How to make cold brew coffee

Cold brew is coffee steeped in cold or room temperature water for many hours instead of minutes. Without heat it extracts less acidity and bitterness, so it tastes smooth, sweet and chocolatey.

This recipe makes a concentrate in a jar, filtered through paper for a clean finish. Dilute it with water or milk and serve over ice. There is also a ready to drink version, a Kyoto slow drip and Stumptown's recipe below.

Cold brew recipes

Jar concentrate

A rich concentrate steeped overnight on the bench, then filtered.

100 g · 1:8 · 12 to 16 hours

Ready to drink

A weaker ratio steeped in the fridge, so there is nothing to dilute.

70 g · 1:14.3 · 16 to 20 hours

Kyoto slow drip

Iced water dripped through coffee, one drop at a time.

50 g · 1:10 · 4 to 8 hours

Stumptown's cold brew

A whole bag of coffee, a big batch and a 16 hour steep.

340 g · 1:5.6 · 14 to 18 hours

Recipe

Coffee

Water

Makes about

Change any amount and the whole recipe scales with it.

Ratio: 1:8
Water temperature: Room temperature water
Grind: Coarse, like sea salt
Time: 12 to 16 hours

What you need

Large jar with a lid
Burr grinder
Digital scale
Sieve and a paper filter
Bottle or jar to store the coffee

Method

1
Grind 100 g of coffee coarse and put it in a large jar.
2
Pour in 800 g of room temperature water and stir until all the grounds are wet.
3
Put the lid on and leave it on the bench, out of direct sun, for 12 to 16 hours.
4
Pour it through a sieve to catch the grounds, then through a paper filter to catch the fine particles.
5
Keep the concentrate sealed in the fridge.
6
To serve, mix it with about the same amount of water or milk and pour over ice.