For those of you who’ve kept your wallets in your pockets with the outrageous prices charged for cold-brew coffee, you may not even know what it is or why it delights the palate. Instead of relying on heat and hot water to brew coffee — thus, washing away the flavor and flavonoid molecules, where nutrients and antioxidants are found — cold brewing relies on time and water osmosis. Coffee Gator, the maker of many chic and well-designed coffee making products, now adds to the list with a Cold Brew Maker (and also, a kit). I was happy to be hosted to experience it!
I first tried cold brew coffee in Taiwan. I had been eating with several other food writers at a Michelin restaurant when the Chef offered us all a take-away gift: pitchers of a then new thing, “cold-brew coffee”. Shockingly, none of the other writers would so much as try it! I love coffee in all shapes and forms, so I gleefully accepted a pitcher to take back to my hotel room. I didn’t have any milk or sugar to take it with, but that was ok! The folks at Coffee Gator assert that cold brewing results in 67% less acidity. The taste is rounder and richer, without having to be cooked more, resulting in bitterness.
Coffee Gator’s system is foolproof. If you can pour water into a pitcher and stick it in the refrigerator, you’re all set. You twist off the cap and collapsible funnel to hand wash it. Mine was wedged on tightly, so it took a minute. Yours will probably ease right off. Put 2.5 oz of coffee (I put a few scoops, not being too much into measuring) into the mesh funnel. Then, pour a liter of cold, filtered water, stick it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
The carafe is glass, so it doesn’t impart any nasty plastic flavors to your coffee. Did you know it will keep fresh in your fridge for weeks? Having coffee already made for you in the morning feels like being cared for like royalty.
Speaking of royalty, in his book, Eating Royally: Recipes & Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen, Darren McGrady writes that at the royal enclosure at the famous Ascot races, iced coffee is mixed with sugar syrup and Windsor (fresh, heavy) cream. Okay, so maybe that’s a “sometimes treat” for your cold brew, as Cookie Monster might say. But, it’s divine!
