Cold brew is one of the easiest coffee drinks to make at home. You don’t need special equipment, and most of the work happens while you’re asleep. Instead of using hot water, you steep coarsely ground coffee in cold or room-temperature water for many hours. The slow, gentle extraction makes a smooth, naturally sweet coffee that’s great over ice.
At our Coffee Republic cafés, our cold brew is steeped for 24 hours. Here’s how to make your own, plus two of our Disco Roasters coffees that are well suited to it.
Cold Brew vs. Iced Coffee
They aren’t the same thing. Iced coffee is usually brewed hot and then cooled or poured over ice. Cold brew never touches hot water. Because of that, it tends to taste rounder and less sharp, with chocolatey, caramel-like flavors up front. It also keeps well in the fridge, so one batch can last you several days.
What You’ll Need
- A large jar, pitcher or dedicated cold brew maker
- Extra coarse ground coffee
- Cold, filtered water
- A fine-mesh strainer plus a paper coffee filter or cheesecloth
- A kitchen scale (or measuring cups)
- A clean container for storing the finished concentrate
The Basics: Ratio, Grind and Time
Coffee-to-water ratio
Most home cold brew is made as a concentrate that you dilute later. A good starting ratio is 1 part coffee to 8 parts water by weight. For example, 100 grams of coffee to 800 grams of water makes about 3 cups of concentrate. If you want a ready-to-drink cold brew without diluting, use more water, closer to 1:15.
Grind size
Use an extra coarse grind, about the size of peppercorns. Coarse grounds extract slowly and evenly over a long steep and are much easier to filter. Fine grounds make a cloudy, bitter brew that’s hard to strain.
Water and steep time
Unlike hot brewing methods, you don’t heat the water at all. Use cold or room-temperature filtered water. Steep for 12 to 24 hours. At room temperature, 12 to 18 hours is usually enough. In the fridge, extraction is slower, so going closer to 24 hours makes sense. Longer steeps make a stronger, deeper concentrate, but going much past a day can bring out woody, bitter flavors.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Cold Brew
- Measure and grind. Weigh out 100 grams of coffee and grind it extra coarse (or use pre-ground cold brew coffee).
- Combine. Add the grounds to your jar and pour in 800 grams of cold, filtered water.
- Stir. Stir gently so all the grounds are fully soaked. Dry pockets won’t extract.
- Cover and steep. Put a lid on it and let it sit for 12 to 24 hours, at room temperature or in the fridge.
- Strain. Pour the coffee through a fine-mesh strainer to catch the grounds, then strain it again through a paper filter or cheesecloth for a cleaner, smoother result. Be patient; this step can take a few minutes.
- Store. Move the concentrate to a clean, sealed container and keep it in the fridge. It’s best within about a week.
- Dilute and serve. Mix the concentrate with water or milk, starting around 1:1, and pour over ice. Adjust to taste.
Tips for Better Cold Brew
- Use good water. Water makes up most of your drink, so filtered water helps.
- Don’t squeeze the grounds. Pressing or wringing out the filter pushes bitter, silty bits into your coffee.
- Try coffee ice cubes. Freeze some cold brew in an ice tray so your drink doesn’t get watered down as it melts.
- Experiment. Change steep time or ratio by small amounts until you find your favorite strength.
Which Coffee Should You Use?
Cold brew brings out sweetness and body, so smooth, chocolatey coffees are an excellent match. We suggest:
- Sweet Pablo is a medium roast from Colombia with caramel, dark chocolate and a mellow, low-acid finish. Those flavors feel right at home in a glass of cold brew.
- Night Cap is our decaf, a medium roast from Peru decaffeinated with the Mountain Water Process. Expect bright citrus, velvety chocolate and gentle earthy undertones. It’s a good pick for an afternoon or evening glass.
Each 12 oz bag is $22, and you can order it whole bean or pre-ground in our Extra Coarse (Cold Brew) grind, so it’s ready to steep. If you make cold brew often, 5 lb whole-bean bags are also available.
Or Let Us Do the Waiting
Don’t want to wait a day? Our cafés serve cold brew steeped for 24 hours, and you can order ahead in the Coffee Republic app. Try it at a café near you.
