using an electric kettle for-ever – I love them! We had one for about 5 years and used it all the time…it died right after we moved to the new place and it was actually more important that we replace that toot-sweet than it would have been for us to replace the coffee pot….there’s a Wawa across the street if I need coffee!!)
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How do you reuse your grounds? I have heard of someone who pours over more water due to the strength of the grinds remaining – is that what you mean?
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Heather
January 24th, 2013 at 4:29 pm
Hi Jaaz! Yes — since it’s just cold water you’re not drawing out all the good stuff like you do in one use with hot water.
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i do the cold press thing because the grandchild kept telling me that my teeth were brown. my teeth are brighter now and my stomach does not ache ( a large side benefit). since the coffee tastes great i have been looking at the grinds left in the french press. the coffee using the grinds after a 30 minute wait is better than the any hot coffee around town. And again my stomach does not ache. who would have thought?
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