Cold Brew with Orange Peel

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large glass jar or pitcher (1-quart minimum)
• •Vegetable peeler
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Cheesecloth or paper coffee filter

Instructions

1. 1

   Select your coffee

   Start with the beans. Seek out a roaster who can tell you where they came from and when they were roasted. Single-origin coffees from Ethiopia or Central America often carry natural citrus notes that sing alongside the orange peel. Grind coarsely, like raw sugar. Too fine and the brew turns bitter and muddy.

   Coffee roasted within the past two weeks will have the most aliveness. Ask your roaster for the roast date, not the expiration.
2. 2

   Prepare the orange peel

   Choose an orange that feels heavy in your hand and smells like itself when you hold it close. Using a vegetable peeler, strip four or five wide ribbons from the skin, pressing lightly to avoid the bitter white pith beneath. The oils live in that thin outer layer. You want only the perfumed surface.

3. 3

   Combine and steep

   Place the ground coffee in a large glass jar or pitcher. Tuck the orange peels among the grounds. Pour the cold water over everything, stirring gently to saturate the coffee. Cover loosely and set in the refrigerator. Then wait. Time does the work here, not heat.

   Twelve hours produces a bright, lively brew. Eighteen to twenty-four hours deepens the body and rounds the edges. Taste at twelve and decide.
4. 4

   Strain carefully

   Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth or a paper filter and set it over a clean pitcher. Pour the steeped coffee through slowly. Do not press the grounds or you will extract bitterness. Let gravity do the work. Discard the spent grounds and orange peels.

5. 5

   Serve over ice

   Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the cold brew over, watching the dark liquid cascade through the cubes. The concentrate is strong by design. You can dilute with cold water or drink it as is. A drizzle of local honey softens any edges, though good coffee and good citrus may need nothing at all.

Chef Tips

• •Buy whole beans and grind them yourself just before steeping. Pre-ground coffee loses its vitality within days of opening.
• •If your oranges are not organic, scrub them well. Conventional citrus is often coated with wax and pesticides that have no place in your cold brew.
• •Save the orange flesh for breakfast or squeeze it into sparkling water. Waste is a sign of disconnection from the food. Use what the fruit gives you.
• •In winter when navel oranges are at their peak, this cold brew is at its best. Summer citrus lacks the same depth of oil in the peel.

Advance Preparation

• •Cold brew concentrate keeps refrigerated for up to two weeks, though it is best within the first five days while the citrus notes remain bright.
• •Make a double batch on Sunday evening and you will have cold brew waiting every morning of the week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)