Here’s a quick guide on how to make cold brew coffee at home! All you need is coffee grounds, water and 5 minutes of preparation. Serve it with your favorite milk or freeze it into ice cubes to use in recipes, such as a homemade Frappuccino.

This how-to guide was originally posted in 2016 and has been updated with new photography and additional details to help you make the best cold brew coffee at home.

What is cold brew coffee? It’s the result of steeping ground coffee beans in cold water for an extended period of time. The grounds are then filtered out of the water using a fine mesh sieve or a French press. Cold brew coffee is less acidic and smoother than regular coffee. It’s not the same as iced coffee, which is brewed coffee that has been chilled and served with ice.

You can easily make cold brew coffee at home in just a few simple steps.

What you need:

• Coffee grounds: Choose coarse coffee grounds.
• Cold water: You’ll soak the coffee grounds in cold water.
• A large jar or container: This will be used to let the coffee grounds soak. You’ll also need a second container to store the cold brew.
• A strainer: You can use a fine mesh sieve, but a French press works as well. A pasta strainer is not what you’re looking for here.

Steps to Make Homemade Cold Brew Coffee:

Add cold water and ground coffee beans in a large jar or container. Start with a 4:1 ratio of water to coffee grounds. Let it steep overnight or for about 12 hours.

Strain the coffee by using a fine mesh sieve and you’re done! Store your homemade cold brew coffee in the fridge for up to a week.

How to Use Cold Brew

Serve your cold brew coffee with ice and your favorite milk or creamer. I love serving it with oat milk! If the cold brew is too strong to your taste, you can easily dilute it with water or milk. The ice will also melt and help dilute the cold brew.

You can also freeze the cold brew into ice cubes and use it to make a homemade Frappuccino, such as this vegan caramel Frappuccino. You could also use these coffee ice cubes to chill your future cups of cold brew.

Tips to Make Cold Brew at Home:

• Use coarse coffee grounds. Espresso grounds will result in a stronger, cloudy coffee.
• Steep your cold brew for 12 hours. If you strain it sooner, your cold brew will be weak and any longer might result in a bitter, stronger drink.
• You can adjust the measurements to your taste. If you find a 4:1 ratio too strong, add more water. You can also make it stronger if preferred. If your cold brew is already done and it’s too strong to your liking, simply add water or milk to dilute your drink.

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Cold Brew Coffee

Here's how to make cold brew coffee at home! All you need is coffee grounds, water and 5 minutes of preparation. Serve it with ice and your favorite milk or creamer. You can also freeze it into ice cubes to make coffee flavored drinks.

Course Drinks

Cuisine vegan

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Steep Time 12 hours hours

Total Time 12 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 3 1 cup servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup coarse coffee grounds
• 4 cups water, cold or room temperature

Instructions

• Stir the coffee grounds and water together in a jar until combined.
• Let it steep overnight or for about 12 hours. You can let it steep in the refrigerator or on the counter.
• Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the cold brew to remove the coffee grounds. Do this over a container, which you can then use to store your homemade cold brew. You can also use a French press to strain the cold brew.

Notes

Make sure to use coarse coffee grounds. 

Steep your cold brew for 12 hours. If you strain it sooner, your cold brew will be weak and any longer might result in a bitter, stronger drink.

You can adjust the measurements to your taste. If you find a 4:1 ratio too strong, add more water. You can also make it stronger if preferred. If your cold brew is already done and it’s too strong to your liking, simply add water or milk to dilute your drink.

You can easily make it decaf by using decaf coffee grounds.

If you make this cold brew, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!