$50, at Amazon
Cold
Comfort
Even if it's not exactly hot out, there's still an argument to be made for the superiority of cold-brew coffee. And we're not just talking about iced coffee here. Way better than chilling traditionally hot-brewed beans, cold-brew is steeped for an extended period of time at room temperature, leeching a slightly sweeter, less acidic flavor from the grounds. Gone is the bitterness—replaced with all of those rich caramelized background flavors coffee snobs like to brag about. Which could explain why the concept has hit the mainstream.
Case in point: This new cold-brewer from household gadget powerhouse OXO. (There's little doubt you don't have at least one item in your kitchen with that little red oval logo on it.) The cleverly designed coffee maker has a handsome smokey hue to it and a modern hourglass shape. Brewing is pretty simple. Dump your grinds into the main chamber, pour the water through a "rainmaker" cover which sprinkles down gently over the coffee. Then you wait. It takes time for the coffee's flavor to be extracted from the grounds, but we've found that the long process brings out the best from even the most basic of supermarket beans.
FYI
The whole brewer easily packs down to half-size and nests inside of itself for easy storage.
After 16 to 24 hours, flip the release switch and your cold-brew coffee concentrate is filtered into a stylish beaker carafe. The air-tight lid not only keeps your coffee fresh in the fridge, but also has a fill line for measuring out the perfect dose to mix with water or milk. And one full carafe of concentrate produces roughly 12-14 glasses of iced coffee, so you may only need to brew once a week, depending on how much you drink. But let's be honest, you can drink a lot of this stuff.
