I have this dilemma. I love really good cold brew coffee, but I hate spending money. Having the parts of cheap coffee and delicious coffee happens when you perfect your homemade cold brew coffee recipe.
This is hands down the least acidic and smoothest coffee I've ever had outside of a coffee shop. And I only paid about $0.30 a cup for it.
This recipe has gone around everywhere on the web, and this one was inspired by Cookie and Kate and Downshiftology. This was actually one of the first recipes I had posted to my blog not knowing how many recipes there were already. It was reshot in January of 2021.
Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
This section is barely even worth writing. This cold brew recipe only needs water and coffee grinds. The brand of coffee doesn't matter, so go as luxurious or as frugal as you want.
The most important thing about this cold brew coffee recipe is the ratio.
The Magic Concentrate Ratio
For every 1 cup of water, you need 1 ounce of coffee grounds. That's it! It genuinely couldn't be more simple than this.
This ratio will make 2 cups of coffee, so if you drink 10 cups of coffee a week, make a batch with 5 ounces of coffee grinds and 5 cups of water.
Instructions, FAQs and Other Tips
Instructions
The cold brew batch takes 12-18 hours to be ready to drink, so start steeping in the afternoon the day before you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
- Weigh out 4 ounces of ground coffee and combine the measured grounds with 3 cups of water in a jar (with a lid) of at least 1 quart capacity.
- Stir until combined and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes. Re-stir the grounds one last time before setting in the fridge overnight or for 12-24 hours. The coffee is ready after the 12 hour mark but can be left until 24.
- If left beyond 18 hours, it may develop a slightly bitter taste but will be more strong. I find 12-18 hours is the sweet spot, but you may experiment and find what works best for your personal taste.
- After soaking the grinds overnight, you’re going to strain them to remove the grinds. I like to do it twice, once through a fine mesh strainer and a second time through either a fine mesh strainer or a colander lined with a coffee filter. This ensures that there’s absolutely no particles in the coffee.
FAQ:
What brand of coffee should I use for this? Anything you have (or more honestly) anything that's on sale! When you brew coffee with hot water, it can bring out the acidic notes of cheap coffee. A slow and heat-free brewing method mellows out the bad flavours and amplifies the good ones.
What grind should I use for this cold brew coffee recipe? I prefer a coarse grind but if you have patience, medium can be used in a pinch. If it's too fine it can be a pain to strain out and even make the coffee have a gross thick texture that can't be fixed easily by straining.
How long can I leave this soaking? If you're in a pinch, you can leave this for up to 24 hours safety. If premium taste is a concern, the optimal time is about 12-18 hours to make sure the coffee doesn't get bitter.
Why is my coffee so strong? This is a recipe for cold brew concentrate. When assembling the coffee, you want to add equal parts cold water and coffee. Otherwise, it will be very strong as it's brewed to keep it's strength when you add ice cubes.
I only like hot coffee, should I skip this recipe? Nope! Cold brew is also delicious when it's reheated. The cold brew method allows the flavours to release over time, creating a complex, well rounded and deliciously smooth coffee. It's worth brewing this method even if the end game is to heat it up.
Why would I make this when it takes 2 minutes to make a k-cup? Beyond how wasteful k-cups are, all coffee is incredibly expensive. This cold brew works out to about $0.12 per cup, or slightly under $0.30 if you make your own simple syrup and add cream instead of taking it black.
I feel wasteful throwing out coffee grinds, what can I use them for? During the summer I love to sprinkle coffee grinds mixed with water over my garden. It acts as a great fertilizer for a lot of plants. Otherwise, you can throw them into your compost and read some other zero waste recipes to ease your conscience.
If you make this cold brew coffee recipe, the most important thing to remember is that it's a concentrate. I can't stress enough that this will need to be watered down before consumption.
Perfect Cold Brew Coffee
Equipment
- Fine Mesh Sieve or Coffee Filters
- 1 Quart Cntainer
Ingredients
- 5 oz coffee coarsely ground
- 5 cups water
- sugar syrup optional
- coffee cream optional
Instructions
- Keep in mind this recipe is super scalable. For every 2 cups of coffee you drink, measure out 1 ounce of coffee grinds and 1 cup of lukewarm water.
- To make 10 cups of coffee, weigh out 5 ounces of ground coffee and combine the measured grounds with 5 cups of water in a jar (with a lid) of at least 1 quart capacity.
- Stir until combined and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes. Re-stir the grounds one last time before setting in the fridge overnight or for 12-24 hours. The coffee is ready after the 12 hour mark but can be left until 24.
- After soaking the grinds overnight, you’re going to strain them to remove the grinds. I like to do it twice, once through a fine mesh strainer and a second time through either a fine mesh strainer or a colander lined with a coffee filter. This ensures that there’s absolutely no particles in the coffee.
Assembly
- Add ice cubes to a cup with ½ cup of coffee concentrate and ½ cup of water.
- Add 1 pump of sugar syrup and 1-2 tablespoons of coffee cream (optional).
Notes
- If you want, you can measure the final amount of coffee concentrate and mix in an equal amount of water before you place it in the fridge for the week. This prepares your coffee for the week instead of mixing it each day. The recipe should produce about 5 cups of coffee concentrate.
- You can add less or more water to the concentrate depending on your preference for the strength of coffee.
- This recipe makes 10 cups of coffee. Double or triple this recipe based on your weekly coffee intake.
Tried making it at home before, never got the ratio right until now!! Life changing, you can even heat it up if you want hot coffee and it tastes so much better!!
Glad you liked the recipe Al! Cold brew style coffee is by far my favourite, too.
Thanks, I will definitely save a lot of money if I make my own coffee all the time.
Glad you liked the recipe Ivana!
Seeing your cold brew coffee makes me want to go out and get coffee to make this right now. I haven't had coffee for a long while now and I haven't had cold brew coffee before. I've wanted to try cold coffee but never got around to it. I know once I start making these, I'll get addicted.
You will definitely get addicted, Remonia! I always have 2qts in my fridge at a time - I make a double batch once or twice a week because I go through it so quickly. You'll have to try it and let me know how it works!
So easy and delicious!
Thank you so much, Amy!