OR, HOW TO MAKE THE BEST COLD DRIP COFFEE

When you want to tackle your dreams or, say, unleash your inner gryphon for a bit, a spot of caffeine may be just the toe hold you need to launch into the air. My favorite rocket fuel is cold brewed coffee.

FIRST, the surprisingly simple recipe with no expensive equipment necessary:

In a quart glass container add up to half a bag of medium-fine ground Arabica coffee. The cheapest coffee tastes like Robusta and is not worth it. I use half decaf. Cover with cool water, a bit over the top, and stir with a metal spoon.

Let it sit for 24 hours in a cool place or the fridge.

Give it time to fully drain through a clean wire mesh strainer. Put the grounds in your compost or under a plant, as there is no acid released from coffee unless heated.

Rinse the strainer clean. Line with an unbleached round, basket-type coffee filter. Pour the concentrate through the filter as you can, letting it drip all the way through. It may take some time.

The result is your cold drip concentrate. Store in the fridge. Freeze into cubes. You can even add a good teaspoon or two of vanilla (to the full batch, not a cup!) like the early adopter NOLA firm, PJ’s used to if you like.

Be SURE to dilute with at least 2-3x water so you don’t zoom straight into a cliff after takeoff.

Honoré de Balzac, the more prolific yet less famous literary cousin of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, is said to have taken 50 cups of coffee a day. He was ambitious, calling his series of books ‘The Human Comedy,’ and he did get a lot of work done.

50 is a bit much, but a cup or two a day, at strategic times can help you get a handle on a big project, help you put your finger on that idea you’ve been circling or simply make you feel more things are possible.

Concentrated liquid coffee is not new. I first heard about it in New Orleans when I was at my friend Buddy’s house in Metairie and the only coffee available was his grandmother’s coffee essence. Basically it’s a type of excessively concentrated cold drip, stored in the fridge until boiling water is added to a tablespoon of syrup and, voila, an instant cup of hot coffee.

Evidently, the Scots were the first to use coffee concentrate commercially, which is not surprising. An amazing place, the highlands. I was left with a sense that, for anyone to have gotten anything done while traipsing over those gorgeous yet daunting mountains, they must have been very determined. Coffee couldn’t have hurt.

Now you can save your money. Make your own cold drip rocket fuel and make those dreams start to come true.

NOTE: I have since discovered an even easier, less messy method using this nifty little device. No royalties, just sharing.