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Thought cold brew coffee was a gimmick until I did the math on my coffee shop spending
I used to roll my eyes at people making cold brew at home. Seemed like extra work for the same caffeine kick. Then I added up my Starbucks visits last month and hit $87 on iced coffee alone. A $20 mason jar and $12 bag of grounds from Aldi later, I'm making a week's worth for like $3. The taste is smoother too, no bitterness at all. Anyone else sleep on a kitchen hack for way too long before trying it?
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harper9142mo ago
Jumping in here to gently point out that a French press and cold brew aren't really the same thing. Cold brew is made by steeping grounds in cold water for 12-24 hours, no heat involved. A French press uses hot water and steeps for like 4 minutes. So if you're getting bitterness and sludge from your press, it's probably from pressing too fast or using water that's too hot, not from the method itself. A cheap fix is a coarse grind and a slow, steady plunge. But yeah, the cold brew mason jar method is dead simple and you don't have to worry about any of that, just strain through a cloth or fine sieve and you're golden.
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robert6592mo ago
Pulled out my dusty French press from the back of the cabinet last week and now I'm mad at myself for ever spending $5 on those watery coffee shop cold brews. Tastes better and I don't have to make awkward small talk with the barista who always forgets my order anyway. My wife asked why I'm suddenly so proud of myself for making coffee in a jar. $87 is brutal though, that's like two weeks of groceries for me.
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jakewhite2mo ago
I see it differently though @robert659... I've had way too many french press batches come out gritty and bitter to say it's automatically better than a shop's cold brew. Maybe mine just sucks, but I always end up with sludge at the bottom of my cup no matter how careful I am with the plunge. And $87 for a press? Man I get that's a lot but a half-decent one from Target runs like $20 and lasts years if you don't drop it. Still beats standing in line for ten minutes waiting for some kid to hand you a cup of ice water with a splash of coffee... I don't know, maybe I'm just too lazy to clean all those parts every morning.
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