Easy Cold Brew Coffee at Home (Make a Week’s Worth)

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Cold brew is the most relaxed coffee you will ever make. You stir, you wait, you strain. The result is smooth and low in bitterness, and a single batch covers most of a week of iced coffee.

What you need

• A large jar or pitcher
• Coarse ground coffee, like rough sand (a burr grinder gives the most even grind)
• A fine strainer plus a paper coffee filter or cheesecloth

Step by step

1. Combine. Stir 150 g (about 1 1/2 cups) of coarse grounds into 750 g (about 3 cups) of cold, filtered water. Make sure all the grounds are wet.
2. Steep. Cover and refrigerate for 14 to 18 hours. Longer gets stronger and can turn woody; shorter can taste thin.
3. Strain twice. Pour through a fine strainer, then through a paper filter for a clean, sludge-free concentrate.
4. Store. Keep the concentrate in a sealed jar in the fridge and use it within about a week to 10 days.
5. Serve. Fill a glass with ice, add concentrate, and top with an equal amount of water or milk. Adjust to taste.

Cozy café variations

• Honey vanilla: a spoonful of honey syrup and a splash of vanilla.
• Brown sugar cinnamon: dissolve brown sugar in a little hot water with a cinnamon stick, cool it and stir in.
• Cold brew float: a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for a weekend treat.

Want a hot cup instead? See how to make pour-over at home.

Easy Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

Smooth, low-bitterness cold brew concentrate that keeps for about a week.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Steep 16 hours hrs

Total Time 16 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6 drinks

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 150 g coarsely ground coffee about 1 1/2 cups
• 750 g cold filtered water about 3 cups
• ice, water or milk for serving

Method

 

1. Stir the coarse grounds into the cold water in a large jar until all the grounds are wet.
2. Cover and refrigerate 14 to 18 hours.
3. Strain through a fine strainer, then through a paper coffee filter.
4. Store the concentrate in a sealed jar in the fridge.
5. To serve, fill a glass with ice, add concentrate and top with an equal amount of water or milk.

Notes

Use within about a week to 10 days. For a sweet version, stir in honey or brown sugar syrup.

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