This post will cover how to make cold brew coffee using two ingredients and a few basic items from your kitchen. Yes, that’s right, you won’t need any fancy gadgets or gizmos to nail this recipe. This recipe yields wicked smooth and strong coffee that’s less acidic than regular iced coffee, isn’t bitter, and tastes just like the top-shelf concentrate that you find at your local grocery store or coffee shop. Furthermore, this recipe will save you a ton of money and will successfully fuel your coffee addiction.
What is Cold Brew Coffee?
In the most basic sense, cold brew coffee consists of coffee grounds infused over a longer time in either room temperature or cold water. This is in contrast to traditionally brewed coffee, which uses hot water to quickly extract the rich flavor from the ground coffee beans. This slower “brew” time (the technical terminology is infusion or steeping) produces a smoother, less acidic coffee that contains more caffeine due to the extended brew time.
Cold Brew Coffee vs. Iced Coffee
Before we dive into how to make a hearty batch of cold brew coffee, let’s discuss the why.
If you’re a fan of regular iced coffee, you’re probably wondering why anyone would use this method over the brewed coffee and ice approach. Let’s explore the pros and cons of each method.
Iced Coffee
Pros
- Wicked quick to make if you serve it right away over ice
- Flexible for groups since you can serve hot coffee to some and cold to others
- Works with all types of roasts – light, medium, dark, and everything in between
Cons
- Requires a ton of ice if you serve it right away
- The ice melts quickly, which, in turn, dilutes the flavor profile
- More acidic
- Less smooth
- Potentially bitter depending on the type of roast you use
- Requires a longer time to chill if cooling before serving
Cold Brew
Pros
- Smoother and more mellow taste
- Less acidic
- Less bitter
- Stronger coffee, which is great for espresso lovers
- Quick and easy prep – only requires a few minutes to put together and then it’s totally hands-off
Cons
- Longer to make from start to finish
- Best with dark or medium blends (this could also be a pro if you wish)
If you appreciate a strong and dark coffee, then iced coffee is kinda pointless. I mean, if it’s a last-minute, I need iced coffee right now situation, great. Otherwise, hard no. Who wants weak, lukewarm coffee with half-melted ice cubes floating in it?
The alternative is brewing a large batch of hot coffee, letting it cool, then sticking it in the fridge for a couple of hours until is totally cold. At that point, you might as well spend a few minutes making a batch of cold brew instead.
Why You Should Start Making Cold Brew Coffee at Home
The really good bottled cold brew drinks come with a hefty price tag. Most run around $5 for 16 oz. It’s strong coffee with an amazing flavor that packs a serious punch. However, it adds up when you drink it almost every day.
You Don’t Need Any Special Equipment
Unless you have little to no kitchen equipment, you likely already have everything you need.
Here’s What You Need to Make Cold Brew Coffee
- 2 containers: one for infusing the water and grounds; the other is for storing the finished product
- Freshly ground coffee beans – a medium grind between coarse and fine works best!
- Purified water – this is important since tap water will impart a bad taste due to the chlorine and minerals
- A filter for removing the grounds – a paper filter, fine mesh nut milk bag, or paper towel will do the trick
That’s it! Pretty simple, ‘eh?
You have a lot of flexibility when it comes to containers and filtering methods. The best tools are whatever you have readily available in your kitchen.
A large pitcher for infusing the grounds is ideal and a glass swing-top bottle is preferred for storing the finished cold brew.
An inexpensive nut milk bag, such as the one linked above, and a plastic funnel will do the trick. This makes sense since we’re filtering the infusion directly into the tall, narrow jar, so the funnel helps with this step. However, you can also use a fine-mesh strainer lined with a paper coffee filter over a large mixing bowl. Whichever route you go, keep it simple!
What’s the Correct Ratio for Making Cold Brew Coffee?
This really comes down to personal preference in terms of coffee strength, so the answer is totally subjective.
Here’s the ratio we prefer here at Buzz Beans: one part ground coffee to four parts purified water. For example, 1 cup of ground coffee to 4 cups of water.
Can You Make It Stronger?
Absolutely! You can increase the punch of your cold brew coffee by tweaking the recipe to a 1:3 ratio. You can also make coffee ice cubes using any leftover brewed coffee you have on hand to give it an extra kick!
Can You Make It Weaker?
We highly discourage doing so, but you can dilute the final product by adding more water. Remember, you can’t remove it once you add extra water, so blend carefully!
Does this Make a Coffee Concentrate? Do I need to Dilute It Before Consuming It?
This is 100% personal preference and will vary depending on your coffee drinking habits.
Most drink cold brew with a generous dash of creamer and nothing else. Most typically drink 1-2 cups per day, so you’ll want to make sure you get your fair share of caffeine. If you’re the type of person who drinks a lot of coffee throughout the day, you may want to dilute your cold brew so you avoid the jitters.
How Much Money Can You Save Making Cold Brew Coffee at Home?
You can potentially save a lot of money depending on the price you pay for your coffee beans.
Let’s say you go with a bag of our North Woods Brew at $14.95/12 oz. bag. If we crunch the numbers, we’re looking at a little under $0.09/oz of cold brew coffee, which is far less than $0.30 per ounce! A pound of Buzz Beans coffee yields 192 ounces (24 cups) of cold brew coffee if we apply the 1:4 ratio. That’s enough for 12 (16 oz.) bottles of store-bought cold brew blend, which would set you back about $57. At the end of the day, making your own cold brew coffee will save you roughly $37!
Now imagine if you used a less expensive blend of coffee beans from a place like Aldi. Their organic ground coffee runs around $5 per pound. That’s almost half the cost of regular organic coffee!
Nonetheless, making your cold brew at home will definitely save you some serious money. The biggest problem you’ll likely face is keeping enough around for everyone! This cold brew coffee goes down smooth and disappears fast…which really isn’t a bad problem to have!
