speaking of coffee...

[Tabitha]

I once had a coffee maker given to me, I think it was called the Toddy coffee maker, but I am not totally sure. That gizmo made the best coffee ever.And I love drinking coffee....you put a pound of ground coffee in the container, added a specified amount of cold water and let it set for a certain time. the result was a syrup like black concentrate. all you did was add a spoon ful to a cup of hot water. I kept it in a jug in the fridge, but my friend froze it and used a cube for a cup. the cold water leached out all the good flavors and left all the acid in. It was so much more mellow and flavorful.

[via media]

Was it something like this => http://www.toddycafe.com/shop/product.php?productId=67 ?

Someone (Folgers?) recently introduced a low-acid coffee, except that it's brewed like regular coffee. I wonder if the toddy coffee maker would be a lower-cost alternative to the Folgers.

/VM

[SmartAZ]

That's what I do, but I didn't buy anything to do it. I put 4 cups of grounds in a 5 qt ice cream bucket (that is a normal amount of grounds and 1/4 the normal amount of water) and let it set for 12 hours. I stir once after an hour or so. I tried doing it in the fridge, but I prefer to brew at room temp. I also add about 2 tsp salt. Yes, salt. It helps the flavor.

After 12 hours I strain it using a paper towel in an 8" strainer. Anything smaller clogs. This gives exactly 3 liters of syrup. I originally kept it in a 3 liter pop bottle, but that's a nuisance. Now I use a drink dispenser, but since that costs the same as 3 liters of Franzia wine, I suggest you obtain a Franzia bag for the purpose.

When you want a brew, mix 3 parts water with 1 part syrup and nuke it.

[susieM]

I tried that, but I ended up drinking WAY too much coffee!

[Paul Wheaton]

Yup, "toddy".

Also called "cold water process"

I have one of these. For years I liked this way the best. But lately I just don't seem to like it as much as drip. Not sure why.

[CraftyDiva]

Not to go OT here, but for those who use a drip coffee system...... Putting a few shakes of the old salt shaker on your grounds (in the filter) before you brew "does" improve the flavor.

[Fae]

My late FIL put salt in coffee when he was making it. We blamed it on all those years he worked on an off-shore oil rig in south Louisiana.

[diamondtim]

You folks got ol' Tim experimenting last night!

I made the cold brew coffee using my french press. It made about 20oz of the "concentrate" and tasted wonderful.

I don't think you need the $30+ gizmo unless you want a new toy. JHMO.

[affenpinschermom]

Tim, how exactly did you use your French press? did you add the grounds and water, let it sit for the 12 hours and then plunge?

[diamondtim]

My French Press is a 1Ltr Bodum that a gal bought at Starbucks (for, like, 30 bucks) :baby04: and sold to me for $2.00 at a garage sale.

I put 2 packets (2 oz, by wgt, each) of ground coffee in the press, filled it up with water to the handle rim (24 oz) and stirred to make sure the grounds were wet and not clumped. I then let it sit for 12 hrs and then plunged the press.

Then I read on the Filtron site that you can do it a second time, but the "concentrate" would be weaker. So I did that (additional water and same grounds as above) and I drank it mixed at 1 to 1. Came out fine for me (maybe a little weak).

The idea of using the French Press came to me as I was trying to figure out how to filter the grounds out of the mixture and saw it sitting in the cupboard.

[coalroadcabin]

I still have my Toddy. It worked pretty well but I found that after a week in the fridge, the concentrate started getting an off flavor (almost like instant coffee) Your friends idea of freezing it in ice cube trays might work to eliminate that problem. Maybe I'll pull it out of the cupboard and try using it again. I just have to figure out where I put that darn felt filter... ...probably in the gidget drawer.

[affenpinschermom]

Thanks for the info on the coffee press. I'll give it a try. makes sense to me.

[diamondtim]

Affenpinchermom,

Let us know how your experiment turns out. You might come up with something we didn't think about.

[SteveD(TX)]

Not long ago I decided that I would buy a French press since I've heard so many rave about them. But I soon read about their process of leaving in oils that raise your bad cholesterol level. I've already got too many strikes against me in those areas. So I'm sticking to my old Mr. Coffee that turns out a pretty good cup.

[diamondtim]

BUMP

Anybody else trying this?