Easy Cold Brew Coffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make cold brew coffee for beginners? ›

Put around 50 grams of medium/ course grind coffee in a container (I use a hario server) then add ~500-550 grams of cold water. Mix well and leave over night, filter through whatever you use to make coffee the next morning and boom cold brew.

A ratio of 1:8 of coffee to water will produce a nice coffee ready to drink after around 24 hours at a coarse grind. Another option is to create a much stronger cold brew (named cold brew concentrate), by using a ratio anywhere from 1 part coffee to 4 parts water, up to around 1 part coffee to 2 parts water.

The recommended coffee-to-water ratio for cold brew is usually 1:8. Therefore, for 1 gallon (128 fluid ounces) of cold brew, you would need approximately 16 ounces (1 pound) of coffee grounds. However, you can adjust the amount based on your personal preference for the strength of the cold brew.

If you usually prepare lighter roasts for hot coffee, you might want to go a little darker and choose medium roasts for cold brew. Medium to dark roasts contain more fully developed sugars thanks to the longer roast times, meaning the cold brew will be sweeter.

While it's best to grind your coffee beans just before brewing for maximum freshness, you can use pre-ground coffee if that's what you have on hand. Just make sure it's a coarse grind.

Now let me show you the actual Golden Ratios: 1:15 to 1:18 (coffee to water). In here is where most people find the coffee to be at that sweet spot, though there are a few exceptions, like with espresso, for example.

Basic Cold Brew Coffee Ratio

A kitchen scale will come in handy if you have one, but it's not necessary. You're making cold brew concentrate, and you can dilute the concentrate to taste once it's finished. Per 1 cup of water, you'll need 1 ounce (by weight) coarsely ground coffee.

Generally, we suggest aiming for a coffee ratio of 1 gram of coffee to 15-18 milliliters of water. To make it easier to read, we write this out as 1:15 to 1:18. Pro tip: 1 milliliter of water = 1 gram of water, so we'll just use 'grams' for simplicity's sake.

I prefer a slightly less intense cold brew concentrate, so I usually use ¾ cup coffee grounds for every 4 cups of water.

The ratio of coffee grounds to water is subjective and depends on personal taste. A good place to start is to grind 3/4 cup beans for 4 cups of cold water—the size of a 32-ounce French press. You can double—with 1.5 cups beans for 8 cups water—or even triple the quantities depending on the size of your container.

What's the difference between cold brew and iced coffee? ›

Iced coffee is typically made by brewing hot brewed coffee and then pouring it over ice, while cold brew is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water for a long period of time, usually 12-24 hours. Cold brew has lower acidity and bitterness than iced coffee and a smooth coffee flavor with subtle nutty undertones.

It's easy: Just steep the grounds of your favorite Folgers^® coffee roast in cold water and let the mixture chill overnight. Your tomorrow self will thank you.

The best coffee beans for cold brew will, in part, depend on how you want to use them. If you want to add milk to the finished result, a normal espresso mix works well. However, anything lighter roasted is typically preferable for serving straight up, such as a filter roast or a mild espresso roast.

Made with a blend of 100% percent arabica Latin American and African ground coffees, the pitcher packs use the same Cold Brew Blend that is served in Starbucks cafes and are available for a limited time in U.S. Starbucks stores and select stores in Canada.

Cold-brewed coffee is actually dirt simple to make at home using a Mason jar and a sieve. You just add water to coffee, stir, cover it and leave it out on the counter overnight.

Using cold water as opposed to hot makes the extraction process much slower and actually more selective. The flavor of the coffee is extracted, but bitter compounds are left behind. This can also explain why Cold Brew contains less acid than when you use hot water.

For cold brew, you want to aim for a coffee to water ratio around 1:6. It's easiest to measure this by weight, so grab a kitchen scale if you have one. For example, if we want a liter of cold brew (1000ml or ~32 ounces), we'd weigh out 167 grams of coffee.

Use 4 Tbsp (22 g) of grounds for every cup (6 fl oz) of water. Fill the press with cold or room-temperature water. Gently stir the grounds a few times with a spoon.