Toddy T2N Cold Brew System Review

After having kids, coffee has become an integral part of my existence, definitely leading to a happier home. For coffee lovers, I really don’t think you can go wrong with cold brew: it’s super potent, it tastes great, and it’s especially good in the summer. The Toddy Cold Brew System lends itself especially well to people with busy lives due to the convenience of only having to brew about once a week, and the potency of the coffee concentrate it produces, which is able to unzombify you even when you have a lack of sleep. Every morning I look forward to opening the fridge and mixing myself a quick drink.

How it Works

Cold brew coffee works by steeping coffee grounds in water much like you would to make tea. The longer you steep it, the more potent the brew. I steep my cold brew coffee between 12 and 24 hours, I consider 12 the minimum and I think that 24 hours is just right for a nice potent coffee concentrate. With drip or espresso, a lot of the bitter acidic flavor comes from the high heat, and because there is no heat with cold brew it generally tastes much better.

However, it is important to note that cold brew coffee is MUCH more potent, and you should always dilute it. A good ratio is 1/3 coffee concentrate to other liquids such as milk or water. It might sound strange to water down coffee, but trust me, it is important with cold brew coffee concentrate or you’ll over do it.

Recipe

I’m going to diverge a little from the manufacturers recipe, mainly because I think the standard recipe is a little wasteful, even though it does taste a little better. If money is no object, stick to the manufacturers recommendations which I’ll note below, and you’ll get an even better tasting batch of coffee. With my recipe, you’ll get 64 oz of concentrate versus 48 oz using the original recipe. My modified recipe is a little more bitter, but in my opinion it works great as a day to day coffee and cuts cost by 33%.

Ingredients

• 7.5 cups of purified water (for first batch)
• 3.5 cups of purified water (for second batch)
• 10 oz of coarse ground coffee

Steps

1. Prepare the Toddy Brewing Container by cleaning it, moistening a filter and inserting it in the bottom, and putting the rubber stopper in.
2. Prepare 10 oz of coarse ground coffee (12 oz to follow manufacturers recipe). I like to use whole beans and the Cuisinart DBM-8 Automatic Burr Mill on the extra course grind setting.
3. Pour 1 cup of water, preferably purified, in the container.
4. Pour half of the coffee grounds in on top of the water.
5. Slowly, circling around the edge of the container, pour in 3 and a half more cups of water.
6. Wait a few minutes, then pour in the second half of the coffee grounds.
7. Slowly, in a circling movement pour in the rest of the water over all of the grounds. DO NOT STIR, or you could clog the filter.
8. Use a fork to lightly tap on any dry grounds so that they are all wet, again being careful not to clog the filter.
9. Let it steep for 12-24 hours. I prefer 24 hours, but if you forget to do it until the afternoon, then 12 is the minimum.
10. After steeping, drain the coffee in to the carafe.
11. Second Batch: If you want to increase your yield by 50% compared the the manufacturers recipe, make a second batch with the used grounds immediately after draining the first batch, using half of the water (3 to 3.5 cups). Steep only 8 hours for the second batch.

Tips

• Be careful not to clog the filter, DO NOT STIR the grounds otherwise it is likely to clog. If you do, it’s not the end of the world, but it will take a lot longer for the coffee to drain into the carafe.
• Use good quality purified water for best results.
• To save money, I buy whole beans in 5 lbs bags, split them into seven 1 quart mason jars which oddly enough is almost 10 oz, then vacuum seal them. They’ll stay fresh for at least a month or two, and it helps cut the cost down to about $5.50 a batch if you’re buying the $38 5 lbs bags mentioned
• You can increase yield by 50% compared to the manufacturers recipe by using the grounds a second time with half the water. The second batch is more bitter, and should only be steeped for 8 hours, but I think it’s good enough for a day to day coffee.

Pros

I really like the Toddy T2N Cold Brew System because it produces amazing coffee. It’s better than any coffee shop I’ve ever been to except one, and that’s saying a lot.

I also like the convenience, I brew mine once a week now, which makes rushed mornings a little bit easier.

Cons

The carafe seems like it could break pretty easily. I’ve read that the older ones have thicker glass. I haven’t broken mine yet, but I try to be really careful.

The manufacturers recipe seems a wasteful to me, but it does taste really good.

The filter clogs every now and then if you aren’t careful, not a huge deal though.

Conclusion

I definitely give this one a thumbs up. If you’re a coffee lover, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t buy one of these a long time ago. It’s a tough sell to say something revolutionizes coffee brewing, but the Toddy T2N Cold Brew System is in that ball park.