cold-brewed iced coffee
I had a very vivid dream recently (a nightmare, really) about ordering lunch at a small Chinese fast food restaurant. The people behind the counter kept forgetting my order, then ended up getting it completely wrong, hours after my dining companions had finished their meals. Exasperated, I asked the server to cancel my lunch order and just get me an iced coffee. I watched as she reached for a hot pot of brewed coffee and a cup of ice. That was the last straw. I stormed out of the restaurant, determined to find a properly prepared glass of iced coffee before class (which I was already late for).
Cold brewed coffee, as this article expresses in many more words than I will, tastes different from (and much better than) hot coffee that has simply been cooled down. It is also very easy to make; all you need to do is mix ground coffee with water in a ratio of about 1 cup coffee to 4 cups water, and let it sit for at least 12 hours. I like to use a cleaned 1-quart glass juice bottle. When it’s ready, simply strain the liquid through a coffee filter (I have one of these, but you could also use paper filters, a fine-mesh sieve, or a French press), pour over some ice, and add milk if you’d like. The result lacks the bracing bitterness and acidity that you might find in hot coffee. Further reading and detailed instructions here, here, and here.
We also received some especially delicious coffee beans from our friends Mooni and Jake, who are currently visiting from San Francisco. If I seem really wired this weekend, this is why.
