Whew! I don't know 'bout you guys, but over the last week, we've been experiencing some serious Indian Summer weather here in San Francisco!

Gusty summer breezes, temps in the 80s, and that clear blue California sky -- it's gorgeous! **Thank You** weather gods. THIS is the reason we pay such extravagant rents. ;-)

When the mercury climbs, however, a hot cup of java sometimes just doesn't sound quite as good. (Mind you, I wouldn't turn it down!)

To get your chill on and caffeinate simultaneously, why not brew a pot of cold process coffee, pop in a few icecubes, maybe a little organic cream or soymilk, a touch of agave syrup, and settle back with a tall, cool cup o' joe?

Mmmmmm. I feel refreshed just thinking about it! {{GRIN!}}

COLD BREWED COFFEE -- it's a slow, cold, ideally overnight process that turns out AMAZINGLY tasty *concentrated* coffee that's deeeelicious and low in acid (67% less acid!) so it's extremely easy on your stomach. And because it's concentrated, you only have to brew once or twice a week, (keep the rest in the fridge) depending on how much you consume. How's that for easy?!

Also, you decide how strong it will be by adding hot water to taste to your cold brewed concentrate, so it's totally customizable.

You want great tasting coffee, but if you're not ready for the $600 dollar Ferrari of espresso makers, get the next best thing -- the $34.95 cold brewed coffee maker. Yup, that's right, less than forty bucks for a seriously fabulous coffee maker. Woot!

Yes, it's a curious idea... cold brewed coffee. But how *EXACTLY* does it happen?

Check out the simple steps below to see just how easy it really is!

1. Take one pound of your favorite (hopefully home roasted, fair trade, and organic!) ground coffee and dump it into the brewing container. (See the link below to find out where you can get the one that I use -- the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System.)

And yes, I said one entire pound of ground coffee. Remember, you are making a coffee concentrate that will last in your fridge, so don't panic!

2. Add approximately 9 cups of water, slowly, making sure that the coffee is fully wet. You can do this easily by pouring the water over the grounds in slow circles, but DON'T STIR!

The best part is... you just combine the coffee and the cold water and walk away. Nothing complicated about that!

3. Let the coffee "brew" overnight for approximately 12 hours. The secret here is that TIME replaces HEAT.

Decant the coffee by pulling out the cork in the bottom of the brewer and letting it flow into the glass carafe. (Again, more details on the exact brewing system I use -- the Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System, below.)

4. Voila! You now have cold brew coffee concentrate.

For a steaming hot cup of some of the best coffee you've ever tasted, just add hot water, cream, and sugar to taste. Or throw some in the blender with ice cream and chocolate syrup for a mocha milkshake, or add ice cubes for a cold espresso... be creative!

NOTE: Remember to keep your cold brew coffee concentrate in the fridge!

OK, folks, there's yet ANOTHER reason you might want to consider cold brewing your coffee and that's this:

From where I'm sitting, the low tech cold brew method is a delightfully GREEN, EARTH FRIENDLY option as far as power consumption goes.

No batteries. No power cords. It's all time and gravity, baby!

Sure, you have to heat up some water if the end result you're looking for is a *hot* cup of coffee, but hey, for you die-hards out there, there's the solar box cooker for heating water. Hmmm, that's probably the topic of a new lens... :-)

Seriously, though, isn't it refreshing to discover a simple, functional, elegant, and efficient way of getting a job done right?!

P.S. Remember to use organic, fair trade coffee in your cold brew coffee maker -- it makes a difference -- for you, for the coffee growers and their employees, and for the planet.