I’m totally serious too. The only way I like to make coffee in my house is by using a Coffee Toddy. It is a really easy cold brew method for making coffee…the best coffee ever, mind you!
This is how my dad’s family made their coffee when he was younger and this is how I drank it when I was growing up too (when I was in high school of course). The cold brew method cuts down on the acidity of the coffee and makes for a really smooth cup of joe. It tastes SO much better than the the hot water coffeemaker version, for reals. Try it and become a believer!
What you need to make cold brew coffee is a Coffee Toddy which is shown up above here. It’s just a big plastic brewing container with a handle, a plug, a filter and a glass decanter with a lid. I bought mine at Borders a while back and actually saw they still carried them there a few months ago. With Borders going out of business, now’s your chance to grab one at 25-50% off…score! You can find them in the cafe part of the store. This is the one I have here. You can also buy them online here and here.
The Toddy can hold up to one pound of coffee and 9 cups of water. The coffee needs to be ground but not ground finely as this type of coffee could plug up the filter. I just use regular store-bought ground coffee and have always had good results (I like the Dunkin’ Donuts brand myself!)
The first thing you do with your Toddy is take the plug here…
And plug the hole at the bottom of the brewing container. Make sure you plug it from the outside and NOT the inside as you’ll need to unplug it later to let the coffee drip out!
Then take the filter, which is going to catch all the bitter acids and fatty oils from the ground coffee beans, and dampen it.
Place the filter in the bottom of the plastic brewing container like so.
Next pour in 2 cups of cold water and then half the bag of ground coffee.
Then pour in another 5 cups of cold water nice and carefully. Make sure that you are getting all the coffee grounds wet so there are no dry spots in there at all.
Then pour the remaining half of the coffee grounds over top. Wait 5 minutes for the coffee to get soaked up a bit by the water.
Ahhh, doesn’t that coffee look nice and wet! Saturation is the key.
After you’ve waited for 5 whole minutes you can go ahead and add the last 2 cups of water.
Do NOT stir the coffee…this is very important!! Just pat the coffee down with a spoon to make sure that all the coffee grounds are nice and wet.
Then, just place the brewing container in your fridge and let the coffee cold brew for 12 hours!
When the time has finally come to taste the fruits of your labor, place the decanter underneath the brewing container and undo the plug. The coffee will drip into the decanter filling it with lovely, smooth, delicious coffee 🙂
So good! Oh and you know what’s cool? Cold brew coffee will last up to 14 days in your refrigerator…super awesome with a cherry on top! If you want to make a cup just pour it in a ratio of 1 part coffee concentrate to 3 parts water, milk or cream. You can also microwave it until just before it boils if you don’t want to heat up the water separately!
Cold brew coffee also makes the best iced coffee, if you hadn’t already guessed I would say that 🙂 It’s the perfect cold drink to offer if you are hosting your next Momma’s Night Out or just having friends over for a play date (Ummm, can you tell I don’t get out much!)
I love to make mine by filling cups full with ice and adding the coffee concentrate…
Then pouring cream over top and finally adding in a few spoonfuls of sugar for the perfect touch of sweetness.
So good and waaaay better than those other iced coffees from you know where plus at a fraction of the cost!
Hope you’ll give cold-brew coffee a try, it is seriously the only way to drink coffee…the Toddy rocks my socks! You will never want to go back to your coffee maker again!!
Enjoy!
PS. This post was done totally out of my love for my Toddy and no other reason…it just makes some darn good coffee and I had to share!!
XOXO,
You had me at “coffee”. 🙂 I LOVE cold brewed coffee… particularly iced. I’ve never heard of the Toddy. I’ll definitely be checking it out!
Oh wow, that looks delicious! I love coffee. 🙂
Love the Toddy – your post reminded me that I need to make some today!!
hmm. i wonder if doing coffee this way would work for me? normally coffee makes my stomach so upset that i just don’t drink it. maybe it’s the acid? i know it’s not the caffeine since i’m a diet coke girl . . . might be worth a try because it sure looks good! thanks for the tips 🙂
As Grandma G said “you had me at coffee”. I like this and will have to give a try, someday. 🙂
I’m a fan of lattes and just made an iced one the other day – yum!
Toddy! — it’s the only way to fly!
The hubs & I walk every morning @ 5 (only way in Phoenix to beat the heat…) & the thought of that iced Toddy Coffee is the best thing to help me finish the horrid last 1/2 mile.
I love love love iced coffee but had no clue how to make it at home. I am SO buying one of these! 🙂 Thanks!
My mouth is watering! I love me some iced coffee! I usually cold-press mine, but enjoyed your tutorial on how to use a toddy. Thanks for this post!
MMMmmm. I love me some coldpress (that’s what we call it).
These are really delightful colourful treats and photographs. I also like to add mint and chestnut, strawberries and cream, vanilla and salted caramel, too delicious.
Yep I just bought it online after reading this!
I would love to try this! The only thing I don’t love about coffee is the bitterness you get. Thanks!
I made this coffee like this tonight, but instead of using the materials above. I put the coffee in the coffee pot like normal and poured the water slowly into the coffee pot (with it turned off) so it filtered slowly by itself.
It’s delicious!
One entire bag of coffee for a few cups of coffee? Doesn’t seem economical to me. I have heard the flavor is incomparable, but the cost doesn’t seem justifiable.
I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.Any way I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
In response to Anonymous:
This makes a few cups of coffee CONCENTRATE. You use 2-3 oz. of this concentrate to make iced coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, etc. You can make a plain cup of joe by adding steaming water to the coffee concentrate.
I have had a Toddy maker for about 15 years. We love the coffee, as it is fast to make and we add hot filtered water to the concentrate. I use far less coffee to make the concentrate than what I would use if I perked it.
Thanks for posting the info to your blog. Maybe others will take our hints to obtain a coffee toddy.
I work for my dad and this is our year-round afternoon treat. We love it with milk and maple syrup (the real stuff, not the sugar water stuff.) It’s amazing!
I purchased a toddy after reading your blog, as I had seen it mentioned in another. I loved the taste from the toddy, but my experience was not good. The filter raised within the toddy and I had to filter it out of the toddy and then refilter it a second time to get all the grounds out. Any ideas what I did wrong? Otherwise the taste was amazing!
Hmmm, I have never had that problem! Make sure the filter is really damp and then stuff it in there good. Then slowly pour the water over top along with the coffee grinds…slowly! hope that helps you some!
Thank you SO much for posting this! I just stumbled upon it today and I am so excited to buy a toddy! I am a huge coffee lover and am always searching for an incredible cup of java! There is a wonderful book all about the speciality coffee industry for anyone who loves coffee and reading about it – – called “God in a Cup”.
Thanks again, peace!
Do you end up with 9 cups of concentrated coffee? That really would be awesome for iced coffee and frappes. Using only 3 ounces of concentrate at a time, a 1 lb. bag of coffee would result in 24 coffee drinks! That’s not bad at all for delicious coffee. At around $9 a bag for DD, that’s 38 cents per cup.
Hi Christine! You end up with about 6 cups of concentrate when all is said and done. It is seriously the best coffee I’ve ever had!!!!
Hi Maggie,
My Toddy arrived today! Looking forward to getting it started tonight. In your tutorial you use 9 cups of water. Your DD coffee bag looks like a 12 oz. Bag. Do you use 9 cups of water for 12 oz of coffee or do you follow the instructions from the company for 9 cups of water and 16 oz of coffee? Thanks.