I, like many others, am a huge fan of a good cup of joe, but I wasn’t always a fan. Unfortunately, for most of my life, I hated anything that was bitter. I absolutely despised many things green (steamed broccoli, mustard greens, spinach … ) because it always tasted really bitter to me. I didn’t find out until later in my life that I have a different genetic configuration for my taste perception than that of my parents. This allowed my parents to enjoy a side of broccoli while I choked the horribly bitter things down during dinner. Ah, but I digress.

Let’s get back to the topic at hand. Coffee was one of those things that just tasted too bitter for me to enjoy. The only way I enjoyed a coffee beverage was driving to Starbucks and ordering a Mocha Frappuccino. That is until I discovered that heat was the reason the coffee was bitter, and cold brewing coffee was a bitter-less alternative. Cold brewing is a way of extracting all the goodness out of the coffee bean without the acidic components that cause the bitterness. What you get is the best tasting cup of coffee that you will ever have.

Here is how you brew your own at home …

Items needed: French press (large one is recommended, here’s one for cheap on Amazon), coffee (pure Arabica beans and grinding (medium grind) the beans yourself is recommended) and great tasting filtered water.

1. Prepare your coffee and your water. Use 1 oz. (weight) coffee grounds for every 5 oz. (volume) of filtered tap water. I personally do 5.5 oz. of coffee grounds with 3.5 cups of reverse osmosis water, but you can do more or less to suite your individual taste.

2. Remove the screen-and-press portion of the “french press” from the glass beaker. Now, fill the beaker with about a third of the water you will use.

3. Add half of the coffee grounds to the partially filled french press.

4. Add another third of water, SLOWLY pouring it over all the grounds, trying to wet it all.

5. Add the last half of the coffee grounds to the press.

6. Then, add the last third of the water, SLOWLY pouring it over all the grounds, trying to wet it all.

7. Add the screen-and-press back into the beaker and go ahead and press the remaining air out of the coffee and water mixture by pressing it about a quarter of the way down (NOT more than half way down).

8. Let it sit for more than eight (8) hours, but not more than twelve (12). Eight hours will give you a mild coffee concentrate, and twelve hours will give you strong coffee concentrate. If you do more than twelve hours, the bitter components will start to enter the into the concentrate.

9. Once the wait period is over, you then push the screen-and-press all the way down to the bottom and pour the coffee concentrate into a mason jar or any type of liquid storage container (I prefer glass as it does not leach any kind unwanted “flavor” into the concentrate.). Place in refrigerator, and it will be good for a whole month.

You are done! Now you have coffee concentrate to make any kind of coffee beverage you desire. If you want a regular morning cup of coffee, just add 1 part coffee concentrate to 3 parts water (1 to 2 ratio if you like it really strong). If you are like me and love the iced latte, then add 1 part coffee concentrate to 3 parts milk. Delicious!

After you try it, comment below sharing your experience.