My kids got me a cold brew coffee maker for Christmas. Basically a 2 quart mason jar with a mesh filter in the middle. I ground some beans and brewed my first batch and it was delicious. However, I only had flavored beans at the time and while it was tasty, I wasn’t going to chug half of a gallon of flavored coffee in one sitting. How long can we keep cold brew in the fridge and still have it retain its peak “freshness” ?
How long do you steep?
The ratio is right: 1:4, or 1:5. In either case, if you’re steeping over 12 hours, it’s definitely concentrated, much more like espresso than coffee.
I mean, Hoffman’s spider-sense will probably tingle when I say this, but… you’re essentially making cold-brew espresso. When you “make a cup of coffee” from it, you’re basically making an Americano. Lots of people make cold milk drinks with cold brew, and it’s just like they’d do at a coffee shop: a shot or two of espresso (the concentrate) plus twice or three times as much milk - hot or cold.