Cold brew filter difficulties

[fredct]

I’ve recently started making cold brew at home (after trying the Dunkin cold brew packs and liking it but not wanting to pay through the nose for home cold brew).

It’s been working well but my one frustration/confusion is filtering it. I can use a fine sieve and get out the grains. But I recently bought some coffee filters to get the rest of the silt as recommended in most recipes.

However when I put the filter in the sieve and pour the cold brew in it, but it drips slowly and eventually comes to a near stop before too long. If I change to a new filter it goes faster again but only for 1 minute. It would seem to take an hour and 2 dozen filters to get through several cups worth of cold brew.

About to give up and just let it settle and pour until I saw silt, I tried paper towel and that worked pretty well but of course isn’t meant for it.

What could I be doing wrong with the filters?!?!

 

[ong]

They’re just plugging up, which means you’ve got too much sediment for the size of the filter. I mostly just use a fine metal mesh and don’t worry about the remaining sediment, but if you want very clear coffee, it might help to refrigerate it for a few hours after you sieve it, until most of the fines have fallen to the bottom, then pour the liquid off into your paper filter. You should have a thick muddy layer at the bottom of the jar after you pour off the coffee.

 

[fredct]

They’re just plugging up, which means you’ve got too much sediment for the size of the filter. I mostly just use a fine metal mesh and don’t worry about the remaining sediment, but if you want very clear coffee, it might help to refrigerate it for a few hours after you sieve it, until most of the fines have fallen to the bottom, then pour the liquid off into your paper filter. You should have a thick muddy layer at the bottom of the jar after you pour off the coffee.

So all the recipes online which say to filter through a coffee filter or cheese cloth are full of it?

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I gave up on trying to deal with paper filters, cold crashing and decanting, running through french presses, etc. My advice to you is to spend the $30 on amazon and get a Toddy. I can now brew and filter in the same thing, drain it into a decanter and refrigerate. It produces extremely clean coffee (no sediment..I would have said crystal clear, but its black as night), easy to use and I can typically get 8-10 uses out of the felt filter before I replace it. I drink a lot of coffee and the toddy can keep up with my demand. Don't think about it, you won't regret it once you see how easy cold brew actually is.

 

[Lax coach]

I use this KitchenAid, which I got as a gift:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XNVZDC7/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The mesh is pretty fine, but some powder does drop to the bottom. It gets caught up on the ridges at the bottom and forms a "cake", which doesn't seem to dislodge as you're dispensing. I have no noticeable sediment in the coffee that comes out.

 

[ong]

So all the recipes online which say to filter through a coffee filter or cheese cloth are full of it?

No, not really — it’s just not always that straightforward. I find cheesecloth less likely to plug up, because the mesh isn’t so fine. Grinding coarser will reduce the amount of fines but attenuate less. Etc...

Doing a two stage filtration will help a lot — a coarse mesh to get 90% of the sediment, then a finer mesh or coffee filter to clean it up.

 

[Bombadill]

I like to use a jelly or nut milk bag.

 

[NeilMac]

Sounds like the grinds are a bit too fine. I use a mason jar and shake two days then let sit in the fridge two days, then pour, no problem with grit.