Yipster

I have realized a lot of important things about myself in my twenties; the most important, perhaps,  being I don’t like hot beverages.  I just don’t.  I drank tea for years and then one day I realized I’d like it a lot more if it was cold.

One of the wonderful things about living in Los Angeles is that iced coffee is not a seasonal treat (as it is in New York—and LA has seasons serioulyIpromiseforreal, they’re just subtle).  But, when I lived back east and wanted iced coffee in February, I had to learn to make it myself. 

This recipe is adapted from the New York Times and it’s great.  It’s cold brewed which means nice and smooooth, or as one of the baristo(s) at my local coffee shop said, “half the acid and twice the anxiety”. 

This will make enough for about 8 cups. It’s very concentrated so you might want to dilute with water and then add milk or add a lot of milk and have a sort-of latte.

Ingredients

1 pound dark roast coffee, medium ground
10 cups cold water

Preparation

1. Put coffee in a non-reactive bowl. (which means no aluminum or copper) Add 2 cups water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining 8 cups water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.

2. Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve. Or you can strain it through a sieve lined in coffee filters (my preferred method).  Store concentrate in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, although I bet you use it a lot faster then that.