By Matthew Yglesias
I like coffee, but I love iced coffee, especially since I learned how to cold-brew it at home. This requires a bit more advance planning than turning your coffee machine on in the morning, but it’s much more flavorful than a hot-brewed coffee and since normal people’s coffee consumption follows a predictable pattern (it’s morning, I want coffee) it’s not hard to plan ahead.
What you need to do is fill a pitcher with a mixture of water and coffee (if you’re grinding your own, aim for a coarse grind) in a ratio of about 1 cup of coffee to about 4.5 cups of water. Stir it up to mix, and stick it in the fridge for, ideally, a 12 hour overnight brew. In the morning, strain the mixture. If your strainer isn’t fine-meshed enough (mine isn’t) you can supplement it with a paper coffee filter. Now you’ve got a delicious pitcher of coffee concentrate. Pour some over an ice cube and enjoy! Most authorities I’ve consulted actually suggest that you dilute the concentrate with some water or milk. I don’t, personally, find that to be necessary since the cold-brewing process leaves you with a coffee that’s all singing flavors and no acid and bitterness, but who am I to contradict the authorities if that’s how you prefer to drink it.