Caffeine is my main remaining vice (some would argue my political activity is a vice but I prefer to think of it as a virtue). I stumbled onto a twist in caffeine delivery systems yesterday that I'd heard of but never tried: cold-brewed coffee.
The process is slow and simple. Take a pound of ground coffee and nine cups of water. Soak the grounds with half the water, wait a few minutes. Add the rest of the water. Let it sit 12 hours. Drain it. The end product is coffee concentrate of espresso-plus strength. Refrigerate it and it keeps two to three weeks. To drink add hot water to your preferred strength - some sources recommend three parts water to one part coffee concentrate, but that seems weak to my French-press tastes, you might try half and half. Or use it like a cold espresso shot.
The trick is the containers for this process. A company called Toddy mkes these things; I picked it up at a junk store for 5 bucks but new they're about 30. My resale price seems more appropriate for what you get:
Put the filter in the bottom of the container, add the grounds, the water, wait. Pull the cork, let it drain into the carafe.
Someone more mechanically ept than me - how come inept is a word but ept isn't? - someone more mechanically ept than me could certainly make one of these for less than $30, or even less than $5. But all I find online is Toddy, so this is clearly a void in human knowledge aching to be filled. Have at it.
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