Cold Brew Coffee (Recipe & Tips!)
Learn how to make cold brew coffee with this simple recipe! Your first batch will turn out great. Find everything you need to know about cold brew here.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2025
Cold brew makes the best iced coffee, no doubt about it. It might seem intimidating to make your own, but it’s actually quite simple once you learn how. Today, I’ll guide you through the process from start to finish.
Homemade cold brew coffee is:
- Smooth, slightly sweet and super refreshing
- Easy to make with basic kitchen equipment
- More affordable than buying at a coffee shop
- Ready-made for busy mornings
You can make cold brew on the weekend, then pour your coffee from the fridge every morning. No boiling water. No fussing with a coffee maker.
As someone who is 100 percent not a morning person, homemade cold brew coffee is a total game-changer.
Let’s make our own cold brew!
Fun Facts about Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew takes longer to make than drip coffee.
Since the water is cold, it needs to steep for about 12 to 18 hours to soak up the coffee’s color, flavor and caffeine. The cold extraction process brings out fewer of coffee’s bitter compounds, which produces a sweeter and smoother result.
Cold brew can be strong.
This depends on several factors, including the beans used, steeping time, and dilution. The dilution is the factor that’s easiest to control. Don’t drink cold brew concentrate straight—it’s highly caffeinated.
Cold brew is less acidic.
If regular drip coffee or espresso upsets your stomach, cold brew may not. The only way to know is to try it, and you’ll have more control over the end result if you make it yourself.
Coarsely-ground coffee makes the best cold brew.
No coffee grinder at home? No problem. Just grind your coffee at the grocery store using their big coffee grinder machine, with the dial set on the coarse/French press option. I’ve provided approximate amounts of ground coffee to use if you don’t have a scale for a more accurate weight measurement.
Cold Brew Variations
Use any coffee variety you enjoy to make cold brew.
Any variety will work, and you’ll find that it tastes less bitter when steeped in cold water instead of hot. It would be a fun experiment to compare a glass of cold brew coffee with hot coffee of the same variety.
You can heat up cold brew and drink it hot.
Indeed, it’s true, and it’s very good. The flavor stays about the same.
Make it decaf.
Maybe you’re watching your caffeine intake or craving an afternoon coffee treat without the buzz. You can brew cold brew with decaffeinated coffee—I’ve tried it with this brand, which uses the Swiss water extraction process to remove over 99 percent of the caffeine.
Turn your cold brew into a makeshift iced latte.
Instead of diluting your cold brew with water, pour in an equal amount of your milk of choice. It tastes like an extra-smooth iced latte. I love it with whole milk, creamy almond milk or even pistachio milk. Another option is to add a splash of half-and-half or heavy cream instead.
Basic Cold Brew Coffee Ratio
This ratio is flexible. A kitchen scale will be helpful if you have one, but it’s not necessary. You’re making cold brew concentrate, and you can dilute the concentrate to taste once it’s finished.
- Per 1 cup of water, you’ll need 1 ounce (by weight) coarsely ground coffee. That’s about 1/4 cup whole coffee beans, which yields roughly 1/2 cup ground coffee. If you’re accustomed to the metric system, 1 ounce is equivalent to 28 grams.
- You’ll end up with a little less concentrate than the amount of water you used, since some of it will be absorbed by the coffee grounds. However, you’ll dilute it with an equal amount of water, so you’ll double your final yield. Clear as mud? I mean, coffee? Good.
Examples
- Let’s make cold brew coffee in a standard 1-quart wide-mouth mason jar (affiliate link). In the jar, combine 3 ounces coarsely-ground coffee (about 3/4 cup whole coffee beans turned into 1 1/2 cups coarsely-ground coffee) with 3 cups of water.
- After steeping and straining the mixture, you’ll have about 2 1/2 cups of cold brew concentrate, which is enough for 5 cups of cold brew. You’ve just made enough coffee to last you from Monday through Friday!
- If you have a 2-quart jar, simply double the amounts offered above.
- If you have an extra-large French press like I do, you can use 5 ounces of coffee (about 1 1/4 cups whole coffee beans turned into about 2 1/2 cups coarsely-ground coffee) and 5 cups water. You’ll end up with about 4 1/4 cups concentrate, or enough for 8 1/2 cups of cold brew.
Watch How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
Recommended Steeping Time
The steeping time is flexible as well. I’ve read suggestions for “overnight or 12 hours,” and “at least 18 or up to 24 hours,” so do what works with your schedule. Starbucks steeps their cold brew for 20 hours.
If you accidentally steep yours longer (even 24+ hours), it’s ok. Your concentrate may taste a little more bitter than it would have, but it’s probably fine. It may also be extra-strong, so you might want to dilute it with some extra water.
How to Strain Your Cold Brew
Once you’re done steeping the coffee, you’ll need to strain the coffee grounds out of the water. A fine-mesh sieve or French press filter isn’t sufficient (you’ll end up with murky, sludgy concentrate). Most methods will suggest using cheesecloth, but I hate cheesecloth! It’s difficult to work with and seems wasteful.
I played around with other options and found two that work great. See my photos for examples of each. Choose one:
- Thin paper coffee filters: Use the “basket” paper filters that splay out in a round seashell shape, as shown here. Make sure your filter is made of very thin paper, not a thicker material that will take forever to filter through. These are the filters I used.
- A linen or cotton napkin, or a rag made from a t-shirt: Any thin, clean, lint-free, cotton or linen cloth will do. It should be large enough to cover your sieve when draped across it. Don’t use something precious, because it could develop a coffee stain or smell. Wash it and reuse it!
To strain, simply place the coffee filter into a small, fine-mesh sieve or drape your cloth over it. Then, place the sieve over a pitcher or liquid measuring cup and pour the concentrate through it.
Have I convinced you to try making cold brew coffee at home? Please let me know how it turns out for you in the comments.
If you want to try something different, try making cold brew iced tea. Like cold brew coffee, it’s smoother and less bitter.
If you’re looking for more recipes to ease your morning routine, here are 23 make-ahead breakfasts.
Cold Brew Coffee
Let’s make cold brew coffee! It’s easy to make, and it’s so nice to have coffee ready to go. This recipe is written for a 1-quart wide-mouth mason jar; you can scale it up or down using 1 ounce* (28 grams) coffee per 1 cup water. The quantities provided will produce about 2 ½ cups concentrate, which is enough for 5 cups of cold brew.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces (85 grams) coarsely-ground coffee (that’s about ¾ cup whole coffee beans turned into about 1 ½ cups* coarsely-ground coffee)
- 3 cups water (filtered water if you have it)
Instructions
- In a 1-quart wide-mouth mason jar, combine the coffee and room-temperature water. Stir to combine. I like to let my mixture rest for about 5 minutes and stir it again; the coffee grounds seem to gain more water exposure this way.
- Put a lid on your container and refrigerate it for 12 to 18 hours.
- When you’re ready to strain your cold brew, place a thin paper coffee filter or a small, thin cotton napkin, cloth or handkerchief over a small fine-mesh sieve. Pour the concentrate through the prepared sieve into a liquid measuring cup or pitcher. Let it rest for a few minutes to let the last of the cold brew trickle down.
- To serve, fill a glass with ice and fill it halfway with water. Then fill the rest of the glass with cold brew concentrate, and stir to combine. Cold brew concentrate will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, although I find that it has the best flavor within the first week.
Notes
*Measurement note: These are ounces by weight, not by volume. This is always the case with non-liquid measurements. “1 ½ cups coarsely-ground coffee” is the least exact measurement I can offer (the volume of the ground coffee depends on the exact coarseness of your grind)—but it will work. Just adjust the concentrate-to-water ratio to suit your liking as your pour your glass of cold brew and you’re all good.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This was a revelation for me. Perfect taste following the recipe- thank you! Enjoyed it so much more than the hot coffee I brew at home. I’m going to be keeping this in the fridge permanently.
I’m happy to hear that, Diana!
Hi Kate, and a big hug for Cookie. As a one cup coffee drinker first thing in the morning, coffee was used purely for it restorative properties. Decided over christmas to make cold brew as a change, and wow what a change. Without doubt the nicest coffee i have ever tasted, and one cup is now not enough. From a small coffee cup i am now onto a mason jar with a handle, and could easily drink more. Its delicious and im hooked. Merry christmas and happy new year Kate.
I’m glad you like this recipe, Christopher!
Kate,
Thank you for these instructions. When I grind 1/4 c whole coffee beans, it yields about half that amount of ground coffee— that is, about 1/8 c coarsely ground coffee. Is this what you meant? Do I add 1 c water to that or do I need to grind another 1/4 c whole beans to make a full 1/4 c coarsely ground coffee first and then add 1 c water to that? Thank you!
Happy New Year!
Kristin
Are you sure grinding the whole beans gives double the volume? It doesn’t really make sense that there would be more volume after grinding. I’m excited to try this recipe, but I’m quite confused on the amount of beans to use. (I also can’t find my kitchen scale, so that’s my fault.)
Matthew, this was my question, too. I found that 1/4 c whole beans to 1 c water worked fine for me. I just ignore the “1/4 c whole beans coarsely ground yields 1/2 c ground coffee” part.
Thanks again, so much, for these instructions, Kate!
Bon appetit!
Kristin
3 ounces ground coffee is equivalent to (1/4) cup + (1/8) cup. Just a heads up.
I have the same concern. Got confused by the numbers.
Thanks for the heads up, Kenzie!
I have an 8c french press i use, and thought i would use it to try my first cold brew, but measuring out 8 oz of ground coffee per your ratio, fills the FP half way with coffee? i think the recipe said to cut in half with water when ready to drink, but even 4 oz of ground coffee is a lot. thanks
Oh my goodness, it is summer where I am and finding a cooler solution for the much needed caffeine kick is so perfect! Thank you so much!! Also following your recipe was really easy to do and we love the end result. Delicious cold brew coffee in the comfort of our home
Thanks for your review, Mari!
Hi, if I’m using fine ground which is used for espresso how much should I use per cup of water?
Hi Saira, sorry for the delay! I really would not recommend using finely-ground coffee since you’ll have a hard time filtering it out later. Coarsely-ground coffee is best.
Great article, lot’s of good tips. I love the 1oz coffee for 1cup water suggestion for a 2x coffee concentrate. I noticed that you say the whole beans turn into a larger volume of ground and I think you have it backwards:
“1/4 cup whole coffee beans, which yields roughly 1/2 cup ground coffee” this should be 1/2 C whole beans yeilds 1/4 cup ground, right?
Cheers!
Hi Eric! I have gotten this question a lot. Trust me, this is the right breakdown. :) I know it seems confusing!
Eric, don’t trust her…do your research like your school teacher taught you and get at least 3 sources for every piece of information…
https://food52.com/blog/7317-how-to-make-cold-brewed-coffee
“grind 3/4 cup beans for 4 cups of cold water”
and
https://www.mydomaine.com/cold-brew-coffee-ratio
“This recipe relies on the cold brew coffee ratio of 3/4 cup ground coffee to four cups cold water.”
So which is it? Ground or unground 1/4 cup coffee to 1 cup of water? Who knows!
Also some science for you all…
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/CirclePacking.html
Hey Tim, I can assure you that my math is right. Weighing the coffee is the best way to measure for this recipe.
The amount yielded (in cups) after the beans are ground depends on just how coarse the grind is. In my coffee grinder at the coarsest setting, it doubles in volume (1/4 cup whole coffee beans yields roughly 1/2 cup ground coffee). Remember that the weight remains the same either way, so this is only relevant if you’re working with pre-ground coffee!
Anecdotally, if you’ve ever used a grocery store’s coffee grinder to grind an entire bag of coffee beans, you may have noticed that you had to tamp down the ground coffee to make it fit into the same bag. That’s because it increased in volume. The weight remained constant. Hope this helps clarify.
Tim- your comment is referencing the grounds to water ratio. That isn’t the discussion/dispute. The question is in regards to the change in volume from whole beans to ground beans.
Just thought I’d clarify.
I don’t think you get 1.2 cup of ground coffee from grinding 1.4 cup of whole beans do you? Isn’t at lest one of those an error?
Maybe you should edit the page?
Hi DS, It is correct. :)
Thanks for the great cold brew ideas. And a messy kitchen is the sign of a happy home
Hi
Tonight I made the cold brew coffee and green tea and I cannot wait to try both tomorrow. Thank you for these great recipes!
How much caffeine would you say is in here?
Thanks!
Hey Baxter! It’s really tough to say since caffeine varies by bean. According to some quick Internet research, Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee contains 12.81 mgs of caffeine per fluid ounce. I’m not sure how my recipe compares, but that might be a decent point of reference.
Can I also use cone coffee filters?
Sure you can, as long as it’s not a thick liner (otherwise the water will take forever to drip through).
Love this Recipe. Used a very strong dark roast, and steeped for 36 hours. I got the perfect amount of bitter as well as the more subtle flavors that I don’t always notice when I drink it hot.
I used finely ground coffee because I didn’t have coarse coffee grounds. I did use a French press. I did three ounces of coffee to 3 cups of water. It steeped for 18 hours. It rendered 500 ml. I added 500 ml of water and diluted it. It came out great!!! Thank you for the recipe.
Here at home (Zapopan, Jalisco) we do kombucha y keifer, and use the clean, old transparent curtains cut into squares for the filters over a strainer. The work well, clean up easily with some stain, but do not absorb the color heavily and dry fast.
I’m in Chapala, Jalisco & hsve my first batch ‘brewing’ as I type! Looking forward to a real treat!
I made this last night, together with the chia seed pudding and it made my morning (taste) GREAT! Thank you so much for creating these incredible recipes with such love. I’m going to try more recipes now that I have so much spare time! From Marie (locked-down Lisbon, Portugal).
You’re welcome, Marie! Thanks for your comment and review :)
i came across this recipe also looking to add coffee to my morning mush!!
Hey Kate, I am loving the recipe and the ratio you have chosen! I just had a question about how much caffeine you estimate would be in a serving of cold brew (1 cup water and 28g coffee) with the rest being diluted by equal parts water. I like the peace of mind knowing how much caffeine I’m getting so I don’t go overboard.
Hi Logan! Sorry I can’t give you exact amount as it really depends on your type of roast you are using and variety of beans. They can all vary slightly.
We are staying home in NJ. With a lot of time on our hands and no trips to Starbucks, I attempted cold brew for the first time. Fortunately, my local grocery still had coffee beans and a grinder available to me! I followed the recipe exactly. The coffee measure is not 6 ounces in a measuring cup. Just as the directions say, it’s a 6 oz weight using a kitchen scale, which indeed comes to just about 1.5 cups of measured coffee. I weight out my grounds to 6 oz. and that’s about how much there was (give or take a little). The resulting cold brew received approval from my daughters. I actually got the question “Is there more coffee to make it again?” Doesn’t get better than that. Thanks for the recipe!
I love to hear that, Donna! Thank you so much for your comment and review.
SOOOO good! I had to use regular ground coffee as I didn’t have an coarse on hand. It worked fine except that I may not have ended up with as much liquid since I was impatient and not willing to wait for all of it to strain. This is a game changer for me!
I’m glad it’s a game changer for you too, Jacci! I appreciate your comment. I would appreciate a star review, if you wouldn’t mind, since you loved it so much. :)
FIVE STAR!
This is awesome!! I am fortunate to have an awesome local roaster shipping coffee to my door and I was getting tired of my hot cup so I decided to take the cold plunge.
Your ratio is perfect. I added this to my morning protein smoothie and was surprised at the clarity and energy I had when these things are combined.
Normally I am running for the smoothie after my coffee drains me but the cold brew, fruit, nut butter, and protein powder work so well together…
THANK YOU!
Thanks, Falynn! I’m so glad to hear it. Love your morning smoothie idea.
I have found leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours vastly improves flavor. 1 1/2 cups ground coffee, fill mason jar with H2O and shake
daily. I keep 2 jars going.
You mentioned that this can also be made into hot coffee. Would you use the same amount of water and concentrate as you would use if you were drinking it cold?
Yes, same amounts just warmed up!
I love this article and the way it is written! I work at Starbucks and this helped me with ratios since we just use a pre-measured bag for our large batch. I also appreciate the metric units. Definitely trying this today!
Would it work to dilute the concentrate 1:1 before storing it? That way you can just pour and go.
Sure! It’ll just take up more space in the fridge.
Just wanted to say thank you so much for this recipe, it’s perfect! I had almost given up on making cold brew at home!!
Hi thanks for the amazing recipe
I have a question
Can i add some fruit like strawberry into the jar for flavor?❤️❤️
Hi! I’m not sure about adding fruit to this one. I don’t think it would get you the result you are after.
Hey there! Can’t wait to try this!!
Just a few questions:
Does the mixture need to be diluted?
Also, should I add ice then use measuring cups to measure a 1:1 ratio?
Lastly, I can add creamer to this after diluting the mixture?
Thank you!
Hi Nimet! Hope you love the cold brew. Yes, the mixture needs to be diluted or it will be VERY strong. Here’s how I make it: Fill a glass with ice and fill it halfway with water. Then fill the rest of the glass with cold brew concentrate, and stir to combine. You can add a splash of creamer before stirring, too.
What can you use instead of a mason jar? I would love to try this but do not have any mason jars. I have large Pyrex bowls, would that work?
Sure, anything will work as long as long as it can accommodate 4 to 5 cups!
I loved this although i made it with espresso beans. Sooo yummy. Just have to be careful not to drink to much.
I just made a batch, I can’t wait for it to be ready! Have yet to find one of your recipes that I don’t love! Thank you!
Would it be ok if you combined the 3 cups coffee concentrate with 2 cups cold water and then store that in fridge? Then it would be ready to pour and drink.
For sure!
I actually figured out I liked drinking the concentrate better. It’s stronger coffee for me! :)
Hey!
I’m not sure if you’ve answered this question or not(and sorry if you have!) but when I’m ready to strain the coffee, do you think it would work using my pour over coffee maker? It has a metal filter.
Thanks!
Hey Jhett! I think that would work well! Only one way to find out. :)
Made this overnight and the ratio of coffee to water is PERFECT. I let it sit on the counter for 11 hours but tonight I’ll try it in the fridge for 12-18 hours. Thanks!
Hi Kate,
I love the Cold Brew Concentrate from Trader Joe’s, but I don’t love the price. I am excited to try your recipe. Could I use a blender or Vitamix to grind coffee beans? Do you have a favorite brand of coffee that you like best for cold brew?
Thank you,
Julie
Hi Julie! You’re right, cold brew can be so pricey! I have never tried grinding coffee beans in my Vitamix, but here are some instructions on how to do so. Remember that this coffee should be coarsely ground—I’m not sure what textured they achieved with their timing suggestions. I usually gravitate toward a darker roast (like Trader Joe’s French roast), just because that’s my general coffee preference—turns out great in cold brew, too.
I love this coffee! I just use a basic coarse ground coffee from the grocery store and the flavor is lovely – rich and smooth, and slightly sweet, caramel-y almost. I tried to increase the amount of concentrate yield by adding more water, but I really wouldn’t go too much more than 1:1 coffee/water, unless you prefer your coffee to be more bitter. With more water, I let it steep longer to get the concentrate strong enough, and the added time I think made the concentrate more bitter and very caffeinated. Still great!
I also serve mine 1 part concentrate 1 part milk over ice and it makes it so smooth and creamy. I think other milk alternatives would be great too.
I made this with pre-ground decaf coffee, which seems like it would be a bad idea, but it actually turned out quite lovely! I’m super happy with the result. Delicious with oat milk. Thanks so much!
I love making coffee like this. I add a bit of vanilla and sometimes some brown sugar.
Just wanted to say that I was looking for a cold brew recipe to try out. Made this about two weeks ago.. and have made 3 more batches since! The most recent batch was a double too, so there’s currently 1.5L of cold brew sitting in my fridge!
Absolutely love the recipe and am determined to never let my fridge be without a stock of cold brew in future!
For everyone complaining about measurements…why don’t you just use a scale and measure the weight? Kate gives you the information you need! I put my pitcher on the scale, tare the scale (so it doesn’t weigh the pitcher), and add 28 grams per cup of water! Easy. This recipe turned out well after 12 hours, I will experiment with longer brewing next time!
Hi Kate!
Would cheesecloth work as a filter for this or is it not fine enough for this purpose?
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe!
Thanks for all your great food!
Annie
Hi Annie! I personally find cheesecloth to be wasteful. Head to the How to Strain Your Cold Brew part of the post where I lay out the options I find work best.
Thank you!!! You saved my coffee!!
I recently splurged on a new, much more expensive than I usually get, bag of fair-trade coffee beans and my first couple attempts at brewing it were very disappointing. I just couldn’t figure out what was going wrong because it smelled amazing and tasted abysmal.
Then, I came across your blog and decided to give cold brew a shot. After all, I love it from the coffee shop – it couldn’t be too bad, right?
Now I think these beans must have been created for the sole purpose of becoming cold brew coffee, because I just tasted the result and I can’t believe they are the same beans! This cold brew is rich, smooth and delicious, both cold and warmed up. It tastes exactly like it smells – java heaven! I’m so glad I’m not going to waste any more time or money trying to turn these beans into coffee the “old” way. Thanks again!
I’m so glad this was just what you needed, Megan! Thank you for your review.
Love this!!! I have shared this recipe with a few friends and now they are hooked on cold brew coffee! Thank you so much for this recipe
Fabulous. I am a fan of strong black coffee, hot or cold. With this method, I can brew a few days worth and save much time in the morning. I followed your recipe precisely starting with 3/4 cup of whole beans which I then ground in a manual ceramic burr grinder set to coarse. Steeped in fridge for about 20 hours. I used my big french press to remove the bulk of the grounds and then used my single serve aeropress to filter the fine particles. The aeropress is key, look it up. It has a little hand piston that forces the liquid through a tiny paper filter disk. The result was diluted 1-1 with water and presto – great coffee. Thank you!
We started making cold brew 2 weeks ago. It is a game changer. We typically drink decaf but we’ll add some caffeinated to it. Less acidity is beneficial to both my husband and I for a couple of minor health issues. Some organic half and half or Bailey’s makes a delightful cup of coffee
It was a very easy recipe to follow. Just double filtered it but haven’t tasted it yet. it looks beautiful:) I’m sure I will love it
Be sure to let me know what you thought once you tasted it, Jill! Enjoy.
Great recipe! In Texas is it SOOO hot, so for my daily caffeine fix I was resorting to hot brew coffee and then had to let it sit. Decided to try cold brew at home, and this recipe is great! I drink the first 6 cups in the first day! Haha!!! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds good! I’m actually going to try making cold brew for the first time.
So is that supposed to be 1/2 cup of beans that grinds to 1/4 cup grounds or 1/4 cup beans ground to 1/8 cup?
Hi Steevo! About ¾ cup whole coffee beans turned into about 1 ½ cups* coarsely-ground coffee. If you have a kitchen scale, I recommend using that.
Can’t wait to try this! I am such a fan of yours as everything I make from your site ends up SO DELICIOUS!! If i am using coffee that I bought pre-ground (peets) Should I just go by weight? Thank you!
Hi Dana! I hope you love it. I would use the weighted measurements, but make sure it’s coarsely ground.
Will it work if I tie my coffee grounds in cheese cloth and soak them almost like a teabag?
Hi Moe! I highly suggest the method I suggested here. :)
Hi Kate,
This recipe is the same I have been using for the past two years and I love it. I use a “Nut Bag” (such a funny term)… The kind used to strain nut milks. Works great and it’s easy to clean, though I’d recommend dedicating one for coffee, if you also make your own nut or oat milk.
Cheers!
Jeff