I Can Teach You: How to Make Your Own Coffee...Without Waking Up Early

I wrote today's post as part of the lovely Janet's Pink University series. 

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I really love coffee. I really, REALLY hate mornings. I think these two are probably connected.

One of the small luxuries I afford myself is a daily mug of coffee from the coffee shop in my office building. It doesn't taste as good as my coffee at home (I love the local Bluebird coffee here in Baltimore, but if you live near San Francisco or ever visit, Blue Bottle is my all-time favorite) and it pains me to spend $1.50 a day on something I could easily make at home, but I just can't wake up early enough to brew my own coffee in the morning. I know, it only takes, what, ten minutes total? And only one of those minutes actually involves work? Well, I routinely wake up ten minutes before I have to leave the house. If I have to choose between brushing my teeth and saving a buck-fifty by making my own coffee, I'm going to choose the teeth. It's better for everyone that way.

But recently I discovered a summer trick that allows me to make my own coffee the night before.

On the weekends I usually make myself an entire pot of coffee (note: I use a french press that only makes the equivalent of eight cups, so it's not quite as bad as it sounds). I drink one mug-full right away, and then sometimes come back for my second mug later in the morning. But often, by the time I remember I have another cup of coffee waiting downstairs, it's either too cold and I'm too lazy to microwave it, or it's already too hot to think about having hot coffee. I then just throw that extra coffee away.

A few weeks ago, I had the idea to put the leftover coffee in the fridge so I could have an iced coffee later. Now, here's the thing about iced coffee: if you've ever tried making it yourself from hot coffee, you know it doesn't work out very well. You need so much ice to sufficiently cool the coffee that you just end up with a watery, not-cold-enough mess. And I hate buying iced coffee from coffee shops because they use too much ice and hardly any coffee. And have you ever tried getting sugar to mix into ice-cold coffee? It doesn't work.

But if you put your french press in the fridge and then forget about it, the next morning you'll open the door to get some milk and discover perfectly chilled, super-strong iced coffee waiting for you. After this happy accident, I started making my own coffee the night before work on purpose. I've brought my own delicious iced coffee to work every morning this week. For reference, the longest stretch I ever achieved in past attempts to make my own coffee at home is one day.

Here's what you do. Remember, I use a french press (and if you don't have one, may I strongly recommend getting one? Once you try it, you'll never go back.), but I have no reason to suspect this wouldn't work just as well with a traditional coffee pot.

1. Before going to bed, boil some water.

2. While the water boils, add your coffee grinds and sugar to the beaker.

2a: Trust me, add the sugar at this point. It seems like a bad idea, I know, but it works. If you try to add it when the coffee is already nice and cold, it won't dissolve well and you'll end up with unsweetened coffee and a layer of sugar at the bottom of your cup.

2b: You'll want to add slightly fewer grinds than you usually do, since the coffee will continue to steep overnight. I use about 2/3 my usual amount.

3. When the water boils, pour in it in with the grinds and sugar. Stir very well to dissolve all the sugar.

4. Allow the coffee to steep for at least five minutes before pushing the plunger down.

5. Put the entire press in the fridge.

6. Go to bed.

7. In the morning, take the press out of the fridge, pour coffee into a mug, add an ice cube and milk (or whatever you like in your coffee) and go.

8. Put the press with any leftover coffee back in the fridge for the next day. I make a full pot at a time, and that lasts me two days. It tastes just fine on the second day - just keep the plunger in to cover it.

If you're using a traditional coffee pot, you'd just:

1. Brew your coffee.

2. Stir some sugar into the pot.

3. Put the whole pot in the fridge to chill overnight.

4. Follow steps 6-7 above. I'd suggest covering the opening in the pot's lid with cellophane to prevent evaporation.

Happy coffee drinking, lovely Slice of Pink readers!

Comments

[Mrs. D]

How wonderful is it when forgetfulness turns into a time- and money-saving "invention" of sorts? You are now right up there with that dude who discovered penicillin. (Which was, I'm positive, another accident of forgetfulness.)

[stephanie]

This is very similar to how I make iced coffee, only I am one step lazier. I make cold-brewed coffee (a french-press version of the recipe here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/cold-brewed-iced-coffee/)... I don't even boil water! I don't push the press down until morning. To sweeten, I just use agave syrup, which mixes into cold drinks. (Simple or flavored syrup would work, too.)

[stephanie]

Ack, my extra punctuation broke the link:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/cold-brewed-iced-coffee/

[nancypearlwannabe]

This is an awesome idea for the summer! Although, I wake up whenever these days so I guess it doesn't really matter about the extra minutes. During the school year I set everything up in the coffee pot the night before so all I have to do is hit the button in the morning. 5:30 comes early.