Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

I distinctly remember visiting my dentist three-ish years ago and telling him, "No, I don't drink much coffee, my teeth will totally stay this white!" Well, within a few months at my job I picked up the habit. But I haven't gone off the deep end; I'm good with one or two cups a day, maybe more on a leisurely Sunday morning (that's a little backwards, eh?).

Come summertime, I start enjoying coffee my favorite way: cold-brewed. Give it a google for all the good science of it but the bottom line is, cold-brewed iced coffee isn't bitter like hot coffee + ice. Five minutes of work tops and you can have the means for a week's worth of the best iced coffee. I dig it with a teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk stirred in, a la thai iced coffee.

Adapted from NYTimes.com.

Makes 6-8 drinks.

Ingredients

1 cup medium-to-coarse grind coffee

4 1/2 cups water

Optional additions: milk, cream, half-and-half, sweetened condensed milk

Preparation

1. In a bowl or 8-cup measuring cup with pouring spout, stir together coffee and 4 1/2 cups water. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight or 12 hours.
2. Strain mixture twice through a coffee filter or fine mesh strainer. Press additional liquid out of coffee grounds with back of a spoon. In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water, or to taste. If desired, add any of the optional additions to taste.