I’ve been a bit of a slacker with regards to posting here lately. I seem to alternate through phases where I am highly motivated to write, and phases where I am totally uninteresting in writing. Actually, I’d call it “writer’s block” more so than lack of interest.

I’ve decided to stop recording day-to-day notes about coffee here, and instead, I’m keeping a spreadsheet that I update with every cup I brew. It’s handy having detailed notes about every cup as I’m trying to dial in the best brew settings for a particular batch. I’ve only been doing this for about a month, but I think it’s helping me brew better cups. I’ll still post here occasionally about general coffee-related topics, and I may keep posting brew recipes/methods here as well.

This has been the “summer of cold brew”. We have a full house currently, with both kids at home (long story), and I am the only one in the house who drinks hot coffee this time of year. The kids drink caffeinated cold brew, and my wife drinks decaf cold brew. I’ve been making it in the French press like so:

1. Grind 3 ounces of beans at setting 10 on the Ode, or measure out 3 to 4 ounces of pre-ground coffee.
2. Add grounds to the French press
3. Add 28-30 ounces of water and stir until all of the grounds are wet. Then, pull the spoon out and top up to 32oz, using the remaning water to rinse grounds off the spoon (a lot will stick to the spoon, particularly when using pre-ground).
4. Cover French press with plastic wrap, and secure with a rubber band.
5. Put French press in the refrigerator and steep for 18-24 hours.
6. Plunge slowly.
7. Pour coffee through a paper filter into a glass container. For fresh ground beans, I use a size 3 V60, filter, and mason jar; for pre-ground, I use a mesh strainer, standard pleated coffee filter, and 32oz Pyrex measuring cup.

I like to use a medium to dark roast for cold brew. Lately, Zeke’s Market Blend has been my go-to cold brew coffee. I suspect Charm City Blend, Tell Tale Dark, or any number of Zeke’s other dark roasts would also work well. They all come in 1-pound bags, and are very reasonably priced as far as coffee goes these days. I’ve also used pre-ground coffee to make several batches, but do not recommend it. It’s hard to plunge due to the finer grind, and filtering it tends to get messy. I’m just trying to use up a 2-pound bag of it we’ve had sitting in the freezer forever.

I seem to have turned a corner with my summer running this year. I’ve been able to keep my mileage up much more consistently than previous years. I’m not running as much as I do in the cooler seasons, but I’m able to go 10K to 7.5 miles every time out, and I’m still doing a 9-12 miler roughly once a week. In past summers, there were many times where I would hit the wall and have to stop early after 4 to 5 miles. I think the “secret sauce” this year has been the homemade energy gels I’ve been making and consuming during my runs. The extra carbs and electrolytes really seem to make a big difference.

More later…