I’m hijacking Thirsty Thursday this weekend as Jake is apparently deep in the bowels of retail hell in Bozeman and I’ve rather been experimenting in the drinks department over the past twenty-four hours.
Historically, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I’m throwing that out there right now. Espresso drinks, sure. I even did a stint working at a Bozeman coffee shop years ago. But plain old, drip coffee?
Eh.
It’s just never done much for me. I love the smell, but it all too often tastes bitter and acidic, and I’ve found myself sticking to tea over the years. The one notable exception was working twenty-hour days in Russia, but that’s a story for another day.
So when friend Sinjin Eberle of Copper Door Coffee Roasting in Colorado offered to send me some coffee and two coffee bags to decorate the new abode on the Missouri, I was excited. Jake had tried some of Sinjin’s coffee and raved.
So, naturally my curiosity was aroused.
The package arrived at headhunters Monday, and when I showed up to work Tuesday I immediately popped the box and took in the smell of good coffee.
Bliss.
Even better, Sinjin had magically produced a “Fire Girl Blend.” I got a huge kick out of that, and am totally keeping the bag once the coffee is long gone.
A problem arose, however, when I got home and realized, perhaps belatedly, I don’t have a coffee maker. The kitchen is a meagre three plates, two bowls, and assorted water bottles and mugs.
There’s a glass measuring cup in the mix somewhere too.
So I turned to the internet. I’d heard murmurs of a cold-brewing process for coffee and figured this may be the perfect opportunity to try.
Carefully, I doled out one and one-third cup of the Fire Girl Blend and mixed it in a pot with four cups of water. I covered the mixture and let it sit overnight.
Wednesday morning, I strained the mixer using a small mug and a loose leaf tea strainer with a total capacity of about one-half cup. It was a slow process, and I woke up an extra half hour early so I knew I would have time to complete the process before heading into Headhunters.
The result was a coffee concentrate, amazing lacking any bitterness or acidity. Much of this miracle I attribute to Sinjin’s uber-fresh, uber-awesome coffee. I was, however, pretty impressed with the process.
I think the concentrate would be stellar cut with either water or milk and served cold over ice cubes, but as it was a frosty morning in Montana and I was lacking any ice cube trays (surprise, surprise), I measured out equal amounts of the concentrate and milk, then heated the mix in a pot on the stovetop.
The hot drink went into a thermos, and fueled me through a morning of early-arrival clients, dead guide truck batteries, and nearly twenty shuttle rides.
I’m calling it the super coffee, and I have a feeling it’ll be a staple as the season progresses.
Though maybe I need to invest in some ice cube trays for the hot summer…
