Cold Coffee Drinks Without Special Equipment

Getting tired of paying $5 a pop for a cold coffee drink, I set about learning how I might make my own. The only issue was, I had no espresso machine, nor do I particularly want one. Casting about on the web, which consisted of asking an online friend who owns a coffee shop in Fort Worth, TX, I learned of something he called "toddy", or cold-brewed coffee. Let's make some!

The things we'll need:

• Some coffee beans (you should be able to use pre-ground coffee as well). I used 3/4 cup of whole beans this time around, but I think I'll use a full cup next time.
• Some water, about a half-gallon (8 cups, or two quarts, or four pints, or...)
• A pitcher that can hold that much liquid with some room to spare.
• A blender (more on this later).
• Some time.
• A mesh strainer, a large bowl, and a paper towel.
• The aforementioned pitcher again.

A note on the amount of coffee if you're using already-ground beans: Whole beans lose about a third of their volume after grinding, so 3/4 cup whole would be 1/2 cup ground, give or take. This is based on my best guesswork, and I have yet to test it, so YMMV.

You probably see where I'm going with this. On to the first step...

Step 1: The Daily Grind, Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Blender.

First off, we need to grind up the beans, unless you're using ground coffee, then you can skip this step. Since we need a large amount of coffee, a regular grinder would require us to work in batches, which is a pain in the rear, and, let's face it, boring.

Enter the blender.

But... Will it blend? Click through the pics below to find out.

You don't need to crush them to a fine powder, but the granules should be about typical pre-ground coffee size.

Step 2: Water We to Do Now?

This doesn't really need its own page, but I took the pictures of it, so I may as well use them.

Now we'll transfer the newly-ground coffee to the target pitcher. This is where the flexible cutting mat really comes in handy. Then, measure out and pour 8 cups of cold water into the pitcher. Seal it up with the lid, give it some shaking and agitation to get the granules mixed up good with the water, then stash in the fridge for 18 to 24 hours. If you can, agitate it every once in a while, to keep the water and coffee all mixed up.

Step 3: Putting a Strain on Our Relationship.

The next day, your water should be sufficiently infused with coffee goodness. Now, we strain.

Again, regular filters and cups are too small and slow. I have very good luck with my nicely-sized mesh strainer and a paper towel draining into a nice, big stainless steel bowl. I'm a huge fan of big metal bowls, and believe every kitchen should have at least one.

Place your strainer over your big bowl or other catch receptacle, line the strainer with the paper towel, like in the pictures below, then start pouring in the coffee. You may have to do this in batches, but it won't take very long to get it all strained.

After this is all done, take the strainer away, and you're left with the goodness: cold coffee, from which any number of drinks can be crafted. Let's make one!

But first, move your treasure to a second pitcher, or even the first one as long as you wash it out, and place it in the refrigerator.

Step 4: Raspberry + Coffee + Milk = Delicious!

The pictures tell this story, and it's a simple one:

• Pour a little bit of a flavored syrup into a glass. I'm using raspberry here, as it is the only one I can find locally that is not artificially flavored. I'm going to have to cast around for other shops I can buy the good stuff at.
• Pour in some coffee. It really is that simple.
• Pour in some milk, or if you're feeling naughty, half-and-half.
• Pop in some ice, stir, and enjoy!

The ratios are up to you, and take some experimentation. I just pour mine based upon where they level off at inside the glass, but I like living on the edge like that.

Cold-brewed coffee is actually a very simple thing to do. So simple, in fact, that I took way too many photos of the process. Nonetheless, I hope this Instructable is of use to someone, maybe someone else out there who's still trying to figure out why these self-same drinks cost so much when someone else makes them for us.

The one thing I'd do different for next time is to increase the amount of coffee from 3/4 cup of beans to a whole cup, per eight cups of water. I've always liked strong coffee, though.

I'll likely update this Instructable in time, as this is my first one, and no doubt there will be many improvements I can make. Thank you, and happy cold brewing!