Cold Brew Concentrate

Cold brew concentrate might just be the unsung hero of easy, delicious coffee at home. Just a few simple steps to brew a batch that’s smooth, rich, and full of flavor, no fancy equipment needed. Whether you prefer your coffee straight up, blended, or turned into a creamy latte, this versatile concentrate has you covered. Make it once, and you’ll have the perfect base for your favorite coffee drinks all week long.

I don’t mean to turn anyone’s world upside down. I know messing with people’s coffee routines could be a recipe for disaster. But, if you have never tried cold brewing at home, then I think it’s worth giving it a try. There may be a misconception out there that cold brewed coffee is difficult to make. Not true, but it does require a bit of planning ahead as it takes significantly longer to brew. An advantage of making cold brew concentrate though is that it allows you to brew once, and use over time. It stays fresh in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and can even be frozen for longer storage.

Blach, you say?! Not many people like old coffee, but cold brew is a different story. It doesn’t age the same way hot coffee does. How long is coffee palatable for after being hot brewed? I think there is a consensus that the coffee-drinking sweet spot is up to 30 minutes after being brewed. Still quite drinkable between 30-60 minutes and then things start to go downhill. Between 1-2 hours you get noticeable oxidation and the taste becomes more flat, bitter, and or sour. After 2 hours… well let’s just throw it out. I can see why you might turn your nose up at the idea of drinking week old coffee. But this is where cold brewing shines.

Why Cold Brewed Coffee Concentrate Stays Fresh For Weeks

1. It’s cold brewed, which equals less oxidation. Hot water extracts volatile compounds quickly, which gives hot coffee its immediate flavor, but those same compounds oxidize and break down fast, leading to bitterness and staleness. Cold brew uses cold water over many hours, which extracts fewer of those unstable, quick-to-spoil compounds. So you end up with a more stable brew that can hold it’s flavor longer, much longer.
2. The cold extraction process pulls out less acid and fewer oils, which are the things that go rancid or sour quickly in hot coffee. Less acidity equals slower flavor degradation and a smoother taste.
3. Cold brew, starts cold and stays cold, reducing bacterial growth and flavor breakdown.

I Don’t Have the Time To Wait for Cold Brewed Coffee

It’s easy to see why some people might hesitate to try cold brewed coffee. When they see a recipe that takes 14–24 hours to brew, their first thought might be, “I can’t wait that long – I need coffee now!” Or maybe it’s a cold day, and they’re thinking, “I want a hot coffee, not a cold one.” Both are fair points. Yes, cold brewing takes time, but it’s incredibly simple and just requires a little planning. If you make a cold brew concentrate, you don’t have to brew coffee every day, just once a week (or even less often) is enough.

Prefer your coffee hot? No problem. Cold brew can be gently heated in a saucepan over medium heat, just avoid boiling to preserve the flavor. Microwaving works too, but heat it in short bursts and give it a stir between rounds to avoid overheating.

What Does Cold Brewed Coffee Taste Like?

Because of the cold slow extraction process, cold brewed coffee has a smoother flavor with less acidity and bitterness. So even when heated, cold brew retains that smoothness – making it ideal for people who love coffee but find hot-brewed versions too harsh on the stomach or taste buds. Ever get stomach cramps after drinking hot brewed coffee? Try a cold brew – it might be just the ticket.

Being able to make a cold brew concentrate gives you flexibility because if you are short on time in the morning you can just pour, heat, and go. No need to wait for a fresh brew. So in reality, it can be a time saver that still provides great flavor.

Cold brew can be enjoyed cold in the summer or heated in the winter. Totally adaptable. But maybe you are wondering “what’s the difference between cold brew coffee vs iced coffee?” Iced coffee is hot brewed coffee that is allowed to cool down and/or is served over ice to cool it down. The downside to iced coffee is you still have those bitter and acidic compounds, and if you give the coffee time to cool those compounds are more pronounced. If you pour the hot coffee over ice, the ice will melt fast and dilute your drink.

The bottom line with cold coffee drinks: cold brew wins on taste, consistency, and versatility. It gives you that café-style flavor with none of the bitterness or disappointment of cooled-down drip coffee.

Equipment Needed

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To start off with you can keep the equipment to the basics. A container that can hold 3 cups of water and 1 1/3 cups of coffee grounds. You can use a large French press container, a large jar, even a big bowl but this will be more difficult to pour out of. A coffee filter to filter it all (I have used paper towels in a pinch) and a fine mesh sieve for the coffee filter to sit in.

If you fall in love with cold brew coffee, you might want to consider purchasing a cold brew coffee apparatus such as: this Cold Brew Coffee Making Jar, or this OXO cold Brew Maker to make brewing even easier!

Ingredients for Cold Brew Concentrate

• Coarsely ground coffee – you can use any beans you like, you just want to make sure they are coarsely ground – see notes
• Water – of course. Preference given to filtered water for best flavor, but whatever water you normally use to make your coffee will be fine – see notes

What is the Cold Brew Ratio?

This is a highly debatable question as it really comes down to how strong you like your coffee. This recipe uses a ratio of about 1:7 to make the cold brew concentrate (1 part coffee to 7 parts water). For me, that is way too strong to drink straight. If I am going to drink my cold brew black over ice, I dilute it 1:2, so one part concentrate and 2 parts water. If I’m going to make a creamy drink with it, I might dilute it 1:1 with water and then add a fair amount of milk like in my vanilla sweet cream cold brew. And if I make a frappuccino, I dilute it 1:1 with milk.

With a little experimentation, you will find the right ratio for your preference too.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

I have tried this a couple of different ways, but the basics remain the same.

Add your coarsely ground coffee to the brewing container. I’m using a French press, but if you don’t have one, you can use a large jar or bowl.

Add in about half the cold water and give it a gentle stir. This helps to saturate the coffee grounds evenly preventing any air pockets or clumps from forming which could lead to uneven extraction.

Add in the rest of the water and give it a final stir. A lot of the coffee grounds will be floating near the surface, don’t worry about this for now. Place a lid on top or cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to brew for about 12-16 hours. See notes for other options.

After about an hour into the brewing process, give the coffee a gentle stir. This will bring all the floating coffee grounds down into the brew for optimal extraction. It only needs a gentle stir not a vigorous agitation.

After the brewing is complete we need to separate the grounds from the liquid. If using a French press, I don’t recommend pushing down hard on the plunger as that will encourage the release of bitter compounds. Instead I plunge gently and stop before reaching the coffee grounds at the bottom. Then pour into a collection vessel (jar or bowl). If you aren’t using a French press you can pour the concentrate through some cheesecloth in a sieve to get an initial filtering.

At this point the cold brew concentrate still is a little gritty, so I like to filter this again through a coffee filter-lined fine mesh sieve, or even a paper towel-lined fine mesh sieve. The paper towel actually works really well and is much faster than the coffee filter. Probably 5 minutes with the paper towel and 30 minutes with the coffee filter.

After this 2nd filtration your cold brew concentrate is ready to go. Store in the fridge covered for up to two weeks. I usually end up with about 585 mL (about 2 1/3 cups) of cold brew concentrate when done.

How to Use Cold Brew Concentrate

Once you have your cold brew coffee concentrate ready, you have many options for coffee greatness. For drinking straight up, I usually dilute it about 1:2, so one part coffee concentrate to 2 parts water (1/3 cup coffee concentrate + 2/3 cup water = 1 cup cold brew ready to drink).

1. Drink it cold, served over ice for a smooth bold coffee experience.
2. Drink it hot by placing in a saucepan and heating over medium low heat. Best not to bring to a boil in order to keep the best flavor. You can also microwave in 30 second bursts with stirring in between.
3. Make my Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew (recipe coming soon) for a creamy refreshing summer drink.
4. Make my Chocolate Cream Cold Brew (recipe coming soon) for a chocolate version
5. Make my White Chocolate Macadamia cold Brew (recipe coming soon)
6. Make an Iced Latte like my Iced Latte Caramel (recipe coming soon)
7. Make a Frappuccino

So many options. Let me know how you enjoyed your cold brew concentrate in the comments below!

Notes

1. Coarsely ground beans extract slowly and evenly producing a smoother mellow flavor compared to a finer grind. Finer grinds also make filtering a nightmare, and can make the final product a bit gritty and sludgy.
2. What’s in your water is going to have an impact on the taste of your coffee whether it’s cold brewed or hot brewed. Chlorine is often added to municipal water systems and is normally of the free chlorine type. It is very volatile and will evaporate if you leave your container of water out on the counter for about 24 hours. Or you can run it through a filter system and be done with it instantly. I myself don’t bother with filtering as I’m pretty happy with our tap water.
3. When brewing the cold brew concentrate you can brew at room temperature or in the fridge. If brewing in the fridge I like to brew for 18-24 hours, if brewing at room temperature I go for 12-14 hours usually. The longer it brews the stronger it gets, but after the brewing times mentioned I find you start to extract those bitter compounds.
4. If I am using a French press, I don’t press down hard on it, I hardly press down at all, I just use leave the built in filter near the top to strain the liquid through into the paper filter on the mesh sieve. If you press down hard you can get over extraction which forces out bitter and sour flavors which wouldn’t normally have been extracted.

FAQs

• What if I like my coffee really strong or really weak? This recipe really is a guide. People who like their coffee stronger might want to make their final coffee drinks by adding less water to the concentrate, or vice versa for people who prefer a weaker coffee. Follow your taste buds when it comes to diluting.
• What are the best coffee beans to use to make cold brew coffee concentrate? The best beans are your favorite ones. Any beans will do, but it is important that the grind is a coarse grind or French press grind and not a fine grind.
• What will happen if I let it brew longer than 16 hours at room temperature or over 24 hours in the fridge? It’s not the end of the world. You can still have a drinkable concentrate, however, after these time frames you can expect to start extracting some of the bitter and acidic compounds resulting in a less smooth flavor. The sugars and smoother flavors extract early but these subtle notes can be overpowered by the harsher flavors that extract later.
• Can I make decaf cold brew coffee? Yes of course. Just use decaf coffee beans instead and you will make an amazing decaf cold brew concentrate.

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