Making cold brew is so easy – once you know how, you’ll never buy it from a grocery store again.

Step 1: Mix 200 grams (7 oz) coarsely ground coffee with 32 fluid ounces of water

If you’re using a full pound of coffee (16 oz), use 70 fluid ounces of water. If you want to scale up or down, just remember the ratio 1 fluid ounce of water for every 4.25 ounces (by weight) of coffee. You don’t have to be exact here!

Make sure your coffee is coarsely ground. I grind the beans using the same setting I’d use for a french press.

Step 2: Wait 8-12 hours

 

They say that waiting is the hardest part. If cat videos simply aren’t your thing, try this throwback ’90’s-era computer game. (Or just let the brewing process do its thing at night while you sleep.)

Step 3: Strain through a nut milk bag

Stop giggling over the name and just get one on Amazon – or two for $5.95. They’ve got a ton of other uses and I just throw mine in the dishwasher to clean it.

You’ve now made a wonderfully tasty cold brew concentrate. When you’re ready to enjoy, mix equal parts coffee concentrate with fresh water. Add creamer and sugar to taste.

You can enjoy this stuff cold or warm it up and drink it like a hot cup of coffee. In fact, after trying it hot, you may want to throw away your coffee maker. Cold brew extracts those delicate nutty and fruity flavors naturally found in coffee beans but leaves behind many of the chemical compounds that give it a bitter taste such as ketones, esters and amides that are extracted during a hot brewing process.

What about the beans?

If you’ve never made cold brew before, I recommend starting with a medium roast that’s not terribly expensive. You’ll be surprised at how much it tastes like – well – coffee. As you brew additional batches, try going exotic to lands and beans you’ve never considered before like Machu Picchu or Tanzania. The cold brew method really brings out the different notes across varietals.