Wherefore art thou coffe-o

July 12, 2007 6:25 AM

Where can I find cold-brewed coffee within a 5 block radius of East 59th St. and Lexington Ave, New York, NY?

I've recently joined the cult of cold-brewed coffee. I generally make my own on a nightly basis and bring it to work in a thermos. I occasionally forget to brew my daily coffee the night before. Does anyone know of any coffee shops, delis, street carts, or whatever, within a few blocks of here that serve cold-brewed coffee?

posted by zackola to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

I occasionally forget to brew my daily coffee the night before.

Brew a pound each time and it will be good for around two weeks.
posted by prostyle at 7:15 AM on July 12, 2007

Following up on prostyle: Toddy Coffee has been making cold brew coffee makers for ages and they use a pound at a time. The fridge will keep it fresh for quite a while but I think you can also make ice cubes of it allowing you to store it for longer.
posted by chairface at 7:52 AM on July 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips. Small apartment, not much room in the fridge for huge containers of coffee. I'm still hoping for a magical coffee supplier in the area when I forget - it might even just be me forgetting to put it in my thermos in the morning when it's brewed and sitting in the fridge.
posted by zackola at 8:04 AM on July 12, 2007

Thank you zackola for informing me of cold-brewed coffee. You can teach this old dog new tricks.
posted by davy at 8:15 AM on July 12, 2007

Response by poster: No problem! It is delicious. FYI: I brew it in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Currently doing about 8 scoops of beans, ground to French press consistency, fill with cold tap water, cap, let sit overnight 6-8 hours. I think I may up that to 10 or 12 scoops. Use French press to strain, then into the fridge or thermos. This doesn't produce the "concentrate" that everyone talks about, but gives me a decent regular coffee consistency.

I'm sure the Toddy thing works ok, but for that price I could buy 18 mason jars and start my own coffee cart on the corner. I tried straining directly from the mason jars using cheesecloth, but it seems to take a long time (grinds gunking up the works), and I think I screwed the cap on too tightly with the cheesecloth, as when the cheesecloth got wet and expanded, It was impossible for me to remove.
posted by zackola at 9:39 AM on July 12, 2007

Best answer: Check with the Borders on Park Avenue to see if their cafe is run by Seattle's Best Coffee. Seattle's Best cold-brews their coffee for regular iced coffee and other iced coffee-based drinks. Be aware that if you just order an iced coffee, they'll add filtered water to it, since the cold brew is pretty concentrated. If you want straight-up cold brew, ask them to not add water.
posted by booksherpa at 6:14 PM on July 12, 2007

Best answer: Apparently Juan Valdez makes their iced coffee cold brew as well. There's a few around, including 140 E 57th St.
posted by miniape at 11:21 AM on July 18, 2007