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You don’t have to be a complete coffee nut to make a bold, refreshing cold brew coffee concentrate at home. Of course it doesn’t hurt if you are obsessed, but the simplicity of the process and rewarding results make it worth a try for even the occasional iced coffee drinker. Here’s an easy step-by-step so you can jump into summer with an extraordinary amount of energy.
What is cold brew coffee?
Cold brew is coffee brewed without heat. Typically when you make coffee—whether it’s drip, pour over, or espresso—the coffee grinds make contact with near boiling water and this leads to a much faster extraction. You can go on to pour hot brewed coffee over ice, and this would simply be iced coffee. Instead, cold brew is a slow, hands-off extraction process of basically two steps: combine the coffee grounds with water, and wait.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Why you should make cold brew
Hands-off brewing. One of the reasons cold brew is worth making is what I just mentioned: you can just walk away. The brew happens overnight, so after you combine the coffee and water, you don’t have to think about it until tomorrow.
It lasts a while. Usually when you embark on making cold brew, it’s a concentrate. While it might look like a small amount, it’s incredibly strong. So a measly 12 ounces of concentrate might last you a solid three mornings of caffeination. If you’re a sometimes-drinker, you’re in even more luck. The general consensus among coffee roasters is that cold brew can keep for seven to 10 days, if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
It’s smooth as heck. Don’t misunderstand, I like hot brewed coffee too. The hot water extracts flavors and oils from the bean that display the entire spectrum of flavor. That said, cold brewed coffee has a round, mellow flavor, and a pleasant viscous consistency that you just don’t get with hot coffee.
Catered to you. Packaged cold brew from the supermarket or cold brew purchased at a cafe is made the way the company likes it. At home, you can experiment with ratios and roasts to make your perfect blend.
No special tools needed. Yes, I’m literally about to list tools that I used to make my cold brew at home, but technically none of this is needed exactly. You only need a container with a lid, coarsely ground coffee, and filtered water. Then you can strain it in any of the ways that I list in Step 5.
Here are some helpful tools to get started:
How to make cold brew coffee step-by-step
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
1. Pick your beans
Coffee beans and roasts span a broad range of flavors and notes akin to the influence of terroir in wine making. Whichever bean you like is the one you should use. However, I do recommend you choose a coffee that comes in whole bean format, at the very least. This time I used Café Grumpy’s Momentum roast. Freshly ground coffee will give you more flavor, so even if you pick a more affordable brand you should freshly grind the whole beans at the store or at home. Which brings us to our next step.
Left: a medium grind, Right: a coarse grind.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
2. Use a coarse grind
The size of the grounds is mostly about logistics. After the coffee brews, you’ll have to strain it, and while smaller coffee bits lead to a stronger flavor, they’ll also leave muddy sediment in your drink. Set your grinder to a medium-coarse grind, leaning slightly more to the coarse side.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
3. Break out the scale
Cold brew concentrate ratios can range anywhere from a 1:2 ratio to 1:8 parts coarse coffee to water. I usually land somewhere in the middle with a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio because I think this amount of water makes better contact with the beans. Plus, this amount fits best in my French press.
You’ll add water to the concentrate when you serve it, so even if your ratio isn’t perfect, you’ll be able to adjust it later. Once you’ve decided on your ratio, you can do some gentle math. Don’t worry, it’s not too bad, but a kitchen scale helps.
Since I like to use my French press for cold brew and it has a four-cup liquid capacity, I aim for about five ounces of beans and 20 to 25 ounces of water. Combine the beans and filtered water in your vessel of choice and give it a good stir with a spoon or a chopstick.
If you don’t have a scale, and you adamantly refuse to buy one (even though every kitchen should have one—they’re small, and incredibly affordable now) you can use volume measurements. You’ll probably need to adjust your dilution at the end to nail your perfect mix every time. For my 1:5 ratio I used two cups of ground beans and a hair over three cups of water.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
4. Steep
Put the lid on your cold brew vessel if there is one. For a French press, Press the plunger down until the mesh meets the water line, which will prevent any grounds from peeking out of the water. Leave the brew to steep on the counter at room temperature for 16 to 18 hours. If you think you can’t make that time frame, maybe you’ll be out of the house or you started your cold brew at a weird time of day, brew it in the fridge instead. This lengthens the brew time to about 20 to 24 hours.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
5. Strain and decant
I started my brew at 3 p.m. yesterday and strained it this morning at 8 a.m. into a mason jar lined with a nut milk bag. The French press already has a mesh strainer but inevitably little bits make their way around, so a second, finer sieve helps catch those wayward bits. I like the nut milk bag because it’s reusable, but if you don’t have one you can use a regular paper coffee filter, a few layers of cheese cloth, or even a sheet of paper towel in a multi-purpose sieve.
You can decant the mixture into any container or jar you’d like as long as it has a tight fitting lid for storing.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
6. Dilute and enjoy
Now comes the moment we’ve all been waiting for: drinking! You’ve probably noticed you used a heck of a lot of beans for a seemingly small amount of coffee. Concentrate is deceiving like that, but don’t be dismayed. I like to fill a glass halfway with ice, and add 50/50 concentrate and water. Depending on the strength of the concentrate you made you’ll dilute the brew a bit more or less than I did. Add a splash of milk if you like and get on your way. Now there’s no need to hit the cafe first thing to get that perfect summer cold brew.
