I’ve moved away from the soda pop horror that is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and its evil parallel world twin, Aspartame. As a result, I have been upping my coffee intake astronomically.

And in the process, realized I like cold coffee, not hot. Besides the benefits of better taste (cold brew has fewer of the bitter compounds in the coffee), it can also be easier to make, depending on your needs – more of a ‘set it and forget it’ option.

Forget the complicated steps and expensive equipment – here’s two ways we make it simply and easily (that’s the royal ‘We’, since the Missus does all the work):

• Brew it in the fridge. No fancy recipes needed. Just add some finely ground up coffee to a container of water and leave in the fridge until the color is the way you like. Filter, and drink. the advantage of this is you control it all – how rich it looks/tastes, how much you make, etc, so there’s plenty of room for tweaking to perfection. Remember to use a glass container with a lid (you don’t want fridge smells or anything leaching into your coffee from the container walls), and expect a truly fresh pot in 8-16 hours.
• Brew then chill. Quicker, but the bitter edge will come along with it. Just brew a pot and place it in the fridge to cool. Same glass container with lid, but you get your coffee faster. For the first cup or two, add ice cubes if you want. This is the easier way (especially if a family member is brewing some anyways), but as I said, there is a difference in the taste.