Queenie's Treasury: The caffeinated edition.

Happy weekend, my doves! I've been on something of a Treasury hiatus for a while, for which I heartily apologize. Between the trip to Maine and my brother's actual 30th birthday last week (gougères, chocolate chip cookies, and Vietnamese lettuce wraps for 100 were involved), it's been a bit nutty on this end. But I'm back, baby, and ready to rock. This week, we're all about coffee.

First up, some great tips from the wonderful women of Food52 (assisted by the folks from Craft Coffee) on how to brew the perfect cup. Some highlights? Store coffee at room temperature, not in the freezer or refrigerator. Grind the beans fresh, preferably with a burr grinder. And make sure the water you use is actually below boiling - otherwise you're going to get a bitter brew.

But, kids - it is, after all, summer. Which means that cold coffee is at least as important right now as the hot kind. Thank goodness, then, for Bon Appétit's no-nonsense recipe for cold-brewed coffee concentrate. Keep a mason jar of this in your fridge, and you'll never find yourself settling for Starbucks again. (My favorite beans for cold coffee, by the way, are Brazil Rainha from Joe.)

And, finally, a little something to help you brew your best on the go. I'm a sucker for Intelligentsia's iPhone app, which contains step by step instructions for a variety of brewing methods - extremely helpful during the summer travel season, when you find yourself confronted with a variety of unfamiliar coffee makers in varying locales. (A rental vacation home in Maine, for example.)