diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index 56c042a5127..b27401ad4e7 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -192,10 +192,6 @@ gem 'flamegraph', git: 'https://github.com/SamSaffron/flamegraph.git', require:
 gem 'rack-mini-profiler',  git: 'https://github.com/MiniProfiler/rack-mini-profiler.git', require: false
 
 # used for caching, optional
-# redis-rack-cache is missing a sane expiry policy, it hogs redis
-# https://github.com/jodosha/redis-store/pull/183
-gem 'redis-rack-cache', git: 'https://github.com/SamSaffron/redis-rack-cache.git', require: false
-gem 'rack-cache', require: false
 gem 'rack-cors', require: false
 gem 'unicorn', require: false
 gem 'puma', require: false
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index c48647492cd..c27c426bfdb 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -54,14 +54,6 @@ GIT
       redis
       thin
 
-GIT
-  remote: https://github.com/SamSaffron/redis-rack-cache.git
-  revision: 379ef30e31d4e185cb1d7f8badca0cc06403eba2
-  specs:
-    redis-rack-cache (1.2.1)
-      rack-cache (~> 1.2)
-      redis-store (~> 1.1.0)
-
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/SamSaffron/sprockets.git
   revision: bacf2ec4d4d10cd8d1ab25a6360740314c512237
@@ -526,7 +518,6 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   pry-rails
   puma
   qunit-rails
-  rack-cache
   rack-cors
   rack-mini-profiler!
   rails (= 3.2.12)
@@ -536,7 +527,6 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   rb-inotify (~> 0.9)
   redcarpet
   redis
-  redis-rack-cache!
   redis-rails
   rest-client
   rinku
diff --git a/Gemfile_rails4.lock b/Gemfile_rails4.lock
index a0d4531c615..62abe0984b9 100644
--- a/Gemfile_rails4.lock
+++ b/Gemfile_rails4.lock
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ GIT
 
 GIT
   remote: git://github.com/rails/rails.git
-  revision: cfd9186e34a25a29f7cd2018e91548f5d1be22af
+  revision: 0785008a64f4af8d09379683303d49d160cd444d
   branch: 4-0-stable
   specs:
     actionmailer (4.0.0)
@@ -111,14 +111,6 @@ GIT
       redis
       thin
 
-GIT
-  remote: https://github.com/SamSaffron/redis-rack-cache.git
-  revision: 379ef30e31d4e185cb1d7f8badca0cc06403eba2
-  specs:
-    redis-rack-cache (1.2.1)
-      rack-cache (~> 1.2)
-      redis-store (~> 1.1.0)
-
 GIT
   remote: https://github.com/callahad/omniauth-browserid.git
   revision: af62d667626c1622de6fe13b60849c3640765ab1
@@ -281,7 +273,7 @@ GEM
     mocha (0.14.0)
       metaclass (~> 0.0.1)
     mock_redis (0.9.0)
-    multi_json (1.8.1)
+    multi_json (1.8.2)
     multipart-post (1.2.0)
     mustache (0.99.4)
     net-scp (1.1.2)
@@ -340,8 +332,6 @@ GEM
     qunit-rails (0.0.4)
       railties (>= 3.2.3)
     rack (1.5.2)
-    rack-cache (1.2)
-      rack (>= 0.4)
     rack-cors (0.2.8)
       rack
     rack-openid (1.3.1)
@@ -531,7 +521,6 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   pry-rails
   puma
   qunit-rails
-  rack-cache
   rack-cors
   rack-mini-profiler!
   rails!
@@ -542,7 +531,6 @@ DEPENDENCIES
   rb-inotify (~> 0.9)
   redcarpet
   redis
-  redis-rack-cache!
   redis-rails!
   rest-client
   rinku
diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index 1223f00a031..3715481ce17 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -155,35 +155,15 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
   end
 
   def can_cache_content?
-    # Don't cache unless we're in production mode
-    return false unless Rails.env.production? || Rails.env == "profile"
-
-    # Don't cache logged in users
-    return false if current_user.present?
-
-    true
+    !current_user.present?
   end
 
   # Our custom cache method
   def discourse_expires_in(time_length)
     return unless can_cache_content?
-    expires_in time_length, public: true
+    Middleware::AnonymousCache.anon_cache(request.env, 1.minute)
   end
 
-  # Helper method - if no logged in user (anonymous), use Rails' conditional GET
-  # support. Should be very fast behind a cache.
-  def anonymous_etag(*args)
-    if can_cache_content?
-      yield if stale?(*args)
-
-      # Add a one minute expiry
-      expires_in 1.minute, public: true
-    else
-      yield
-    end
-  end
-
-
   def fetch_user_from_params
     username_lower = params[:username].downcase
     username_lower.gsub!(/\.json$/, '')
diff --git a/app/controllers/list_controller.rb b/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
index d9b32ed8656..dc3e329a707 100644
--- a/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
@@ -22,14 +22,14 @@ class ListController < ApplicationController
 
   [:latest, :hot].each do |filter|
     define_method("#{filter}_feed") do
-      anonymous_etag(@category) do
-        @title = "#{filter.capitalize} Topics"
-        @link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/#{filter}"
-        @description = I18n.t("rss_description.#{filter}")
-        @atom_link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/#{filter}.rss"
-        @topic_list = TopicQuery.new(current_user).public_send("list_#{filter}")
-        render 'list', formats: [:rss]
-      end
+      discourse_expires_in 1.minute
+
+      @title = "#{filter.capitalize} Topics"
+      @link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/#{filter}"
+      @description = I18n.t("rss_description.#{filter}")
+      @atom_link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/#{filter}.rss"
+      @topic_list = TopicQuery.new(current_user).public_send("list_#{filter}")
+      render 'list', formats: [:rss]
     end
   end
 
@@ -99,14 +99,14 @@ class ListController < ApplicationController
 
     guardian.ensure_can_see!(@category)
 
-    anonymous_etag(@category) do
-      @title = @category.name
-      @link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/category/#{@category.slug}"
-      @description = "#{I18n.t('topics_in_category', category: @category.name)} #{@category.description}"
-      @atom_link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/category/#{@category.slug}.rss"
-      @topic_list = TopicQuery.new.list_new_in_category(@category)
-      render 'list', formats: [:rss]
-    end
+    discourse_expires_in 1.minute
+
+    @title = @category.name
+    @link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/category/#{@category.slug}"
+    @description = "#{I18n.t('topics_in_category', category: @category.name)} #{@category.description}"
+    @atom_link = "#{Discourse.base_url}/category/#{@category.slug}.rss"
+    @topic_list = TopicQuery.new.list_new_in_category(@category)
+    render 'list', formats: [:rss]
   end
 
   def popular_redirect
diff --git a/app/controllers/topics_controller.rb b/app/controllers/topics_controller.rb
index 9c1068ff868..3a682334e05 100644
--- a/app/controllers/topics_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/topics_controller.rb
@@ -40,22 +40,22 @@ class TopicsController < ApplicationController
       return redirect_to(topic.relative_url)
     end
 
-    anonymous_etag(@topic_view.topic) do
-      redirect_to_correct_topic && return if slugs_do_not_match
+    discourse_expires_in 1.minute
 
-      # render workaround pseudo-static HTML page for old crawlers which ignores <noscript>
-      # (see http://meta.discourse.org/t/noscript-tag-and-some-search-engines/8078)
-      return render 'topics/plain', layout: false if (SiteSetting.enable_escaped_fragments && params.has_key?('_escaped_fragment_'))
+    redirect_to_correct_topic && return if slugs_do_not_match
 
-      track_visit_to_topic
+    # render workaround pseudo-static HTML page for old crawlers which ignores <noscript>
+    # (see http://meta.discourse.org/t/noscript-tag-and-some-search-engines/8078)
+    return render 'topics/plain', layout: false if (SiteSetting.enable_escaped_fragments && params.has_key?('_escaped_fragment_'))
 
-      if should_track_visit_to_topic?
-        @topic_view.draft = Draft.get(current_user, @topic_view.draft_key, @topic_view.draft_sequence)
-      end
+    track_visit_to_topic
 
-      perform_show_response
+    if should_track_visit_to_topic?
+      @topic_view.draft = Draft.get(current_user, @topic_view.draft_key, @topic_view.draft_sequence)
     end
 
+    perform_show_response
+
     canonical_url @topic_view.canonical_path
   end
 
@@ -75,10 +75,10 @@ class TopicsController < ApplicationController
           only_moderator_liked: params[:only_moderator_liked].to_s == "true"
     )
 
-    anonymous_etag(@topic_view.topic) do
-      wordpress_serializer = TopicViewWordpressSerializer.new(@topic_view, scope: guardian, root: false)
-      render_json_dump(wordpress_serializer)
-    end
+    discourse_expires_in 1.minute
+
+    wordpress_serializer = TopicViewWordpressSerializer.new(@topic_view, scope: guardian, root: false)
+    render_json_dump(wordpress_serializer)
   end
 
 
@@ -272,9 +272,8 @@ class TopicsController < ApplicationController
 
   def feed
     @topic_view = TopicView.new(params[:topic_id])
-    anonymous_etag(@topic_view.topic) do
-      render 'topics/show', formats: [:rss]
-    end
+    discourse_expires_in 1.minute
+    render 'topics/show', formats: [:rss]
   end
 
   private
diff --git a/config/environments/development.rb b/config/environments/development.rb
index 11458f74a13..485d13ef614 100644
--- a/config/environments/development.rb
+++ b/config/environments/development.rb
@@ -44,5 +44,7 @@ Discourse::Application.configure do
 
   require 'middleware/turbo_dev'
   config.middleware.insert 0, Middleware::TurboDev
+
+  config.enable_anon_caching = false
 end
 
diff --git a/config/environments/production.rb.sample b/config/environments/production.rb.sample
index ef934d5e72c..3b19c592f94 100644
--- a/config/environments/production.rb.sample
+++ b/config/environments/production.rb.sample
@@ -68,9 +68,6 @@ Discourse::Application.configure do
   # this will cause all handlebars templates to be pre-compiles, making your page faster
   config.handlebars.precompile = true
 
-  # this setting enables rack_cache so it caches various requests in redis
-  config.enable_rack_cache = true
-
   # allows admins to use mini profiler
   config.enable_mini_profiler = true
 
diff --git a/config/environments/profile.rb b/config/environments/profile.rb
index 6047a697aaa..33fed04e81c 100644
--- a/config/environments/profile.rb
+++ b/config/environments/profile.rb
@@ -40,9 +40,6 @@ Discourse::Application.configure do
   # precompile handlebar assets
   config.handlebars.precompile = true
 
-  # this setting enable rack_cache so it caches various requests in redis
-  config.enable_rack_cache = false
-
   # allows users to use mini profiler
   config.enable_mini_profiler = false
 
diff --git a/config/initializers/99-rack-cache.rb b/config/initializers/99-rack-cache.rb
index 822d1e328ce..17719fcc579 100644
--- a/config/initializers/99-rack-cache.rb
+++ b/config/initializers/99-rack-cache.rb
@@ -1,29 +1,12 @@
-if Rails.configuration.respond_to?(:enable_rack_cache) && Rails.configuration.enable_rack_cache
-  require 'rack-cache'
-  require 'redis-rack-cache'
+require_dependency "middleware/anonymous_cache"
 
-  # by default we will cache up to 3 minutes in redis, if you want to cut down on redis usage
-  #  cut down this number
-  RedisRackCache.max_cache_seconds = 60 * 3
+enabled = if Rails.configuration.respond_to?(:enable_anon_caching)
+            Rails.configuration.enable_anon_caching
+          else
+            Rails.env.production?
+          end
 
-  url = DiscourseRedis.url
-
-  class Rack::Cache::Discourse < Rack::Cache::Context
-    def initialize(app, options={})
-      @app = app
-      super
-    end
-    def call(env)
-      if CurrentUser.has_auth_cookie?(env)
-        @app.call(env)
-      else
-        super
-      end
-    end
-  end
-
-  Rails.configuration.middleware.insert 0, Rack::Cache::Discourse,
-    metastore: "#{url}/metastore",
-    entitystore: "#{url}/entitystore",
-    verbose: !Rails.env.production?
+if enabled
+  Rails.configuration.middleware.insert 0, Middleware::AnonymousCache
 end
+
diff --git a/lib/middleware/anonymous_cache.rb b/lib/middleware/anonymous_cache.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bb1d6412423
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/middleware/anonymous_cache.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+module Middleware
+  class AnonymousCache
+
+    def self.anon_cache(env, duration)
+      env["ANON_CACHE_DURATION"] = duration
+    end
+
+    class Helper
+      def initialize(env)
+        @env = env
+      end
+
+      def cache_key
+        @cache_key ||= "ANON_CACHE_#{@env["HTTP_HOST"]}#{@env["REQUEST_URI"]}"
+      end
+
+      def cache_key_body
+        @cache_key_body ||= "#{cache_key}_body"
+      end
+
+      def cache_key_other
+        @cache_key_other || "#{cache_key}_other"
+      end
+
+      def get?
+        @env["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "GET"
+      end
+
+      def cacheable?
+        !!(!CurrentUser.has_auth_cookie?(@env) && get?)
+      end
+
+      def cached
+        if body = $redis.get(cache_key_body)
+          if other = $redis.get(cache_key_other)
+            other = JSON.parse(other)
+            [other[0], other[1], [body]]
+          end
+        end
+      end
+
+      def cache_duration
+        @env["ANON_CACHE_DURATION"]
+      end
+
+      # NOTE in an ideal world cache still serves out cached content except for one magic worker
+      #  that fills it up, this avoids a herd killing you, we can probably do this using a job or redis tricks
+      #  but coordinating this is tricky
+      def cache(result)
+        status,headers,response = result
+
+        if status == 200 && cache_duration
+          headers_stripped = headers.dup.delete_if{|k,v| ["Set-Cookie","X-MiniProfiler-Ids"].include? k}
+          parts = []
+          response.each do |part|
+            parts << part
+          end
+
+          $redis.setex(cache_key_body,  cache_duration, parts.join)
+          $redis.setex(cache_key_other, cache_duration, [status,headers_stripped].to_json)
+        else
+          parts = response
+        end
+
+        [status,headers,parts]
+      end
+
+      def clear_cache
+        $redis.del(cache_key_body)
+        $redis.del(cache_key_other)
+      end
+
+    end
+
+    def initialize(app, settings={})
+      @app = app
+    end
+
+    def call(env)
+      helper = Helper.new(env)
+
+      if helper.cacheable?
+        helper.cached or helper.cache(@app.call(env))
+      else
+        @app.call(env)
+      end
+
+    end
+
+  end
+
+end
diff --git a/spec/components/middleware/anonymous_cache_spec.rb b/spec/components/middleware/anonymous_cache_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..10bc1c1284c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/components/middleware/anonymous_cache_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+require "spec_helper"
+require_dependency "middleware/anonymous_cache"
+
+describe Middleware::AnonymousCache::Helper do
+
+  def new_helper(env={})
+    Middleware::AnonymousCache::Helper.new({
+      "HTTP_HOST" => "http://test.com",
+      "REQUEST_URI" => "/path?bla=1",
+      "REQUEST_METHOD" => "GET"
+    }.merge(env))
+  end
+
+  context "cachable?" do
+    it "true by default" do
+      new_helper.cacheable?.should be_true
+    end
+
+    it "is false for non GET" do
+      new_helper("ANON_CACHE_DURATION" => 10, "REQUEST_METHOD" => "POST").cacheable?.should be_false
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "cached" do
+    let!(:helper) do
+      new_helper("ANON_CACHE_DURATION" => 10)
+    end
+
+    after do
+      helper.clear_cache
+    end
+
+    it "returns cached data for cached requests" do
+      helper.cached.should be_nil
+      helper.cache([200, {"HELLO" => "WORLD"}, ["hello ", "world"]])
+      helper.cached.should == [200, {"HELLO" => "WORLD"}, ["hello world"]]
+    end
+  end
+
+end
+