DIY Cold Brew Coffee Recipe - Not for Caffeine Light Weights

I always say it's been a busy week, but last week was probably the busiest I have been all year. I'm the only employee at my 9-5 job, so that's been as intense as always, then add family events, etsy orders, and hosting a last minute paint party in Camden, NJ where I had to get all the materials...it was intense. I have a meatless Monday post that will be up later tonight (it needs photos), but I thought it'd be fun to share the drink that kept me going this week. 

At this point you guys know I rarely drink coffee. I went through a phase where shots of espresso and caramel helped me survive college, but since then coffee and I have taken a break from one another. Now, when I do drink coffee, it effects me pretty strongly. This recipe I'm about to share with you KICKED MY BUTT.

Don't judge me for my ugly drinking jar. 

My Cold Brewed Ice Coffee Recipe

I N G R E D I E N T S

- 1/3 cup of ground coffee 
(I used a cookie & cream coffee I bought at Marshall's)  
- 1 1/2 cups of tepid water 

- 1 Mason Jar

- 1 Coffee filter

- 1 Mesh Strainer

O P T I O N A L

Milk / Cream / Non-Dairy Milk / Sugar / Whipped Topping - to taste

Scoop your 1/3 a cup of coffee grounds into your mason jar, or any glass container with a tight lid, and then top it with the 1 1/2 cups of tepid water. *Tip: if you like hard boiled eggs, you can cook some up and the use the water from your egg-pot to make your iced coffee instead. The eggs leave the water calcium-rich and it helps reduce the acidity of the coffee. I used egg-water for my iced coffee to make it easier on my stomach. 

Screw the lid onto your container and give everything a good shake. Then let the coffee ground mixture sit overnight. I left mine for a full 24 hours on my kitchen counter. Some people like to leave theirs in the sun, but I personally don't. 

When you're ready, put a coffee filter on top of a mesh strainer and strain your concentrated coffee into a separate container. I strained it into my quart-sized mason jar that I usually drink from. It's nice and big so I don't have to get up to refill it all the time. If you see more grounds floating around you may want to put it through a strainer a second time, but once was enough for me. 

You now have a container filled with concentrated, caffeinated, coffee! 

Pour this over ice and flavor it with your favorite mix-ins and syrups, or freeze it to create coffee flavored ice cubes that won't water down your coffee drinks. 

For mine: I poured my cookie & cream coffee concentrate over ice, added 3 spoonfuls of sugar and a healthy dose of whole milk, put the lid back on and gave everything a good shake to combine, and I was good to go! I drank nearly a full quart of this ice coffee and I was BUZZED! We're talking shaking hands, fast talking, and no sleep kind of buzzed. I got everything I needed done, BUT I was also laying awake in bed until 6:30 AM the next day staring at my ceiling trying to sleep. I'm a caffeine lightweight, so it might not effect the rest of you as strongly, but for me this was INTENSE. I only make this stuff once or twice a year to power through a rough patch, and that's enough for me, but if you're a caffeine junkie, this might be child's play for you. 

If you try this recipe out, let me know how it went!  

© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net

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