With this coffee cold brewer, you can make the perfect cup of iced coffee in style. Using 3D printed fittings, some off-the-shelf laboratory glassware, and maple dowels, this piece turns the cold brew process into a performance.
There are a many methods of making iced coffee, here are a few I’m familiar with:
Japanese Iced Method: Coffee is brewed hot (pour-over, Aeropress, etc.), then dripped directly over ice, cooling it instantly. This basically tastes the same as hot coffee- same acidity, similar flavor profile and aromatics.
Crash Cooling: An easy way to do this one is to brew a cup of coffee, pour it in a steel cocktail shaker, then put the shaker in a bucket of ice until the temperature drops. This will take the coffee down to temperature without diluting it in melting ice, the way the Japanese Iced method will.
Nitro (pressurized): “treated with nitrogen and/or carbon dioxide under high pressure, then chilled in a keg and served on draught with a foamy head like a Guinness.” – Bon Apetit
I love the taste of this kind of coffee. It really is like a coffee Guinness. Alas, I don’t have the space for a setup like this, so I resort to the next best thing…
Cold Brewing: With this method, a small amount of coffee grounds are steeped in cold water, and drip the resulting brew at about one drop / 3 seconds. My impression is that boiling water releases caffeine and acidity much faster than cold water does. Steeping the grounds in cold water and releasing it slowly cuts the acidity significantly (you can taste that), but I’ve heard heard the argument that since it’s steeping for so long (2-6 hours), the caffeine content is about the same as it would be in a hot brewed cup.
In any case, this method makes incredibly smooth, nutty, floral coffee without the acidic bite. I love the bitterness of hot coffee, but for some reason it’s not as pleasant to me when it’s cold.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Open Hardware is In, New CircuitPython and Pi 5 16GB, and much more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
