How to Make Homemade Cold Brew Coffee
- PREP 16hrs 10min
- TOTAL 16hrs 10min
This takes between 12 to 24 hours (we recommend 16), but it is completely worth it. Just 5 to 10 minutes of hands-on time the night before pays off big in the morning with rich, ultra-smooth coffee concentrate that can be mixed with water (or milk) for a great cup of iced coffee. We recommend a ratio of 1 part coffee concentrate to 2 parts water (mixed and served over ice), but you may find that’s too strong (or, if you’re a serious coffee drinker, too weak). Once you’ve got your concentrate, you can play around with a ratio that works for you. One more note, cold brew is highly caffeinated — more than your regular cup of hot coffee.
You Will Need
6 ounces (170 grams) whole coffee beans (approximately 1-1/2 cups whole beans or 2 cups coarsely ground coffee)
28 ounces (830 ml or 3-1/2 cups) cold filtered water
Directions
Make Concentrate
Grind coffee beans very coarsely — if using a home grinder, choose the coarsest setting.
Add ground coffee to a 34-ounce French press then cover with water. (If it isn’t looking like all of the water will fit into your French press without overflowing — ours is filled right to the top — use a different container or reduce the water by a few ounces).
Gently stir the coffee and water — some coffee experts say metal can affect the brew so use a non-metal utensil if you can. Cover with the lid of the French press — without pressing down. Or, cover with plastic wrap.
Set aside at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours — we recommend 16 hours. Then, filter the cold brew concentrate by pressing down on the French press filter. Transfer the concentrate to another container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make Coffee from Concentrate
Fill a glass with ice then combine 1 part concentrate with 2 parts water. Stir then adjust to taste with additional concentrate or water. Enjoy!
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing the Concentrate: The cold brew concentrate will keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- Whole Beans vs. Ground Beans: Since we’re such coffee lovers, we have our own coffee grinder — it’s the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder (highly recommended). We grind whole beans using the coarsest setting — it looks similar to coarse salt. If you do not have your own grinder, ask the barista at a local coffee shop to grind the beans for you — again, ask for a very coarse grind.
- No Kitchen Scale: If you don’t have a kitchen scale at home, we’ve given approximate amounts in American cups for the coffee. This can vary since some coffee beans are heavier than others, but are similar in size.
- No French Press: If you do not have a French press that’s large enough for this, simply use a pitcher or food-safe vessel that will fit both the coffee and water. Cover it while it brews then use a fine mesh strainer covered with cheesecloth set on top of a bowl to filter out the concentrate.
- Why is there only 2 cups of concentrate and not 3-1/2 cups? If you notice in our recipe, we call for 28 ounces (or 3-1/2 cups) of water to be added. After the brew time, you will yield approximately 2 cups of richly flavored concentrate. When we first were experimenting with cold brew, we were surprised at just how much water seems to “disappear”. That’s just a part of making cold brew coffee — the coffee expands over time and absorbs or traps some of the water added.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste