Review on 🥤 County Line Kitchen - Durable Glass Cold Brew Mason Jar Coffee Maker with Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Filter - 32 oz, 1 Quart by Carolyn Lawson

I was really hoping that the cold brew approach of this product would be a more convenient alternative to Toddy's approach. The trick was that keeping the cold coffee in the same container it was brewed in meant one less container to clean. Plus, the stainless steel filter is dishwasher safe, so you don't have to buy replacement filters. Both are true; However, it's disappointing that the coffee isn't strong enough, at least not for what I want. My goal is to make a strong coffee that is reconstituted with hot water at a 1:4 ratio (hot coffee brewing method). At this ratio, adding hot water to cold coffee eliminates the need for additional heating of the coffee. However, the strongest coffee I can brew in this jar requires a 1:2 ratio. That means I (1) use a lot more coffee and have to brew it more often; and (2) there is not enough hot water to heat cold coffee, so the entire cup must be heated after reconstitution. Another disappointment is that the filter lets quite a bit of fine grounds into the coffee. I don't have a $1000 grinder to install on a coarse grinder, so I tried the 6-second blend in a KitchenAid grinder. This creates a rather coarse grind, but also a fine grind that goes through the filter. The workaround is to use a filter device. This is easy to fix if the grind is higher than I prefer. The fundamental issue I didn't realize is that this system has a maximum threshold to control coffee strength. The maximum amount of grist that can be placed in the filter. The only other way to make coffee stronger is to reduce the amount of water used to maximize the coffee. However, the design of the jug and filter means that adding less water results in less water contact with the coffee; it weakens the coffee instead of strengthening it. The flexibility of open systems, where the water and coffee touch (on the same side of the filter) is that you can combine any amount of coffee with any amount of water, giving precise control over the strength of the cold coffee. A final word on the silicone discs: while there is no problem with the disc on the filter, I often have problems with the disc you use without a filter. A jug lid is included for use when brewing/brewing the coffee as well as for storage. The filter has a silicone ring that works well during the soaking phase. If you remove the filter, add another washer for storage. Several times this filter crumpled when unscrewing the lid and sometimes fell into a full pot of fresh coffee. I've just started using the traditional spherical jar lid for storage. While this system hasn't worked for me with coffee, I will experiment with tea and see if it works better. I brew a few long steep teas and this can be a great workout for these.