Puh-Lease Hurricane Irene. No One Gets Between Me And Caffeine.

With this hurricane, tornado, and earthquake business going on in Jersey the past few days, electricity's been pretty shaky. My main concern? HOW WILL I BREW MY COFFEE?

I'm actually not too concerned though. Not because I am able to do without coffee for a few days. No sir. I'm not concerned because I spend my summers making jar after jar of cold brew coffee.

While not all of you are in the middle of an electricity crisis due to Hurricane Irene, cold brew is an entirely different coffee experience and you should really try it regardless of your fancy schmancy coffee brewing devices. Here are the primary coffee brewing devices in my arsenal of caffeinery during the Jersey Shore summer:

Yup. It's pretty high end stuff.
 Though I AM loving that cute little measuring cup I got at Pier1.

Here's how to make yourself some cold brew.
FIRST OFF. Let me make it known that what you are making is a CONCENTRATE. So it needs to be diluted with a large proportion of milk unless you like triple strength coffee, in which case, knock yourself out, and God bless your soul.

I like to use 1 cup of coffee grounds for every 2.5-3 cups of water. But this is really up to you and how strong or weak you want it to be. I played around with it for a while and this is the best I came up with, at least for how I liked to mix up my iced coffee in the end. More of that later though.

Ready? Put the grounds in your jar.

 I used a paper towel rolled into a funnel shape to get the grounds in the jar easily but its up to you. Someone with normal amounts of hand eye coordination can probably do without that.

Add water and shake it up good.

 I like to do a little jig while I'm shaking it. This is not necessary to the process, but I think you should do it anyway.

Let it sit for about 10-12 hours. Using a coffee strainer of some sort, strain the coffee into another jar or container.

I have a 4cup coffee maker with one of those reusable washable filters inside so I put that on top of a cup with the right sized opening and let it sit, refilling the filter as it drains and empties. But paper filters will definitely do. That's how I did it before I remembered I had an easier option staring me in the face.

Mix up your coffee drink! Use about 4 ounces of coffee and then add about 6 ounces of milk. If it licks your lizard you can add some sugar and a splash of cream as well! I'm satisfied with skim milk and coffee myself.

Easy right? Yet delicious. Easy and delicious. My favorite! n_n

As a side note- I use whole bean coffee that I grind myself in my cute little Cuisinart grinder right before brewing of any sort. IT IS SO GOOD. Best 30$ investment of my entire life. I was completely shocked after having a friend make me coffee this way at how pure and downright good it tasted. How could I love coffee so much and not grind my own? For shame.