Cold brew looks like the kind of thing that needs a special machine, and I believed that for years. Then a friend handed me a mason jar of it and said, “Coffee, water, patience.” That is the entire cold brew recipe. It costs about a dollar for four cups, and it beats the bottled kind. The steps are easy, and the details below are what make it consistently smooth.
Once you have a jar of concentrate in the fridge, it feeds every drink on this site, from an iced latte to a spanish latte. This cold brew recipe covers the ratio, the timing and the mistakes to skip.
Why This Cold Brew Recipe Works
Cold water extracts coffee slowly, so the drink tastes smoother and less sharp than hot-brewed coffee. A long steep, 12 to 18 hours, pulls out chocolate and caramel notes while leaving many of the sharper flavors behind. What you end up with is a mellow, sweet-tasting coffee that needs little sugar.
The ratio is what makes it work. I use 1 part coffee to 8 parts water by weight, which makes a concentrate. It is strong on purpose, so you can dilute it 1:1 with water or milk, and it stands up to ice without turning watery.
Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee
Iced coffee is regular hot coffee chilled over ice, so it can taste sharp and thin. Cold brew is never heated, and it steeps for hours, which gives it a rounder, smoother taste. It also keeps for a week in the fridge, while brewed iced coffee tastes stale within a day.
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Without Fancy Equipment
All you need is a large jar, a fine mesh strainer and a paper coffee filter. No special pitcher or machine is required. I use a 1-quart mason jar for small batches and a big pitcher when I have guests. Strain twice for a clean, sediment-free drink.
Cold Brew Concentrate Ratio
For this cold brew recipe, use 100 grams of coarse-ground coffee to 800 milliliters of cold water. That equals about 1 cup of grounds to 4 cups of water by volume. Dilute 1:1 for a strong drink, or use 1 part concentrate to 2 parts milk for a latte-style cup. For a ready-to-drink version, use a 1:12 ratio and skip the dilution.
Key Ingredient Notes
A good cold brew recipe depends on coarse grounds. Fine grounds over-extract and turn muddy and bitter, and they clog the filter. Ask your local roaster to grind for a French press, or buy whole beans and pulse them in a blender for a few seconds. A medium or medium-dark roast gives chocolate and nut notes, which is my favorite for cold brew.
Use filtered water in any cold brew recipe, since coffee is about 98 percent water and a chlorine taste will show up. Freshly roasted beans, within a month of the roast date, make a noticeable difference. Stale beans give flat, papery coffee.
What I Learned Making This Cold Brew Recipe
I tested this over a hot June week, starting each batch in the evening so it would be ready at breakfast. My first batch used pre-ground drip coffee, and the result was a cloudy, bitter sludge that clogged my strainer. I also left one batch out on the counter for 24 hours, and it tasted harsh and woody.
Now I steep for 14 hours, in the fridge. The smell when I open the jar is chocolate and toasted nuts, with none of the sourness of hot coffee. Straining through a paper filter takes patience, about ten minutes, but it gives a crystal-clear drink.
Is Cold Brew Healthy?
Black cold brew has about 5 calories per cup and no sugar. It contains caffeine, and concentrate is strong, so dilute it and watch how much you drink. General guidelines put a safe daily limit for most healthy adults around 400 milligrams of caffeine. Ask your doctor if you are pregnant or sensitive.
Tips and Variations for Your Cold Brew Recipe
- Add a cinnamon stick or a split vanilla bean to the jar, or stir in vanilla syrup at serving time.
- Sweeten with brown sugar syrup or coconut syrup for a cafe-style cold brew.
- Freeze cold brew into ice cubes so your iced coffee never gets watered down.
- Mix with tonic water for a sparkling espresso tonic.
Cold Brew Coffee Recipe for Meal Prep
Make a large batch on Sunday, and you have coffee for the week. Store the finished cold brew in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to 7 days, and dilute each serving as you pour. For a creamy drink, mix it with milk and my simple syrup, or shake it with ice for a cafe-style coffee.
For a dessert-style option, try my dalgona coffee mocktail. Cold brew also works in place of espresso in my lattes.
Troubleshooting This Cold Brew Recipe
Coffee tastes bitter: Grounds were too fine or the steep was too long. Use coarse grounds, and steep 12 to 16 hours.
Coffee tastes weak: Not enough coffee, or too short a steep. Use a 1:8 ratio, and steep at least 12 hours.
Coffee is cloudy or gritty: Fine sediment slipped through. Strain a second time through a paper coffee filter.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Browse the tea drinks hub for more cafe-style drinks at home. My iced matcha latte is a green tea alternative when you want a different kind of caffeine.
The short version: combine 100 grams of coarse-ground coffee with 800 milliliters of cold filtered water in a jar. Stir, cover, and refrigerate 14 hours. Strain twice, then dilute 1:1 with water or milk. This cold brew recipe makes four cups and keeps for a week in the fridge.
Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
Equipment
- 1 Large jar or pitcher
- 1 Fine mesh strainer
- 1 Paper coffee filters
- 1 Kitchen scale
Ingredients
For the Concentrate
- 100 g coarse-ground coffee about 1 cup, French press grind
- 800 ml cold filtered water about 3 1/4 cups
To Serve
- cold water or milk to dilute 1:1
- ice cubes
- simple syrup or vanilla syrup optional
Instructions
Steep the Coffee
- Weigh 100 grams of coarse-ground coffee into a large jar or pitcher.
- Pour in 800 milliliters of cold filtered water.
- Stir until all the grounds are wet, with no dry clumps.
- Cover and refrigerate for 14 hours, or 12 to 16 hours.
Strain and Serve
- Pour the coffee through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl.
- Strain again through a paper coffee filter for a clear, sediment-free concentrate.
- Pour the concentrate into a clean glass jar and refrigerate for up to 7 days.
- Mix equal parts concentrate and cold water or milk over ice, and sweeten to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best ratio for cold brew coffee?
For a concentrate, use 1 part coarse-ground coffee to 8 parts water by weight, such as 100 grams coffee to 800 milliliters water. Dilute it 1:1 before drinking. For a ready-to-drink version, use 1 part coffee to 12 parts water and skip dilution.
What are the common cold brew mistakes?
The most common mistakes are using fine grounds, which turn bitter and muddy, steeping too long or at room temperature, and skipping the second strain. Using stale beans and unfiltered water also hurts flavor. Use coarse grounds, steep 12 to 16 hours and strain twice.
How to make cold brew coffee at home?
Combine 100 grams of coarse-ground coffee with 800 milliliters of cold filtered water in a jar, stir, and cover. Refrigerate for 12 to 16 hours. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and then a paper filter, and dilute the concentrate 1:1 with water or milk.
How long does cold brew last in the fridge?
Cold brew concentrate keeps about 7 days in a sealed glass jar in the fridge. The flavor slowly fades after the first few days. Diluted cold brew or cold brew with milk should be used within a day or two. Discard it if it smells sour or looks off.
Can I make cold brew with regular ground coffee?
You can, though the result is cloudy and bitter. Regular drip grind is too fine for a long steep, so it over-extracts and clogs the filter. Use coarse grounds, sold as French press grind, and strain through a paper filter for a smooth, clear brew.
What is the difference between cold brew and cold brew concentrate?
Cold brew concentrate is a strong, undiluted brew made with a 1:4 or 1:8 coffee-to-water ratio, meant to be diluted with water or milk. Ready-to-drink cold brew uses a weaker ratio, about 1:12, and needs no dilution. Concentrate stores more efficiently.
