Liquid Gold

Walks to front of room, steps behind podium…”My name is Elizabeth and I LOVE coffee.” 

I have always drank normal hot brewed coffee and hated when it would get cold. I would always have to reheat my coffee if I didn't finish it, friends of mine always said iced coffee was really good and that I should give it a try. I was stuck in my ways, the first time I tried cold coffee was at a 7 eleven and it was a coffee slush type of drink and it was good but really sweet. I tried to hot brew then make my own iced coffee and I could just never get it right. Either too watery, too bitter, or it could never hold up to my expectations. One day (many moons ago) my husband and I went to Starbucks to try the new “fad” and I decided to get an iced coffee and it was amazing. Delicious brewed coffee poured over top some ice with a couple pumps of vanilla and finished off with none other than half and half. Creamy, sweet, perfect blend of coffee and the right temperature for a summers day. I fell in love with iced coffee and never really went back to hot coffee unless it was at work early in the morning or a cold cold day. 

We loved Starbucks and went there just about every day, we’ve order everything on the menu and some off menu items (benefits of knowing a barista). My husband became a “Gold Card” member and we even started buying their syrups and espresso at home in our espresso machine. We LOVED Starbucks and couldn’t get enough of this amazing caffeine infused deliciousness.  Then the day came where we were reading up on our favorite things and what was really in them. That day we found out what was actually in their products. Knowing all that really slowed down our consumption and inevitably stopped our desire for the green siren laden cups.  In turn pushing me to keep trying to make my own iced coffee, I was watching the food network channel (one of my all-time favorite channels) and The Pioneer Woman was on yes the one with Ree Drummond. She had a segment about cold brewing coffee, something I didn't know you could actually do. I always thought you had to hot brew it first. Wow news to me. So I was following what she said and decided to give it a try. We went to Wholefoods and bought some organic Allegro coffee and I went for it. I did everything she suggested and let it sit. I was so excited to try the iced coffee the next morning; I was feeling all giddy inside. I filtered my black gold as I call it and it was delicious. I never went back to hot brew coffee again. The only issue was she used a cheese cloth and well I always wound up with grinds in my cup and it was messy to say the least.

My wonderful husband found this company called  Coffeesock and he was telling me about it and it was really amazing; all made in the USA from organic cotton and reusable for up to a year or more. I told him I would think about getting one but the way I was doing cold brew now was fine..... I mean we had plenty of cheese cloth and plenty of Rubbermaid storage containers. Then he did more reading and he found out some information about plastic even bpa free plastic that I didn't like the sound of. So not only did we upgrade to all glass mason jars for  drinking with the cuppow and ecojarz (blog coming soon on those products) but all glass storage bowls. We also tossed all our plastic in the house. I found it a little harder to cold brew my coffee now. One day my husband surprised me with a cold brew coffeesock as a part of an anniversary gift. Yes they make cold brew and hot brew socks for your own preference. 

I not only was excited but wanted to try it immediately, if you cant tell I have a small addiction to coffee. So after boiling the Coffeesock like it stated to do I got one of our big 8 cup mason jars and started to cold brew with my new coffeesock. I bloomed my coffee and filled the jar up and in the fridge it went for anywhere from 20-24 hrs. The longer the better for the most part, after 24 hr was up I couldn't wait to try the new method. It was so much easier to do vs The Pioneer Woman's method and the clean up was less messy. All you have to do is unscrew the jar, let the coffeesock drain one done you just turn the coffeesock inside out and discard the grinds(compost anyone??), rinse with filtered water, and hang dry. Never use any detergent on the coffeesock, it will mess with the oils in the filter and ruin your next brew. I usually add a little extra water to my liquid gold just so 1. It goes a little further and 2. It's not extremely bold and acidic. It by far is the best coffee I have ever had. I have to give huge thanks to my wonderful and amazing husband for buying the coffeesock as well as the mastermind behind making this amazing creation. Check them out at CoffeeSock.com 

My Liquid Gold Recipe:

2 ounces ground coffee

56 ounces filtered water

Take your 8 c mason jar and place on the scale. Put your coffeesock into the mason jar and drape over the mouth of the jar. Add 2 ounces of your favorite coffee and pour a little water over ground coffee to wet thoroughly, then let sit for 1 min to bloom. Once bloomed close coffeesock and put into the jar. Fill jar with 56 ounces of water or just fill to the line like I do. Put into fridge for up to 24 hours. 

24 hours later:

Take coffeesock out if jar and let sit on mouth to drain. Once drained I usually add more water. It's completely up to you if you want to add more water depending on the taste you want. 

Simple Syrup:

Regular and vanilla 

1 c sugar

1.5 c filtered water 

1 vanilla bean split (optional)

Put sugar and water into a pot on med to med-high heat and mix until all sugar has dissolved. Add vanilla bean and let steep. You can even put the caviar into the syrup as well. Once cooled pour into a glass jar and put in fridge. 

Enjoy!!