I love me some coffee. Trust me, my day job is working at a computer. It’s been just over 15 years or more working at a computer and drinking lots of coffee. I’ve went through the phases most coffee drinkers do… thinking “man this coffee is tearing me up.” Is it the caffeine, or the acidity? For me, I think it’s the acidity. I’m testing this theory now.
I like acidic foods too… like citrus, sausage, hot peppers and a multitude of other things high in acid. Oddly, I don’t suffer from typical acid ailments like acid reflux or indigestion, yet. However, when my favorite cup of coffee hits my stomach, I feel it now-days. I have already cut down my intake and only drink it in the morning, and not every morning. I notice improvement. But what’s a man to do about his love of coffee? I thought I’d give the low-acid coffee I have been hearing about a try.
First, find good whole beans. I feel I have the best coffee connection in the world, if not my area. They French-roast a Mexican bean for me exactly how I like and I get 5 lbs. a month (working on cutting that down of course 🙂 I can also feel good about supporting my local economy.
Next, set your grinder to a course grind and grind to the following ratios; 1 cup course grounds to 3 cups of water. If you want to make smaller batches, respect a ratio of about 1/3 cup grounds to 1.5 cups of water.
I mix all in a 1 quart mason jar, put the lid on and set it aside for 12-15 hours.
The science of making the low-acid is steeping the grounds in cool water vs. blasting them with hot. I’m struggling to stay away from the technicals here… but my nerd friends can Google all about this science. Naturally, the cool water will take longer to steep out the flavor out of the coffee. I have let sit over night.
The next morning, I use my regular coffee maker as the strainer. See the pic. I put in a coffee filter, put the empty carafe below and slowly pour the water and grounds into the filter. The coffee concentrate flows through and into the pot. Mine is a perfect set-up because the carafe is required to be in place before the liquid can flow through (it’s the steal-a-cup style).
From there, I dump the concentrate from the carafe back into a mason jar. That’s it. You have coffee concentrate. Now stay with me here. This is where I thought this was going to be nasty. Boil your water. We boil our water in our teapot. Now, it’s as easy as ever to have coffee or tea… by the cup.
I’ve read mix 50% of the coffee concentrate with 50% boiling water. I have done this… and of course you can change those ratios to adjust strength to your liking.
The outcome? I can’t believe it’s still coffee? It tastes just as good, and just as fresh as the regular way I make coffee. It has all the flavor and strength and really doesn’t taste like yesterday’s pot. Sure, there’s a little more effort involved, but for now, it works for me. I have already incorporated it in to our morning regimen. If you do it, let me know what you think!
Step by step pictures
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