How to Make Cold Brew Coffee at Home?
During sunny summer days cold brew coffee is the perfect refreshment. Cold brew coffee is also perfect to make at home when you are graving for something special from your cup of coffee. Making cold brew coffee at home is easy, simple and doesn't need any fancy equipment. Here is how to make cold brew coffee easily - anywhere!
What exactly is cold brew coffee?
This mellow drink is made of filter ground coffee and cold water. Yes, cold! Usually we extract the flavours from coffee by using heat of the water. Now that the water is cold, we use time instead to get the extraction going. Usually that is 12-16 h. As a result we will get less acidic and pretty sweet coffee.
Ways for cold brewing
You need coffee, cold water and a vessel to put these in to. This is called immersion method (coffee grounds are immersed into the water). After extracting the coffee needs to be filtered and voilà: you have cold brew coffee! There are several ways to prepare it.
Going for large volumes?
Toddy:
This is for those who need to prepare larger batches at a time. Toddy is designed for this type of fun! It has all you need – the filters, the tap, the size. Check the instruction video here.
Want to keep it simple?
French press:
This is the most easy way for brewing cold. Measure coffee grounds & water into the french press and let steep with the plunger up (or using a separate lid or cling foil). When the time is up, push the plunger down to filter the coffee.
Cup&filter:
This is the low barrier style for those who don’t want to have a separate device for cold brew. Put the coffee grounds in a can/jug/bottle/any vessel and add water. Cover with a plate or cling foil. When the time is up, pour the slurry through a filter into a jug or similar. You can use paper filter, cloth or anything you have in hand.
Want to get nerdy?
Aeropress:
This is probably the most versatile way. Prepare a relatively small amount of strong coffee with your AP. Dilute it with water into the serving volume.
Syphon:
This is the fast way if something is! Measure the grounds and water into the cream or soda syphon. Close the syphon and shoot one N2O cartridge in. Shake the vessel for 10 seconds and shoot the gas away keeping the siphon upwards. Take the coffee out into a filter and boom, it is ready to be served!
You might want to consider preparing your cold brew with double amount of coffee compared to regular brewing. This way you will get stronger base which can then be diluted 50:50 with milk, water, sodas or similar. A good starting point for this is 500 g cold water and 60 g ground coffee. The final recipe depends on your coffee, grind size and extraction time.
Being visible also in the picture, the result is very different depending on the media used.
- French press brings you the most mouthfeel and a bit slurry result. However if you want to add milk to your cold brew, this is a good way for filtering.
- Aeropress takes more sediment off the brew so you will get a bit more clear and pleasant mouthfeel. Still not bright in taste nor visually. In case you are preparing a coffee soda, this will work great!
- Cloth and paper are quite similar when it comes to filtering cold brew coffee. Clear, bright, pleasant coffee that can be enjoyed also without adding milk or anything else for that matter. All the delicate notes of your coffee will be well showcased.
Infusion instead of immersion?
In addition to immersion and some nerdy combination methods above, there is always the dripping.
You can use a pour over device like Hario V60 to brew your filter coffee directly on ice. This is sometimes called Japanese iced coffee. Fast and easy but not exactly cold brewing. Check Jori’s blog post for instructions! I tried this, too and compared to the cold brewed versions I found this a bit more bitter (as expected).
Or you might want to choose ice drip brewing or slow dripping, sometimes called Dutch Coffee or Kyoto Coffee.
And last but not least, the very popular ice lattes and frappuccinos are made of espresso that is cooled down after the preparation. Usually some syrup is accompanying the cold milk that is added into these drinks.
Cold brew coffee recipes to try out at home:
Cold coffee drinks are great during long & hot summer days.
- For the first timers I suggest the milk version with for example vanilla syrup. With milk and added sweetness it is easy to take the first steps into this great world!
- My absolute favourite is Groovy Cold Brew Lemonade which gives you a fresh and tasty pick-you-up!
- For the craziest hedonists I recommend Coco Loco Freakshake with all the great ingredients and fun looks!
Check out our recipes for more inspiration!
Cold brew is definitely not only a summer drink. It can be served throughout the year. How about creating a coffee calendar, where you have a different cold brew coffee drink for each month! The same idea goes with other coffee drinks, teas and hot&cold chocolates as well!
