Cold Brew Coffee

There is nothing I love more than a delicious cup of iced coffee in the summer time. I think it has actually become a requirement in New York to be seen walking down the street with an iced coffee in your hand in order to fit in. Yet, as happy as a good cold cup o' joe makes me, there are a few other iced coffee situations that truly infuriate me.

First, the price. A single cup of gourmet iced coffee a day can add up fast. And yes, there are the good old dollar coffees from the street carts, but if you want something a tad fancier it can run you upwards of $5 a cup.

Second, please do not pour hot coffee over ice and tell me that this is iced coffee. Yes, technically you are right, but we all know how terrible watered down room temperature coffee is.

Finally, grainy sugar at the bottom of your coffee. The "too cool for school" places that only have sugar in the raw or some other fad of sugar don't understand that this product will not melt in iced coffee. A few years back as my coffee drinking skills developed, I noticed shops using simple syrup to sweeten coffee.  I seriously thought this was the most genius invention of mankind. Equal parts sugar and water simmered together to make a sweet sugary syrup that mixes perfectly with cold drinks.

So back to the point, if you want a delicious cup of iced coffee and also want to save a few bucks, just make it at home. I was shocked to find out how easy it actually is. All you need is a few tools. 

Tools:
1 large container
1 pitcher
6 oz of your favorite brand of ground coffee
3 1/2 cups of cold water
Strainer
Coffee Filter



Directions:
1. Place ground coffee in one of the containers. Add water and stir gently to make sure all the grounds are moistened. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 15 hours or overnight.

2. Set strainer over pitcher and pour coffee through, discarding the solids. Line strainer with coffee filter and set over your large container. Strain coffee through the filter. At this stage the coffee is at a very strong concentrated level. 

3. Add 2 cups of water to dilute. Cover and chill for up to 2 weeks.

•