Cold Brew Coffee is Saving My Life Right Now

Confession: I've never been a big coffee person. At all. But that suddenly changed when I had my second child almost five months ago and now I absolutely can't get enough of the stuff.

My favorite way to prepare coffee is called cold brew and it is as easy as it is tasty. Coffee prepared in this manner doesn't have all the acid and bitterness of hot brewed coffee but actually contains more caffeine. A win-win!

Seriously, this stuff is amazing. Picture yourself on a sweltering summer afternoon pulling this miraculous java out of the fridge and enjoying a smooth, refreshing iced coffee. Just writing that made me feel cooler.

It is, of course, equally delicious served hot.

Cold Brewed Coffee

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground coffee
• 1/2 gallon water

(This is the coffee:water ratio that I use, but it can be adjusted according to your taste. You can also dilute the final product if it's too strong for you.)

Equipment:

• Two 1/2-gallon pitchers or jars
• Coffee filter
• Sieve
• Funnel (optional but recommended)

I only included one pitcher in this pic to confuse you.

Method:

Put the ground coffee in a pitcher or jar. Fill the rest of the way with water. Stir to thoroughly wet the grounds.

It will look gross like this. It's okay.

Cover and refrigerate for about twelve hours. Then strain out the grounds by pouring the mixture through a sieve lined with a coffee filter into a clean pitcher. I recommending using a funnel under the strainer so you don't lose any of your liquid gold. It will drain through the sieve sloooooowly. Sorry, there is no way around this. (FYI, the coffee grounds that remain in the filter can be composted but it's not recommended that you put them directly in your garden because of the extremely high acidity.)

Voila! You have a delicious brew that can be served hot or cold, diluted with water or cream if desired, and even sweetened to taste. Store it in the fridge for best flavor. Enjoy!

Serving suggestion.