Sierra Deak / Daily Nexus

Sierra Deak / Daily Nexus

Cold brew is a trend sweeping the nation, and rightfully so. Less bitter and more flavorful than leftover refrigerated coffee and not as watered-down as coffee over ice, cold brew is undeniably great. There are a few ways to go about making cold brew, all with coarsely ground beans due to the prolonged soak they’ll take in the water.

The first method entails making your cold brew in a French press. Just measure out your preferred ratio of 1-2 tablespoons coffee per cup of water, cover your press, and depress the plunger after 12 hours to a day. Easy peezy.

The second method is pretty similar: Make it in a pitcher. Measure out that same ratio of coffee to water and stick ’em in your container of choice. Make sure you seal this one with a lid or cling wrap so your cold brew doesn’t take on the flavors of your fridge. Again, after 12 hours to a day, strain it. You can do this by slowly pouring the liquid through a coffee filter into another container.

The third option is one of my own creation. Essentially, it is the second method minus having to strain it. Instead of directly mixing grounds and water, I made makeshift tea bags out of coffee filters and string, filled them with grounds and submerged them to brew. Perhaps the lack of bean-to-water contact yields an inferior product, but straining is just too much work for me.

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