For the longest time I figured cold brew was just overpriced iced coffee, the kind you grab at a shop in downtown Phoenix for 7 bucks and pretend it tastes better. But my buddy kept pushing his homemade version, so after 3 tries I finally tried it black with no sugar. The smoothness caught me off guard, zero bitterness even after 12 hours in the fridge, and it hit me that the slow steeping is doing something real that hot water can't match. Now I make a half gallon every Sunday, but I'm still not sold on paying cafe prices for it. Anyone else come around on this after swearing it off, or do you still think it's a gimmick?