Cold Brew Coffee

Cold Brew Coffee

Make Cold Brew Coffee at home: smooth concentrate from whole beans and water, simple steps and slow steeping for rich flavor.

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1440 minutes
Total Time1450 minutes
Yield6

Ingredients

Instructions

Step 1: Grind the coffee

Warm your grinder or food processor and pulse whole beans to a coarse, even grind — think chunky sea-salt sized particles rather than flour. Aim for the texture that still shows fractured bean surfaces and a little irregularity; this coarse texture gives a clean, smooth cold brew with minimal sediment. A quick note while you grind: one cup of whole beans yields roughly a cup-and-a-quarter of coarse grounds, so stop when you see a loose, fluffy pile of uneven, fragrant particles.

Step 2: Combine grounds and water

Spoon the coarse grounds into one or two wide-mouth mason jars so they sit loosely and can be fully saturated. Pour cold water evenly over the grounds — gently fold or stir once with a clean spoon so all the grounds are hydrated and there are no dry pockets. The result should be a matte, saturated mass of coffee grounds suspended in water with small surface ripples and a few floating particles, not a foamy or vigorously mixed mixture.

Step 3: Seal, shake, and chill

Seal the jars, give each a firm few shakes to ensure any trapped pockets of dry grounds are incorporated, then set them upright in the refrigerator to steep for about 24 hours. After sealing the surface will show a slightly darker, diffuse bloom where the coffee solubles begin to migrate into the water — a quiet, even extraction rather than an active boil or foam.


Step 4: Strain the steeped concentrate

After refrigeration, strain the dark, viscous concentrate through a fine mesh lined with a coffee filter or through a nut-milk bag until the liquid runs clear; the wet grounds should collapse into a damp, crumbly pile you can compost. The strained concentrate should be glossy, deep mahogany-brown and free of visible grit, with a few tiny suspended bubbles that settle slowly.

Step 5: Transfer and taste-adjust

Pour the filtered concentrate back into one of the clean mason jars you used overnight (rinse it first if you like), sealing it for storage. Taste the concentrate over ice — dilute with cold water or your preferred milk to soften intensity. The texture will be syrupy but pourable; when diluted it becomes velvety and very smooth.

Step 6: Serve cold over ice

Fill tall clear glasses with lots of irregular, jagged ice cubes, then pour the cold brew concentrate so it cascades and clinks around the ice, creating a visible stream, small rising bubbles, and a thin line of condensation on the glass. Serve immediately, optionally with a splash of milk or water to taste for a beautifully dark, cooling beverage.


Notes