Hey folks! It’s super easy to make cold brew coffee at home! Today I’m sharing how I’ve been making mine lately. I’ve also added a video below the recipe, showing step-by-step how I make mine at home. Fair warning… I’m not an awesome videographer. It’s my first video though, so I can only go up from here, right!?
So, why cold brew vs brewing hot? It really comes down to flavor! While normal, hot brewed coffee is known to be on the acidic side (although, I still love it), cold brew coffee tends to be smoother in flavor. One added benefit of cold brew: it’s already cold, making it really refreshing on a hot summer day!
While I used decaf coffee for my cold brew, you’re welcome to use regular. If using decaf, look for Swiss water processed decaffeinated coffee. That way, you can rest assured that chemicals were not used to expel the caffeine from the coffee bean. Whether you are using decaf or regular, opt for coffee that is certified organic and fair trade to avoid the heavy use of pesticides commonly used in conventional coffee farming, and to help ensure that the farmers and workers are receiving reasonable wages for their crop.
OK, on to the recipe!
Cold Brew Coffee
Equipment
- 1 Large Glass Mason Jar with Lid
- Coffee Grinder
- Spoon
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Cheese Cloth
- Large Container with Spout
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Bean Coffee coarsely ground
- 4 cups Cold, Filtered Water
Instructions
- Pour the ground coffee into the large mason jar. Then add the filtered water. Stir to saturate the coffee grounds.
- Screw the lid on top of the mason jar, and place the jar in the fridge to brew for 10-12 hours.
- When 10-12 hours have passed, remove the mason jar from the fridge.
- Place the cheese cloth over a fine mesh sieve, then place both over a large container, preferably one with a spout for easy pouring after filtering the coffee.
- Slowly pour the cold brew coffee through the cheese cloth and sieve. Discard the cheese cloth and leftover ground coffee.
- Clean out the mason jar that was used for brewing the coffee, then pour the filtered cold brew back into the mason jar for storage.
- Keep in the fridge for up to a week.
There are lots of ways you can enjoy your cold brew coffee. Here are some of my favorites:
- Simply add ice for iced coffee.
- Cold brew has concentrated flavor, so if you want your coffee on the lighter side, just add water until you get the flavor your looking for.
- Add coconut milk, almond milk, or raw cream for a creamier, latte-like beverage.
- Heat up on the stove (or dare I say, microwave. Gasp!) and add plain filtered water, milk or unsalted butter to get the flavor you desire. If using butter, you’ll want to blend it with an immersion blender or regular, high speed blender.
- For an iced-butter coffee, I heat up a small amount of the cold brew coffee. Add my unsalted butter or ghee to the coffee and blend together with an immersion blender. I then add ice to dilute and cool down the drink.
- Check out this post about why I like to add collagen to my coffee as well!