New Orleans Cold Drip Coffee
Published May 5, 2007
Ilan Rubin for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Victoria Granof. Prop Stylist: Sara Wacksman.
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Ingredients
1 pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground
10 cups cold water
Ice
Milk
Preparation
- Step 1
Put coffee in a nonreactive container, like a stainless-steel stockpot. Add 2 cups water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining 8 cups water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.
- Step 2
Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Step 3
To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add ¼ cup coffee concentrate and ¾ to 1 cup milk, then stir. To make café au lait, warm ¾ to 1 cup milk in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into a mug and add ¼ cup coffee concentrate. (Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)
Coffee with chicory may be ordered through French Market (www.frenchmarketcoffee.com) or Blue Bottle (www.bluebottlecoffee.net).
Private Notes
Comments
I found the original article a number of years ago and have converted all of my friends and family to it! It makes THE BEST iced coffee and is super easy. I translated the proportions to a 1:5 cup ratio, coffee to water (use any coffee you like). I got cold-brew coffee bags on Amazon and it makes it SO easy-no straining twice. Fill bag(s), cover w/H2O, brew 12-24 hrs and remove/squeeze the brew bag. Serve w/ice, 1/4-1/3 concentrate, milk, some simple syrup if you like it sweet and viola! AMAZING
I grew up in New Orleans. For a year after Hurricane Katrina, my family stayed with a distant elderly relative who’s home was spared. While living there, I saw her routine of making drip ice coffee using a contraption that included a giant bowl of grounds and water perched precariously on a tall narrow carafe. It sat overnight dripping one drop at a time, and I was amused by how elaborate and yet simple it was at the same time. This recipe was easy and delicious, and brought back a fond memory.
I've made this with different (strong and good) coffee and it's great.
The resulting concentrate is very strong and you really do need about a 1 to 4 ratio of concentrate to milk to make it palatable. Add a few tsp of sugar and ice and my wife says it's like drinking coffee ice cream. Hence - Winner.
I haven't bothered ordering the coffee specified but note that French Market is about 1/4 the price of Blue Bottle.
(just for fun) https://www.facebook.com/kenscooking
Hey y'all! My family is from New Orleans, and I went to college in Louisiana. This basically is what I lived on sophomore year, lol. For those of us who hate milky coffee, you can add water to the concentrate while making your cup. To figure out the right taste, I recommend ordering Cool Brew or French Truck's concentrate to sample how coffee concentrate is supposed to taste.
Is there a trick with the milk? I got chicory coffee and followed the whole process and used 2% milk with the ratio provided and found it just tasted like an iced latte. Is that what it's supposed to be? Not getting the "milkshake" from the description.
I have cold brewed my coffee since 1977 when I discovered the Toddy Maker. I put most of it in a glass carafe for the frig and put the rest in 2 small plastic containers in the freezer for later. You can use any coarse ground coffee you like decaf or flavored. You can use more than 1/4 cup to make it extra strong if you like. One of the things I like about it is because you are using cold water the acids are not brought out in the beans and it is soooo smooth!