summer survival skills

New Orleans Cold Drip Coffee

(a variation of a recently published recipe in the NYT based on time and experience drinking gallons of cold drip coffee in NOLA, Paris and Richmond )

The ingredients listed here are based on my first cup of authentic cold drip coffee purchased at PJ's in uptown NOLA in `84. This concoction will result in eight cups of coffee concentrate:

1 pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground
10 cups cold water
Ice (coffee ice cubes are even better!)
French Vanilla Extract
Organic milk or Half and Half

1. Put coffee in a glass or nonreactive container, (stainless-steel). Add 2 cups water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then slowly add remaining 8 cups water. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours. (a link for purchasing a chicory coffee or a toddy kit is posted below)

2. Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.

3. To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add ¼ cup coffee concentrate, 1/4 filtered water and 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk, a 1/2 tsp of french vanilla extract, then stir or shake.

Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Note: Coffee with chicory or a Coffee Toddy Kit may be ordered through French Market or Blue Bottle.

When the heat is raging and the humidity even worse it will get you through a dog day afternoon. Of course there is no health substitute for drinking plenty of cool filtered water but the rewards of such good behavior surely merit a dip in salt water followed by a New Orleans style iced coffee chaser.