How to Make Cold Brew Coffee at Home: The Complete Recipe

Cold brew is the smoothest, sweetest way to drink coffee. Because you never apply heat, you extract only the low bitterness, high sweetness compounds. The result is a naturally sweet, low acidity concentrate you can drink black, over ice, or with milk. This guide gives you the exact ratio, grind size, steep time, and technique for cafe quality cold brew at home.

The best part is that cold brew requires almost no skill. If you can weigh coffee and set a timer, you can make it perfectly on the first try.

What You Need for Cold Brew

▸ A large jar or pitcher with a lid, 1 litre or bigger

▸ A fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag or dedicated cold brew maker

▸ Coffee filter or paper filter for final straining

▸ 100 grams of whole bean coffee, ideally from our coffee collection. Beans rested 7 to 14 days after roast work best for cold brew

▸ Filtered water

▸ Burr grinder for coarse grind

The Cold Brew Recipe at a Glance

This makes a concentrate you dilute 1 to 1 or 1 to 2 with water, milk, or plant milk to serve.

Step by Step Cold Brew Method

Step 1. Grind coarse

Weigh 100 grams of coffee and grind to a coarse setting. The particles should look like sea salt or cracked pepper. Too fine and your cold brew will be muddy and over extracted.

Step 2. Combine coffee and water

Add the ground coffee to your jar or pitcher. Slowly pour in 800 grams of room temperature filtered water. Stir gently to make sure all the coffee is wet. No grounds should be floating dry on top.

Step 3. Steep

Cover with the lid and leave to steep. Room temperature is 12 to 18 hours. Refrigerator is 18 to 24 hours. Longer steep at cooler temperature usually produces smoother, sweeter results.

Step 4. Strain twice

First strain through a fine mesh sieve or nut milk bag to remove the bulk of the grounds. Second strain through a paper filter or coffee filter to remove the fines. This second strain is what separates cafe quality cold brew from muddy homemade attempts.

How to Serve Cold Brew

You now have a concentrate. Do not drink it straight unless you want a very intense caffeine hit. Standard serving is 1 part concentrate to 1 part cold water, milk, or plant milk over ice.

Ideas to try:

▸ Cold brew Americano: 100ml concentrate plus 100ml cold water over ice.

▸ Cold brew latte: 100ml concentrate plus 150ml cold milk over ice.

▸ Vanilla cold brew: add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract or a splash of vanilla syrup.

▸ Nitro style at home: shake in a sealed jar for 30 seconds to add texture and body.

Common Cold Brew Mistakes and Fixes

Coffee tastes weak or watery

Not enough coffee, or grind too coarse, or steep time too short. Try 15 hours minimum and check your ratio. If diluting to serve, reduce dilution.

Coffee tastes bitter or harsh

Over extraction. Steep time too long, especially at room temperature. Try 12 hours or move to the fridge for longer steeps.

Cold brew is muddy or gritty

Grind is too fine, or you did not do a second paper filter strain. Coarse grind plus double strain solves this.

Cold brew tastes sour

Usually the coffee itself. Cold brew works best with medium and darker roasts. Very light roasts can taste under extracted cold.

Best Beans for Cold Brew

Cold brew brings out sweetness and body. Medium roast single origins with chocolate, caramel, or nut notes shine. Top picks from LiRuCoffee:

▸ Miguel Estela Peruvian coffee for classic cold brew with chocolate and balance.

▸ Don Daimer Colombian coffee for a naturally sweet, silky cold brew with caramel notes.

▸ Miguel Estela also works beautifully in cold brew lattes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What ratio for cold brew?

Use 1 part coffee to 8 parts water by weight for concentrate. For 100 grams of coffee, that is 800 grams of water. Dilute the concentrate 1 to 1 when serving.

How long should cold brew steep?

12 to 18 hours at room temperature, or 18 to 24 hours in the fridge. Longer at cooler temperatures generally gives smoother results.

Can I use pre ground coffee for cold brew?

You can, but ask for a coarse grind. Pre ground coffee at standard grocery grind will be too fine and produce muddy, bitter cold brew.

How long does cold brew last?

Up to 10 days in the fridge in an airtight container. It actually improves in flavour over the first 2 to 3 days. Never store at room temperature after straining.

Is cold brew stronger than regular coffee?

Cold brew concentrate is significantly stronger. But when diluted 1 to 1 to serve, it is similar to a strong regular coffee. Undiluted, it has 2 to 3 times more caffeine per volume.

Is cold brew less acidic than hot coffee?

Yes. Cold water extracts fewer of the acidic compounds, so cold brew typically has around 60 percent less perceived acidity than hot brewed coffee.

What to Read Next

Compare brewing methods with our AeroPress guide and French press guide.

Shop single origin coffee perfect for cold brew from LiRuCoffee.