Luke's Brew: The Official Blog: Taking a break from all the brewing...

The story...

So basically I'm a student at Lehman College, and in late Spring, 2008, I built and ran a small snack/beverage cart that I pushed around campus. One day when looking for a way to make and sell coffee on it that wouldn't require gigantic pricey coffee machine gizmos, I stumbled upon a recipe for cold brewing coffee.

I mixed up a batch that night, filtered it the next day, and at first sip I knew I was on to something. Now I am licensed and insured, I formed an LLC, and I am brewing in much larger batches, at a commercial kitchen in my home town of Mamaroneck.

After an article in the Journal News, demand really started picking up. You can find the brew at Chocolations, a great chocolate & ice cream shop located at 447 Mamaroneck Avenue, in Mamaroneck of course. It is also now available at Millers Toys, in Mamaroneck as well, 335 Mamaroneck Avenue.

Cold brewed? What's that?

Great question. Cold brewing coffee is a process involving water, coffee grounds, and time (instead of heat). Essentially, you steep the grounds in water, at room temperature, for about 24 hours. You then filter the grounds out through a multi-step filtration process, and voila, you have cold brewed coffee.

Sound simple? In theory, it is, but in practice, it is quite messy and needs the perfect combination of duration, quantity of grounds vs. water, the right roast, the proper fineness of the coffee grounds, and the right brewing conditions. Because of this, my recipe is a closely guarded secret. : )

Anyone else doing it? Yes, there are a few companies (maybe three or four) who bottle cold brewed coffee. However, they sell it as a syrupy 'coffee concentrate', and I don't know about you but that sounds highly unappetizing to me. Thus, I tailored my recipe to yield a black coffee, ready to drink. Pour over ice, add what you like, enjoy. Zap it in the microwave and try it hot if you want. None of that "three parts water, one part concentrate" nonsense.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Taking a break from all the brewing...

Up in beautiful Sunapee, NH for a little bit, enjoying the warm lake and sunshine.

Me and a buddy of mine decided to try skimboarding behind the boat: I told him it would be impossible, but alas, as shown in the video, I was completely wrong.

And you're right, this has nothing to do with coffee, I just figured I would drop in a post to let people know I do things other than brewing coffee. : )

I will be back in town August 17th, brewing as much as always and pursuing some interesting coffee-related opportunities for the Fall.

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How do I get your delicious coffee?

Stop by Chocolations, 447 Mamaroneck Ave, Mamaroneck, NY (next to Enzo's), this awesome place is my flagship store.

Not only do they have my delicious coffee, the awesome owner there (Maria) makes some amazing chocolate. Oh yeah, ice cream too. Seriously, visit this place, it's sweet (no pun intended). And tell her I sent you. ; )

Also:

Whole Foods (White Plains)
Millers (Mamaroneck)
Kearns Deli (Larchmont)
Lola's Tea House (Pelham)
Iron Tomato (White Plains)
Cherry Lawn (New Rochelle)
SUNY Purchase (Purchase)
Wilton Village Market (Wilton, CT)

Finally, I offer free local delivery. Shoot me an email (lukesbrew@gmail.com) and we'll talk.

How is this ecofriendly?