The heat has arrived in my neck of the woods, so I’m making cold brew coffee. It’s so simple, any coffee lover can make it. You need a capped glass vessel and room in your fridge, plus coarsely ground coffee, filtered water, and patience.
Cold brew is different from iced coffee, which is brewed coffee served over ice. Because it’s not subjected to boiling water, cold brew has a sweeter flavor and is less acidic. I like both brewed iced coffee and cold brew, but my preference is for cold brew because it’s so easy to make.
Start with a cup of coarsely ground coffee, preferably dark roast. Place the coffee plus 7 cups of water into a glass pitcher or large jar. If you’re fridge is low on space, put a generous half cup of ground coffee into a 32 ounce mason jar and fill the jar with cold filtered water.
If you wish, you may pour a cup of simmering water over the ground coffee, and then add the rest of the cold water. I think the simmering water brings out a bit more flavor in the cold brew, but the difference is slight. Try it both ways and decide for yourself.
Stir the coffee, cap the pitcher or jar, and store it in the fridge for 12-30 hours. I like to leave it in longer, but it will be fine in a dozen hours.
I usually pour the coffee through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove the grounds, which I compost. If you want to remove all the sediment, you can can then pour the coffee through a paper coffee filter, which makes for a very smooth flavor.
I’m always pressed for time, so I generally don’t bother filtering cold brew. I always serve cold brew with non-dairy milk, often sweetened with stevia, so I’m not sure it’s worth taking the time to run cold brew through a coffee filter, which can take a while and require more than one filter.
You can also just pour the coffee out of the pitcher or bottle, ignoring the grounds, which will mostly stay put at the bottom of the container. Cold brew will keep “brewing” if you leave the grounds in it, but this is up to you. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week.
Mix cold brew with non-dairy milk, sweeten it with stevia, and pour it over ice whenever the sun is hot, and you need a cool, refreshing cup of coffee.
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew coffee is made from ground coffee and cold water. It's sweeter and less acidic than brewed coffee, a refreshing summer drink on a hot day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly ground coffee
- 7 cups filtered water
Instructions
Put the ground coffee into a container with a lid.
Add water, stir, and put in fridge for 12-30 hours.
Remove from fridge and use as is, or strain to remove grounds.
Keeps in fridge for up to a week. It will get stronger if you leave the grounds in it.
Notes
Use the best coffee you can find, coarsely ground. I find darker roast has more flavor. Cold brew is a “softer,” sweeter-flavored coffee, but it can get very strong, so you may have to dilute it. I like to mix it with stevia and almond milk and pour it over ice.
To make a small amount of cold brew coffee, start with half a cup of coarsely ground coffee, preferably a dark roast.
Place the coffee in the bottom of a 32 ounce mason jar.
Fill the jar with cold, filtered water.
Cover, shake, and place in fridge for 12-30 hours. Remove from fridge and filter though a cheesecloth covered sieve. Compost the grounds.
Serve cold brew coffee over ice with non-dairy milk, sweetened with stevia.
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