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Permalink Reply by Michael Zeis on June 28, 2009 at 10:58am

We serve cold brewed toddy at the shop I work at. Its delicious and people love it black, flavored, sweetened, with or without milk, its good just about any way. However, we tried using it as a substitute for espresso in blended/frozen coffee drinks and it did not work well. The coffee flavor did not come through nearly strong enough. By itself its great though. To make it we use a hops bag with coarse ground beans in a large lexan of water and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours. It does need to be refrigerated. After 24 hours there will be oils on top but it can mold if not refrigerated. After 24 hours you will still need to strain it through a coffee filter to get out the silt. Play around with coffee amounts. We used to use a bunch of beans for a really strong toddy then dilute it in the cup with water and or milk but we've switched to less beans for a lighter toddy with no dilution necessary.
We currently use 2 lbs for 18 quarts (I think). Personally I'd like to go a little stronger but not everyone enjoys it that dark. We get an iced coffee blend from our roaster (Fontana of Houton, TX) but have used leftover miscellaneous beans and espresso blends with surprisingly good results.

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Permalink Reply by Billy on June 30, 2009 at 9:21pm

We also use the cold-brewed coffee (Toddy is equipment) at our shop and I have been playing with the bean and brew recipe for some time now. I actually brew at a slightly longer time (36 hrs) and at a stronger ratio currently (8 lbs to 5 gal). The end product is a strength comparable to a "hot" shot and we use 2.5 oz to a 16 oz iced latte. For an Americano we do have to go to 4oz/16oz diluted with purified water (very important).

The taste is def better (IMHO) than a pulled shot, choc and caramel notes are def present and sit with the dairy very well (we found whole milk works best for taste/color). I am using a lighter roast for an espresso bean than normal and I think I may actually go to a darker roast for the cold-brew.

The biggest challenge (even just outside of Seattle) is customer education. Most people don't understand the system and think we are just refridgerating old coffee. We were pouring out of recycled milk jugs and I think this didnt help so I just purchased a stainless steel/brass juice dispenser with an ice tube down the center to keep it cold and not dilute it. This should add some "credibility" to the cold brew, but we still have to explain the whole concept to people.

Filtering the solids is a pain as paper filters get saturated very quickly. I havent found a solution to this yet and have been decanting the concentrate gently after letting it sit for a while.

All in all it is worth it both in taste, longevity and margin. It also makes the best iced latte, period.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Aldrich on July 9, 2009 at 12:53pm

the shop i work at has used toddy for the 4 years we have been open, and it is by far my favorite product that we offer. we use the filtron maker(i believe it's a 15 or 20 gallon), which has a wool pad filter that goes in the very bottom. we use a giant paper filter to hold the grounds, and do a similar ratio to what billy mentioned about- 6 pounds to 4 gallons of water, 8 to 5 or, for the summer since we go through so much of it, 10 pounds to 7 gallons(which maxes out the maker). we recently started carrying a new home brew system that uses a metal mesh filter similar to a gold cone. i haven't had the chance to use it, but i wonder if it would improve the taste or not since one of the things that makes toddy so smooth is that the combination of the paper and wool filter remove the majority of the oils.

We use gallon jugs (similar to what bulk pickles might come in) purchased from a restaurant supplier. they have pump tops that consistently pump an ounce of the toddy, which is probably the most effective method i have seen as far as quick dosing, cleanliness and precision.

i agree with billy on his last point as well. hands down, the best iced latte i have ever had

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Permalink Reply by Portland Roasting on July 10, 2009 at 9:20am

Toddy is the office favorite for summer drinks around Portland Roasting. Each employee drinks it differently and we have come up with some nutty combinations. My favorite is washed Ethiopian Sidamo toddy straight up. Our accounts manager likes it with Horchata and it is surprisingly delicious. We Have a 20 quart (5gal) maker called "Filtron Pro" but we also enjoy using multiple small toddy makers so we have a few different blends and single origins on hand for variety.

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