Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

Use this Cold Brew Coffee Recipe to make cold brew coffee at home. Save money and still drink delicious, smooth and flavorful coffee.

In this post, you will learn what cold brew coffee is, the tools I use to make it and of course how to make cold brew coffee in your own home.

What is cold brew coffee?

The term cold brew refers to how the coffee is made, not the temperature of the coffee when it is served. Cold brew coffee is brewed over a long period of time (24-48 hours) either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Cold brew coffee then can either be served chilled over ice or warm like traditional coffee.

Cold Brew vs. Iced Coffee

Traditionally, iced coffee is prepared as hot brewed coffee and then slowly cooled down and chilled. Both can be served over ice and with milk.

Due to the long, slow brewing process of cold brew coffee, it usually has a stronger, more intense flavor than a hot brewed iced coffee.

Why should you cold brew coffee?

Cold brew coffee is lower in acidity than standard hot brewed coffee. This means it won’t cause as much heartburn, tooth decay, or GI distress.

I prefer to cold brew coffee because I like the taste. I find it to be sweeter and smoother than a traditional iced coffee. Many people even drink their cold brew coffee without any milk or cream because the flavor is so smooth.

What kitchen tools will I need to make cold brew coffee at home?

I highly recommend investing in a cold brew pitcher. We grabbed this one from amazon and have used it constantly since it arrives.

Using this pitcher allows us to make delicious cold brew coffee at home and our only waste are some coffee grinds that can easily be composted!

If you don’t want to invest in a cold brew coffee pitcher you can use a 1 quart mason jar to make your cold brew coffee. If you use the mason jar technique, you will also need some cheese cloth or a nut milk bag for filtering your cold brew coffee.

Use coarsely ground coffee beans for cold brew

An important step in this cold brew coffee recipe is using coarsely ground coffee beans. I got this amazing Encore coffee grinder as a Christmas present from my parents a few years ago, but it is pricey.

We grind our coffee beans at about a 28 (setting on our grinder). You can use any electric coffee bean grinder that allows you to coarsely grind the beans.

Finely ground beans will result in a different coffee brew and will be more difficult to filter out. You can also purchase whole beans at the grocery store and use the grinders there on the coarse setting

What ingredients will I need for this Cold Brew Coffee Recipe?

To make cold brew coffee at home you only need 2 simple ingredients:

• Coarsely ground coffee beans
• Water

Once your cold brew coffee is made you can doctor it up however you like. I usually serve mine with lots of ice and some half & half or nut pods. If you like a less intense coffee flavor you can dilute this cold brew with some water.

How do you make cold brew coffee?

Step 1: Grind the beans

First, take your coffee beans and grind them coarsely. You will need about 12 tbsp of ground coffee for this cold brew coffee recipe.

Step 2: Combine with water

Then, add 12 tbsp of ground coffee to the filter portion of the cold brew coffee pitcher or directly to a 1 quart mason jar. Next, screw the filter into the lid of the cold brew coffee pitcher.

Add 4 cups of filtered water to either the mason jar or the cold brew pitcher. If using a mason jar, gently stir the mixture to combine. Then, place the lid on either the pitcher or the mason jar and screw on tightly.

Step 3: Brew at room temperature or in the refrigerator

Next, brew your coffee for 24-48 hours. I prefer to do this in the refrigerator, but if you don’t have space you can brew your coffee at room temperature on your kitchen counter.

The longer you brew your coffee, the more intense the flavor will be. I prefer to brew mine for 24-36 hours, but you can wait for up to 48.

Step 4: Filter the coffee

Finally, if you are using the cold brew coffee pitcher you can pour your coffee into a flip top glass bottle or another container to store in the refrigerator.

If you are using the mason jar method you will need to filter your cold brew coffee with cheese cloth or a nut milk bag. You may need to filter more than once to get all of the coffee grounds out.

Step 4: Enjoy!

Cold brew coffee to water ratio

Some cold brew coffee makers recommend diluting cold brew with water. If you want a less intense cup of coffee, make your cup of coffee with 1 to 1 ratio of cold brew and water.

How long will this cold brew coffee keep in the fridge?

Once prepared, consume this cold brew coffee in at least one week. After a 24-48 hour brew time, I remove my coffee from the cold brew pitcher and pour into a flip top glass bottle for storage.

Then I usually clean out my pitcher and immediately make another batch.

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!

Recipe

Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Learn how to make cold brew coffee at home so you can save some money, but still drink delicious cold brew coffee!

Recipe By: Madeline

Prep: 10 minutesCook: 24 hoursTotal: 24 hours 10 minutes

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Servings: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

• 4 cups filtered water
• 12 tbsp coarsley ground coffee

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Instructions

Cold Brew Pitcher Instructions

1. Add coffee grounds to the filter portion of the pitcher
2. Screw the filter column into the lid of the pitcher
3. Run this filter column under water to get the coffee grounds wet
4. Add 4 cups filtered water to the pitcher
5. Place the filter column/lid onto the pitcher and screw the lid shut
6. Brew in the refrigerator or on the countertop for 24-48 hours
7. Transfer to a glass bottle for storage in the refrigerator

Mason Jar Instructions

1. Add ground coffee and 4 cups of water to a 1 quart mason jar
2. Gently stir the mixture
3. Screw the lid to the jar on tightly
4. Allow the mixture to brew in the refrigerator or on the countertop for 24-48 hours
5. Pour into a nut milk bag or through cheese cloth to filter
6. Store in the refrigerator in a glass jar

Equipment

electric coffee bean grinder

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encore coffee grinder

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nut milk bag

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1 quart mason jar

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cold brew pitcher

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Notes

If you like a less intense coffee flavor you can dilute this cold brew coffee with some water prior to adding any milk or sweetener.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.