The Celebration of DIY

I get on these weird money saving kicks once in a while. I say weird because they really make no sense in terms of what I decide to save money on and what I don't. 

One classic example is when I decided to start waxing my own face (don’t act shocked … if your family heritage is anywhere near the Mediterranean, hair removal is a major expense.) When I got into bed that evening with a few self-inflicted wounds on my face, Richard asked why I had done it myself and not gone to my usual place. When I explained how expensive it was and I was trying to save money, he responded that maybe I should cut back on my morning latte’s at Starbucks instead.  That's the closest he's ever come to sleeping on the couch.

Luckily, my affinity towards DIY'ing this part of my personal grooming has ended. But, I still look for small and big ways to save money … I often pack my own lunches for work, we pack the kids school lunches, we do meatless dinners at least once a week and I obsessively make shopping lists so we buy what we need and don't waste as much food as we used to.

While at the grocery store over the summer, rather than mindlessly putting the bottle of cold-brew coffee in my shopping cart, I actually looked at the price. Between that "omg, I'm spending how much on a bottle of coffee" moment and paying attention to the price of my daily lattes at the hipster coffee place in my building, I decided it was time to DIY my coffee. (Yes, Richard, you were right). 

Making cold-brew coffee requires a bit of investment at first but it will save you money in the long run. I love cold-brew because you get all of the flavor of coffee, without the bitterness and you can keep it in a carafe in your fridge for two weeks. Because it’s concentrated coffee, you can adjust the strength based on how much water and/or milk that’s added. Finally, you can make hot coffee, iced coffee and anything else in between. Oh, and I no longer have a coffee pot/Keurig taking up precious counter top real-estate.

I bought the Toddy Cold Brew System at my grocery store for about $30 and it's been a great investment. I thought about DIY'ing the system but I just wasn't up to the challenge.  I have found that a kitchen scale is also a useful tool in making the cold brew. The recipe below is from the instructions in the Toddy Cold Brew System I bought with a few additional tips. 

Tools you will need:

• The cold brew system
• Coffee grinder
• Kitchen scale (not pictured)  (this is the one I have and I use it a lot in my cooking/baking)

 Ingredients:

1. 1 lbs good coffee that’s coarsely ground.*
2. Water

 *If you can only get whole beans just allot extra time for grinding them at home. I really like the Cuvee beans and Stumptown Hair Bender both of which I can buy locally. But, I've also used Community Coffee and brands more widely available. Here’s a tip from my uncle who grows coffee in Hawaii – when you use an electric grinder (like the one pictured), shake it as you grind your coffee. It will grind the coffee more evenly and release more of the coffee’s flavor.

What to do:

1. Set up the cold brew system and dampen the filter.
2. Add 1 cup of water into the bottom of the brewing container and 6 oz of ground coffee (this is why a scale comes in very handy). 
3. Slowly pour 3 more cups of water over the grounds in a circular motion. You want to wet all of the coffee grounds.
4. Add remaining 6 oz of ground coffee and wait 5 minutes. At this point, I like to add a dash or two of cinnamon. 
5. Add the last 3 cups of water very slowly. Do not stir! If needed, take the back of a spoon and press down on the topmost grounds to ensure all grounds are wet.
6. Put a towel over the coffee grounds and steep for 12 to 24 hours. I usually start it on a Sunday afternoon and let it filter first thing when I wake up on Monday morning. It's usually done filtering by the time I'm ready for my morning coffee.