Cold-Brew Coffee

A couple weeks ago, I decided to jump on the toddy bandwagon and experiment with cold-brewed coffee. I soaked coarsely ground Haitian Blue Forest beans in my French Press overnight, then pressed it twice and poured the resulting liquid into a pitcher. I let it sit in my fridge for the next few days mostly because I forgot about it. Too many things going on.

Now that I am moving house, I re-discovered it while in "throw-away mode" and finally tasted it-- straight up, without diluting it with water. I caught a whiff of it just before the first sip, and frowned-- not because it smelled bad, but because it smelled oddly familiar. After a couple more sips, I realized why, and here's my initial verdict on cold-brewed coffee concentrate:

It tastes like a mild form of the Korean/Chinese herbal medicine called hanyak. I used to hate that stuff growing up. They really shouldn't tell kids that what they're drinking contains deer antlers, tortoise shells, and dried up insects. I much prefer this milder coffee variety, though it might not contain the same healing powers.