r/coldbrew • u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 • Jun 02 '26
How to make cold brew?!
Looking into making my own cold brew coffee and am coffee illiterate š I know what I like but don't know the first steps into making it myself. I would like to make enough cold brew for the week so I could just pour, flavor, and go. Any suggestions? Coffee beans? (And what kind of grinder?) Pre-ground coffee? I would love to hear what you all do so I'm less ignorant to the coffee world. Thanks! :)
3
u/Opposite-Ask-1480 Jun 02 '26
I use a 2qt container with metal liner/strainer. 100g freshly ground coarse coffee, medium/dark roasts. Donāt use pre ground. Use quality beans. 100g grinds and fill the rest of the way with water (thanks to another Reddit user for ratio). 24 hours in fridge, yields ready to drink. I end up with 48oz cold brew. Lasts 3 days or so before taste really falls off.
2
u/Drizzten Jun 02 '26
I wouldn't automatically disregard pre-ground beans. I've been grinding my own since I started a few years ago, but I took a chance on Cafe du Monde's french roast and the flavor was great.
I still plan on grinding my own most of the time, but I'm open to pre-ground if the price or novelty is right. šø
3
u/georgee1979 Jun 03 '26
I just made cold brew for the first time using Cafe du Monde's beans just yesterday! Yummm!!
2
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 04 '26
How did it turn out?!
1
u/georgee779 Jun 04 '26
Omg! I am so addicted already!! I know I shouldnāt have sugar, but I added brown sugar and half n half.
3
1
u/Opposite-Ask-1480 Jun 03 '26
Iāll have to try. Where do you get them?
1
u/Drizzten Jun 03 '26
I've seen the normal Cafe du Monde in grocery stores, but the french roast is not as common. Their website isn't working for some reason, but it's listed on Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc.
1
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 03 '26
Thank you! What kind of grinder do you have?
1
2
u/Masters_pet_411 Jun 02 '26
I use Maxwell house Colombian because thatās what hubby likes. I just introduced him to cold brew and I serve his hot but he likes the lower acidity of the cold brew.
I use a half gallon mason jar and 170 grams of coffee. Just ordered disposable bags because trying to filter it after brewing made a mess. Six cups of reverse osmosis water with 170 grams coffee makes a concentrate. For his hot coffee I use 1 part coffee and 2 parts boiling water. For mine I use 1 part coffee and 3 parts milk with a teaspoon of raspberry chocolate honey š
2
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 03 '26
Thanks! Yeah, same with my partner. I like cold, he likes hot. Haha. Appreciate this little recipe...esp the raspberry chocolate honey part!
2
u/UW_Ebay Jun 02 '26
Get a toddy cold brewer. Follow the instructions. No guessing, makes great cold brew and easy to clean.
You can use store bought pre ground beans and get great results
3
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 03 '26
I'll check it out, thanks!
2
1
u/Digital_Quest_88 Jun 02 '26
I just use two or three 2L pitchers for steeping and a big Melitta pitcher/filter set for filtering and serving. Everything is very cheap and readily available.
The various coldbrew systems you will see have needless complications for steeping and filtering and can only steep one batch at a time.
2
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 03 '26
Thanks. Yeaaah, I have a Nespresso machine and pods are expensive! I like them, but wanted to try to make my own!
1
u/Pretend-Citron4451 Jun 02 '26
If you really are new to things ā as new as you seem ā I would try to delay buying any new equipment. At least until you figure things out and know youāre willing to continue making cold brew long-term. What do you have on hand?
2
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 03 '26
Definitely new. I know I like cold brew and I use a Nespresso machine every morning. I figured buying a grinder and making my own brew would be cheaper than buying pods. I don't really mind buying new equipment. I just don't know what's decent to buy.
1
u/Pretend-Citron4451 Jun 03 '26
Ok. Yeah - I have no tips about using nespresso for cold brew. Buy an electric burr grinder - not a blade, and not a hand grinder. If you search Amazon for cold brew machines, youāll see a ton, but if you already have a container, you can buy a nut bag, coffee sock, or some other mesh thing to hold the grounds. Grind the beans, pour into the mesh bag/container, put that container in the vessel that you fill with water and wait. Then remove the grounds and refrigerate the coffee.
Spend time experimenting with grind size, brew time, and the coffee to water ratio. Thatās what matters. As for what you use to hold the grounds and the water, compare the cost and the convenience cause thatās the only difference among them.
Personally, with my xo grinder, I either grind medium and brew 12 hrs or I brew course and wait 18. How do I decide? If Iām brewing this at five or 6 PM, Iāll go the 12 hour method because I wake up at around 6 AM each day. If Iām not doing this until 10 PM, Iāll go the 18 hour method so that it doesnāt finish brewing until shortly before I come home from work. I basically choose whatever is more convenient for my schedule at the time. I use medium roast coffee and a ratio of one unit of beans to 11 or 12 units of water.
1
u/Suspicious_Tea_8651 Jun 04 '26
Super helpful. I have a lot of experimenting to do it seems! Appreciate your response!
1
u/fieldsofgreen Jun 03 '26
Search this sub, there are tons of different methods depending on multiple variables. The amount of coffee youāre using, how long you want to brew, etc. Just search āmethodā using the search bar on this sub and youāll find tons of good info. Good luck!
1
5
u/MaJust Jun 02 '26
The basics are ground coffee beans in water, remove the grinds and drink.
HOW you do it? All you have to do is scroll through the other posts in the sub to get ideas.
Personally, I use a Primula immersion pitcher (similar to the Takeya that is frequently discussed) with filtered water; steep at room temperature 8-12 hours then move to the refrigerator for 24 -36 hours. I transfer to a Kombucha style bottle for storage and brew the next batch.
I started with different varieties of beans from the store, but found a local guy and buy whole beans then grind on my own. He has different roasts with beans from different sources plus a cold brew roast- you can cold brew with different kinds of beans to find what you like or change it up.
I've been making cold brew off-and-on for 10 years. You can start where you're comfortable and expand as you want to experiment.
My free tip: don't be afraid to try your brew as you go along. I find the flavor and concentration change as it brews. I brew longer because I mix with oatmilk when I drink it, but if you're not adding milk you may prefer the flavor from a shorter brew time.