Recipe from Blue Bottle Coffee company
Adapted by Oliver Schwaner-Albright
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- 4(231)
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Unless you’re familiar with coffee concentrate, New Orleans iced coffee is a puzzling ritual. The first time I had it, I watched skeptically as a friend’s mother filled a plastic Mardi Gras cup with ice, poured in an inch of inky coffee from a mayonnaise jar, then topped it off with milk. It was as smooth as a milkshake but had a rich coffee flavor and packed a caffeinated punch. It was easily the best iced coffee I’d ever had, yet another thing that tastes better in New Orleans. —Oliver Schwaner-Albright
Featured in: THE DISH: ENDANGERED LIST; Iced Storm
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Ingredients
Yield:makes 8 cups coffee concentrate
- 1pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground
- 10cups cold water
- Ice
- Milk
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Put coffee in a nonreactive container, like a stainless-steel stockpot. Add 2 cups water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining 8 cups water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.
Step
2
Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.
Step
3
To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add ¼ cup coffee concentrate and ¾ to 1 cup milk, then stir. To make café au lait, warm ¾ to 1 cup milk in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into a mug and add ¼ cup coffee concentrate. (Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)
Tip
- Coffee with chicory may be ordered through French Market (www.frenchmarketcoffee.com) or Blue Bottle (www.bluebottlecoffee.net).
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231
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Cooking Notes
Laura
I found the original article a number of years ago and have converted all of my friends and family to it! It makes THE BEST iced coffee and is super easy. I translated the proportions to a 1:5 cup ratio, coffee to water (use any coffee you like). I got cold-brew coffee bags on Amazon and it makes it SO easy-no straining twice. Fill bag(s), cover w/H2O, brew 12-24 hrs and remove/squeeze the brew bag. Serve w/ice, 1/4-1/3 concentrate, milk, some simple syrup if you like it sweet and viola! AMAZING
Kate
I grew up in New Orleans. For a year after Hurricane Katrina, my family stayed with a distant elderly relative who’s home was spared. While living there, I saw her routine of making drip ice coffee using a contraption that included a giant bowl of grounds and water perched precariously on a tall narrow carafe. It sat overnight dripping one drop at a time, and I was amused by how elaborate and yet simple it was at the same time. This recipe was easy and delicious, and brought back a fond memory.
KensCooking
I've made this with different (strong and good) coffee and it's great.
The resulting concentrate is very strong and you really do need about a 1 to 4 ratio of concentrate to milk to make it palatable. Add a few tsp of sugar and ice and my wife says it's like drinking coffee ice cream. Hence - Winner.
I haven't bothered ordering the coffee specified but note that French Market is about 1/4 the price of Blue Bottle.
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Charles, NOLA
We use a Toddy device which includes a glass carafe (approx 7 C.) and a plastic holder for paper filter. Use 1 pkg ground chicory coffee (CDM brand is popular locally), 7 C. tap water, stir, 12 hr brew. Keep refrigerated in glass bottle w/pour spout. Recommend organic whole milk (Promise Land or other).
Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor @ NYT Cooking
Absolutely.
Sara Tracy
The resulting concentrate is very strong and you really do need about a 1 to 4 ratio of concentrate to milk to make it palatable. Add a few tsp of sugar and ice and my wife says it's like drinking coffee ice cream. Hence - Winner.I haven't bothered ordering the coffee specified but note that French Market is about 1/4 the price of Blue Bottle.
Mark P.
New Orleans native here. The best version of this means using coffee with chicory. You can usually purchase this (Cafe du Monde, aka CDM) at Vietnamese markets for 1/2 what it costs elsewhere-
Mark P.
New Orleans native here: coffee w chicory can be purchased at Vietnamese groceries for (roughly) half the price charged at major grocery stores. Do not let the coffee concentrate come into contact e metal; use wooden spoons and ceramic cups. Don’t heat the concentrate; heat the milk, then add the concentrate.
M. Broad
Would this concentrate work if combined only with ice and more water, or do people think the milk is required? I drink my iced coffee black, and I love it so much that I drink it in the winter. I usually make an iced americano, as I like my coffee strong.
Mark P.
Notes from a native New Orleanian: Only use coffee with chicory. CDM and French Market are the local fave brands. Typically, coffee w chicory is half the price at Vietnamese markets than it is at “American” grocery stores. Cajun tradition: NEVER heat the coffee concentrate; heat the milk (or the water), then add the concentrate. Also, no metal should touch the coffee / concentrate; serve the coffee is a ceramic mug and stir with a wooden spoon!
AC
This is the best cold brew coffee I've ever made at home. I used French Market coffee with chicory. Made with 2% milk. It's smooth, decadent, and almost sweet even though I didn't add any sugar. SO good. This will be on repeat in my house.
Su
Could someone help me understand why the instructions call for adding the water gently so as not to agitate the grounds?
Mark P.
Native New Orleanian here. A few suggestions: ALWAYS use coffee with chicory! Note that coffee w chicory - authentic New Orleans brands like CDM and French Market - are usually sold at Vietnamese groceries for half what they cost at mainline grocery stores. Note that Cajuns insist on two steps they believe producethe best cup: ONLY heat the milk, never the coffee concentrate; and do NOT let the coffee come into contact w metal; e.g. serve the coffee in a ceramic cup and stir with a wooden spoon
nerdgirl
Can't wait to try this! I currently use Grady's Cold Brew concentrate (which is made with chicory), pour it into a tall glass filled with ice till it's about 1/5 of the glass high and fill with organic whole milk. It's delicious and I have one glass every single day (my grandmother was from NOLA and my dad used to drink this). Glad I found this recipe so I can make the concentrate myself.
Charles, NOLA
We use a Toddy device which includes a glass carafe (approx 7 C.) and a plastic holder for paper filter. Use 1 pkg ground chicory coffee (CDM brand is popular locally), 7 C. tap water, stir, 12 hr brew. Keep refrigerated in glass bottle w/pour spout. Recommend organic whole milk (Promise Land or other).
Bupps
Buy yourself a Toddy Cold Brew maker online for real cheap and you can have this and cold brew coffee, and tea on the regular. Super simple and delicious! But yes do dilute!
Sara Tracy
The resulting concentrate is very strong and you really do need about a 1 to 4 ratio of concentrate to milk to make it palatable. Add a few tsp of sugar and ice and my wife says it's like drinking coffee ice cream. Hence - Winner.I haven't bothered ordering the coffee specified but note that French Market is about 1/4 the price of Blue Bottle.
Kate
I grew up in New Orleans. For a year after Hurricane Katrina, my family stayed with a distant elderly relative who’s home was spared. While living there, I saw her routine of making drip ice coffee using a contraption that included a giant bowl of grounds and water perched precariously on a tall narrow carafe. It sat overnight dripping one drop at a time, and I was amused by how elaborate and yet simple it was at the same time. This recipe was easy and delicious, and brought back a fond memory.
Sarah
Delicious! I made this with beans from a local cafe whose coffee I've always liked (no chicory). The first time I drank it I thought it was just okay but then I tried the instant coffee I would normally drink and wow - what a difference. This recipe makes a smooth coffee with a hell of a kick. Hopefully it works just as well in an espresso martini.
Carolyn O
I made this. I prefer hot coffee to cold, and it was delicious. Smooth as silk. I do not like the bitterness found in most coffees or those brewed in a Keurig. Considering I'm also very lazy, this has an appeal as well. Think I've found my new way to make coffee. Now to experiment with different brands.
Kanya Lai
This is similar to Vietnamese iced coffee sans milk! Condensed milk is used instead. It's divine!
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