How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is amazingly simple to make at home. With my tips (and quick little video) you’ll have the perfect glass of cold brew and will never have to buy it from the store again.

On hot days I’m no longer brewing my Chemex coffee (though it’s still a favorite). Instead, I’ve switched to cold brew coffee for a cooling and refreshing caffeinated beverage.

You’ve likely had cold brewed coffee before, either at a local coffee shop or from the supermarket in packaged containers, for the best grab and go drink. But when you find out how easy it is to make cold brew coffee at home (without refined sugar and colorings) you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making it yourself all along.

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

That’s an important question. Because cold brew coffee is not the same as drip coffee or regularly brewed hot coffee that’s been cooled or served over ice. Nope.

Cold brew coffee never gets hot. Instead of brewing in just a few minutes, it’s slow-brewed and steeped over 12-15 hours. This translates to coffee that’s slightly less acidic and bitter. Instead, it’s sweeter, more full-bodied in flavor, and truly the best when it comes to iced coffee.

But here’s why you’re really gonna love cold brew coffee. You can make a batch on Sunday and have fresh, homemade cold brew for the entire week. Yes, you can meal prep coffee. Awesome, right?

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Once you do this a few times it will become second nature. Here’s how you make it:

1. Grind your coffee beans to a medium coarse consistency. 
2. Add the ground coffee beans plus four cups of water to a mason jar or other glass storage container.
3. Steep this coffee for 12-15 hours on your countertop.
4. Strain the coffee through a fine mesh sieve or nut milk bag.
5. Pour the strained cold brew concentrate into a clean mason jar or other container and refrigerate.
6. Enjoy the cold brew coffee over ice or with your favorite milk or creamer.

Remember to Dilute the Cold Brew Concentrate

One thing to keep in mind is that you’re actually making cold brew concentrate. And this is pretty potent stuff. Only drink this straight up if you want to feel jittery and buzzy for the rest of the day (which I don’t recommend).

Instead, what I recommend is serving this up over ice or diluting 50/50 with water. I also recommend adding your favorite milk, like almond milk, cashew milk or oat milk, for a deliciously creamy, and definitely thirst-quenching beverage.

Tips for Making Cold Brew Coffee

• Grind your beans at a medium coarse consistency. You don’t want finely ground coffee beans, which is what you’d use for drip coffee. I recommend this coffee grinder, if you’re looking to grab one.
• You’ll brew at a ratio of 4:1. Four cups of water to one cup of coffee beans. If you want more cold brew, just double this. And if you’re using a mason jar (as I am in the video), you’ll need to use slightly less to get it to fit – 3 cups of water to 3/4 cups coffee beans. Just keep the ratio consistent.
• You can steep the coffee in pretty much any container (though I recommend glass). I use a mason jar, but you could also use a french press or KitchenAid even has a nifty cold brew maker.
• Use filtered water for the cleanest cup of cold brew.
• Steep for at least 12 hours. After that, you can play around with the flavor. If you’d like it stronger, brew it longer – up to 24 hours. But I find that 12-15 hours usually keeps most coffee lovers happy.
• While the cold brew can steep on your countertop at room temperature, once you’ve strained it, keep the concentrate in the refrigerator.
• Don’t forget to dilute the concentrate. As mentioned above, serve it with ice, water or some type of milk or creamer.

Cold Brew Coffee Recipe Video

While cold brew coffee is easy to make, it always helps to watch a quick step-by-step video tutorial. Give it a watch below!

How Long Will it Last?

The cold brew coffee concentrate will keep fresh for a week or so. You could go a little longer, but the flavor is best when consumed in the first week.

What to Pair With Cold Brew Coffee?

So many delicious options! But I highly recommend my:

• Paleo Banana Nut Muffins
• Paleo Blueberry Muffins
• Cranberry Almond Biscotti
• Paleo Banana Bread
• Paleo Zucchini Bread

Easy Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

5 from 22 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 12 hours hrs

Total Time: 12 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Servings: 3 servings

Author: Lisa Bryan

Print Pin Review

Making cold brew coffee at home is amazingly simple. With just a little prep, you can enjoy delicious cold brew coffee all week long. Watch the video above!

Recipe Video

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 4 cups filtered water
• ▢ 1 cup coffee beans

Instructions 

• Grind your coffee beans to a medium coarse consistency. 
• Add the water and ground coffee beans to a mason jar or other glass storage container. Then, leave it on your counter to steep for 12-15 hours. 
• Strain the coffee through a fine mesh sieve that's lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth over a large measuring cup or bowl. Alternatively, you could use a nut-milk bag or coffee filter on top of the sieve. 
• Pour the strained cold brew concentrate back into a clean mason jar and store in the refrigerator. 
• To serve, pour the cold brew concentrate over ice, with water or with your favorite milk or creamer. 

Lisa's Tips

• The recipe make approximately 3 cups of cold brew concentrate.

Nutrition

Calories: 1kcal, Sodium: 16mg, Calcium: 10mg

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cold Brew, Cold Brew Coffee, How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

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Recipe originally posted July 2017, but updated to include new information and tips.