Have we ever discussed my coffee habit? It’s pretty embarrassing the amount of money I have spent on going out to coffee in my life. I just never got into the habit of making my own in the morning, but I did fall very easily into the habit of going to Dutch Bros TWICE a day. Somehow my bank account and I cannot seem to agree on this habit. Shocking, right?
Anyway, I don’t remember exactly when it was that I discovered toddy–probably a little over a year ago. Toddy is basically the best, smoothest, and most caffeinated way to drink coffee. Pretty much, it wins in every coffee contest ever.
And did I mention it is ridiculously easy to make? It does take just over 24 start to finish, but really most of that time you are sleeping, baking, and eating fro yo. Or…at least that’s what I was doing… 😉
This is literally the best coffee I have ever tasted. Better than any coffee shop, better than any latte. It comes out so smooth with next to no bitterness, and full of bold flavor. It doesn’t need a whole lot–a little sweetener and some almond milk will do ya, but if you like sweeter, creamier coffee, it’s your cup o’ jo! You can make it however you want. Add chocolate syrup and make an iced mocha, blend it up into a homemade frappe, or put some in your brownies!
Okay, let’s get started. The first thing you need is a 2.5 gallon airtight container (or 1.75 for a half batch), and 1 lb of coarsely ground coffee. I like a strong, bold coffee, but use whatever you like. Pour that coffee right into your container.
Then top it with 2 gallons of purified water. If you want, you can also stick a vanilla bean in there to add some flavor. I do sometimes, and I love it!
Give it a little pat down at the top to make sure all of the coffee is incorporated into the water, and not just floating at the top. I don’t mess around with the possibility of losing coffee flavor!
Cover and store for 24 (or up to 36) hours. You can let this happen in the fridge, or at room temperature. It is completely up to you. I usually don’t have room in the fridge, so I stick to room temperature. Once your 24-36 are up, take a fine mesh strainer to scoop out as much of the coffee grounds as possible.
Rinse our your strainer, then set it on top of a 1 gallon jug–you will need two of these because you end up with about 1.75 gallons of coffee when all is said and done. Top the strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth. Use a measuring cup to pour coffee over the strainer. You may just pour from your container if you wish, but that sounds like a coffee disaster for an accident prone gal like yours truly. You might be better at that sort of thing than me, however…
Once you’ve filtered all of the coffee, you are DONE! Store your coffee jugs in the fridge. It is important to note, this recipe creates a coffee CONCENTRATE. When you make your coffee, add an inch or 2 of water to your cup to dilute it a bit. Trust me, I love strong coffee as much as anyway, but it does need to be diluted a bit. Do some trial and error to figure out the best balance for you. Serve it over ice with whatever cream and sweetener you like.
I have officially kicked my coffee shop habit to the curb (with the exception of going with friends on occasion–just like eating out is fun occasionally!) with this stuff. I am in love, obsessed, over the moon for it. It’s super easy, full proof, and super budget friendly. It’s about a $30 investment for all the storage initially, but that’s a one time deal, and then you’re set! Not to mention, there is nothing to brew in the morning! I wake up, poor myself a glass, and go about my breakfasting/blog reading. You will love it!
Ingredients
- 1 lb good quality bold coffee, coarsely ground
- 2 gallons water
Instructions
- Pour ground coffee into a 2.5 gallon airtight container. Top with 2 gallons filtered water. Pat down the top to ensure all coffee is incorporated. Cover and store for 24-36 hours.
- Scoop out as much of the grounds as possible with a fine mesh strainer. Rinse strainer, then cover with a double layer of cheesecloth. Place covered strainer over a 1 gallon jug Use a measuring cup to pour coffee over your covered strainer to filter any remaining grounds. Repeat until jug is mostly full, then repeat with a second 1 gallon jug. If your coffee begins to have trouble filtering through, change your cheesecloth out for a fresh one.
- To serve, fill glass with ice and add 1-2 inches of water. Add coffee, and any desired cream or sweetener.
yes yes yes yes! so excited it is TIME FOR ICED COFFEE SEASON!
This recipe reminds me of a rap/r&b song… I don’t know the name BUT… I am singing the lyrics in my head: “Do you need a hot toddy!!” I have a feeling he is singing about a chick and how he wants her to get in his bed, lol… BUT, if he tried this recipe, he’d probably say he was singing about this drink!
This is perfect for the summer! I have my Keurig, but the coffee comes out hot, and melts all of the ice cubes, and it gets way too diluted, and KCups get expensive, too! Love this! One silly question: Where do you get cheese cloth??
I never would have guessed this is how you make it! Cool!
My twice daily dunkin donuts coffee runs isn’t good for anything (especially my wallet) except for their business. Ahh. I need to start making my own iced coffees! In my defense, I’ve only gone to DD twice in one day twice before, not everyday. 😉 Anyway, I would love to try it this way sometime!
Love me some iced coffee in the summer. I always just brewed some hot then let it cool and stuck it in the fridge after it cooled. Does this work a lot better?
Awesome! I gotta try this. I don’t drink coffee often but iced coffee is the best. Mmm!
I’ve tried ice coffee by just…icing hot coffee. Back in the day before I researched recipes. It kind of turned me off of iced coffee, but I never thought about how it is actually truly made. A coffee concentrate sounds like a way better idea, especially when you can use it more than once!
I loved cold brewing coffee. I am an iced coffee gal all the way and we just started cold brewing at home. This is a great step-by-step post, I wish you had posted it a few months ago haha
MMM iced coffee! Yummy! I would always have iced coffee at the restaurant I worked at when I was younger, it was a seasonal job so it was always hot in there!
First of all, I feel like I need mason jar mugs now. And the cute straws. I have a stupid question because I’m not at all gifted in the kitchen: can you use a bigger strainer with a filter for a coffee brewer? Is that dumb?
And is it possible to love you even more than I already do? I live for iced coffee. I will get ice coffee in the winter and wear gloves when I drink it because it’s so cold. I haven’t tried making it myself because…no good reason. Can’t wait to try!
I have been brewing my own cold brew coffee for over and year and my ratio is 8 cups of water: 1lb whole beans, which is a 4:1 water to coffee ratio. I serve it over ice with equal parts of sweetened almond milk. It’s pretty strong but I also think it’s so delicious I want to chew it!
What is your water to coffee ratio? I can’t figure out the gallon:pound equivalent in cups 😉
Also, check this out. I bet cold brew coffee would make excellent coffee ice cubes. http://theprimalhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/blended-coffee-drink-recipe.html
Thanks for this great “how to”! I’ve been trying to make delicious iced coffee for a while now and have never really been successful until now.
A tip for anyone that doesn’t have cheesecloth, I used coffee filters. I’m sure cheesecloth works a little better but at least I could avoid a trip to the store!
I bought one of those round, re-usable coffee filters for my cold coffee brewing. =) It gets a little slow towards the end, but there is no sludge that gets through!