Will this cold brew coffee kill me?

August 13, 2016 10:00 AM

I made some cold brew coffee according to a video I saw online. Basically add water and coffee grounds and leave in the fridge overnight. However, I actually forgot about it and left it for a few weeks. Is it still safe to drink? Or should I dump it?
posted by Proginoskes to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

It will probably be gross, if not unsafe.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 10:04 AM on August 13, 2016 [9 favorites]

I do this a lot and am always fine aftrr drinking it. Examine your jar to make sure no visible mold and you should be ok. Cold brew doesn't over extract so it won't be super bitter. However some of the coffee oils will have degraded so it won't be super delicious. Usually I store cold brew for 3 days max.
posted by holyrood at 10:05 AM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]

You probably wouldn't die, but at this point, dump it. It's gonna taste like the 7th circle of hell and potentially make you poop your pants.

Just toss it.
posted by InkDrinker at 10:06 AM on August 13, 2016 [37 favorites]

I doubt it will kill you, but since your investment is pretty low, why not get rid of it?
posted by fixedgear at 10:07 AM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

By the way, there is no need to infuse this in the refrigerator. I have been doing this for decades (currently using the Filtron system, which I highly recommend) and have aways infused 24 hours at room temperature, strained out the coffee concentrate, then reinfused the grounds with around 50% less water for another 24 hours. The concentrate can last for quite some time at room temperature, and more or less indefinitely in the refrigerator. So I would suggest that your worry is not that it might have something awful growing in it, and more that it is likely to be awful in and of itself due to massive over-infusion.
posted by slkinsey at 10:14 AM on August 13, 2016 [5 favorites]

My experience with cold brew is that it got meh-tasting after a few days. I'd dump it.
posted by quaking fajita at 10:18 AM on August 13, 2016 [2 favorites]

Wet grounds sitting for a few weeks? Is the container covered?

The problem here is that the coffee color might mask anything green or brown or black and the flavor might mask off tastes or scents.

I'd toss it. Bound to be gross. I'm no expert but doesn't sound safe to me.
posted by kapers at 11:53 AM on August 13, 2016

Dump it and make a new batch. It's not like a couple cups of coffee beans is worth risking your health over.
posted by Autumnheart at 12:05 PM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

Might make you sick, definitely gross. I let cold brew infuse at room temperature, but not for weeks on end.
posted by jeather at 12:07 PM on August 13, 2016

What is the point of keeping it? Just make another batch. Even if you used huge amounts of some very expensive coffee, it's not going to taste like that anymore. I don't see what the downside to getting rid of it is, or what the upside of keeping it is. It sounds gross, though probably not actually unsafe.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 12:37 PM on August 13, 2016 [3 favorites]

potentially make you poop your pants

This is true. I'll never drink two-week-old cold brew again.
posted by bradf at 3:40 PM on August 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'd do the smell test and drink or not based on that.

Can't speak to the longevity of coffee in the fridge, but I've got a bottle of margarita mix that's been in my fridge since sometime in May and still seems fine.
posted by Sara C. at 4:30 PM on August 13, 2016

Get rid of it. Pour it into your compost bin or garden, if you have either of those. Please do not drink it.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:31 PM on August 13, 2016

Wait do you mean the grounds were steeping that whole time, or that you strained it and then forgot about it? If the latter, it might be past its peak, but sure, give it a try. If the former... it's going to be SUPER GROSS and you should toss it. Best case: it's way over-extracted and is going to be bitter and stale and maybe even skunky. Worst case: the grounds will have started to develop mold.
posted by rhiannonstone at 8:58 PM on August 13, 2016

Dump it. Cold brew never lasts more than a week at the most in my fridge. I mean, it always develops obvious floating mold. But even if yours doesn't have obvious floating mold, just dump it and make a new batch.

(The beauty of cold brew is that you can use cheap coffee and still have a decent tasting drink, by the way, so making a new batch doesn't have to be expensive.)
posted by snowmentality at 10:07 AM on August 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Buncha babies. It's coffee. Drink it. Cut it, probably with milk or more water, but it's fine. Don't believe me? Try it. If you don't like it, THEN dump it. I've done this very thing, multiple times. I don't always have time to remember to filter the coffee in the fridge. Remember it ain't rocket surgery.
posted by evilDoug at 7:21 PM on August 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

If it's been in the fridge, fine. Otherwise, definitely definitely no.
posted by matkline at 11:22 PM on August 14, 2016