How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

Learn how to make cold brew coffee at home! Made with basic equipment, this easy recipe yields a strong, smooth concentrate for perfect iced coffee.

If you love cold brew coffee, learn how to make cold brew concentrate at home! Don’t worry, you don’t need any special equipment or fancy ingredients. My cold brew recipe is easy to make with just coffee grounds, cold water, a Mason jar, and a strainer. It creates a strong, smooth concentrate that you can dilute with water or milk for a perfect glass of cold brew coffee.

I’ve been a cold brew fan for over a decade…and I’m embarrassed to admit that I spent way longer than I should have buying the bottled stuff from the store. About 5 years ago, I started experimenting with making my own, testing different ratios and steeping times. I loved that it was more affordable and gave me complete control over the final flavor. Now, I make this concentrate almost weekly.

If you’ve never made homemade cold brew, I hope this recipe will inspire you to give it a try. If you’re anything like me, you won’t look back!

What Is Cold Brew?

Cold brew is coffee that’s brewed using cold or room temperature water. Unlike regular iced coffee, which is made by serving cooled drip coffee over ice, cold brew steeps slowly, for 12-24 hours. The cold water and long steep create a coffee with a richer, smoother flavor—it’s both less acidic and less bitter than coffee brewed with hot water.

When I make cold brew coffee at home, I start by making a cold brew concentrate that keeps for about a week in the fridge. I add it straight to coffee drinks like coffee smoothies and espresso martinis for a strong kick of coffee flavor, or I dilute it with water and/or milk to create a quick glass of iced coffee in the morning. Keep reading to learn how to make it!

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

First, coarsely grind your coffee. If you don’t have a coffee grinder, grind the beans at the store, or get freshly ground beans from a local coffee shop or roaster.

Place the coffee grounds in a large Mason jar or French press and pour filtered water on top.

Stir to combine the water and the coffee grounds. Cover the jar with a lid and let it sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. The longer the coffee steeps, the stronger it will be.

Next, strain the coffee. If using a Mason jar, place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and line it with a layer of cheesecloth or paper coffee filters. Pour the coffee through the strainer to remove the grounds. If you’re using a French press, press down the filter.

Transfer the strained coffee to a clean jar or other airtight container. Cover and store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Serving Cold Brew Coffee

Remember, this recipe makes a strong concentrate, so you probably won’t want to drink it straight on its own!

Instead, for perfect cold brew coffee, pour 3/4 cup of the concentrate over ice and top it with an equal amount of water and/or milk. I love mine with almond milk or oat milk. If you like, you can also add a sweetener like sugar, maple, or simple syrup. Taste and adjust before serving, adding more coffee, milk, or water as desired.

Want to use this recipe to make hot coffee? Just skip the ice and warm up the concentrate with as much water or milk as you like!

Cold Brew Coffee Recipe Tips

• Fresh is best. Whether you’re making hot brewed coffee or cold, freshly ground beans will always yield the best flavor. Why? Grinding coffee beans releases their oils. These oils are what add complexity and depth to a cup of coffee. After you grind coffee beans, these oils begin to dry out. As a result, you want to use coffee beans right after you grind them, when their oils have just been released and their flavor is fresh.
• Grind the coffee beans coarsely. The coarse grounds are easy to strain out of the water after steeping, and they give the cold brew a more balanced, less bitter flavor than fine grounds do. This is another reason to grind the beans yourself—pre-ground beans are typically finely ground.
• Adjust the ratios to taste. One of the reasons I love making cold brew at home is that it’s easy to adjust each cup of coffee to taste. If I’ve made a particularly strong batch of concentrate, I dilute each glass with more milk or water. If it’s less strong, I just add a splash. Don’t hesitate to add more coffee, water, or milk to create a flavor and intensity you love.

More Cold Drinks to Try

If you love this recipe, try one of these refreshing drinks next:

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Steeping Time: 12 hours hrs

Serves 4

Learn how to make cold brew at home! I like making a big batch of this concentrate and storing it in the fridge for quick, easy cups of iced coffee throughout the week.

• 1½ cups coarsely ground coffee
• 3 cups filtered water, plus more for serving
• Milk or plant milk, optional, for serving

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• Place the ground coffee in a 28-ounce Mason jar, or similar. Add the water, then stir. Cover and set aside for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.

• Spread a piece of cheesecloth or paper coffee filters in a fine mesh strainer and place it over a large bowl. Pour the coffee into the bowl to strain it. Store the strained coffee in the fridge for up to a week.

• When ready to serve, pour ¾ cup of the concentrate over ice. If the coffee is stronger than you’d like, dilute it with water or milk, as desired. I like a 1:1 ratio of cold brew concentrate to extra water or milk. Feel free to adjust the ratios to your liking, adding more coffee, water, and/or milk to taste.