Cold Brew Recipe
By Stuart Smith | Last Updated May 10, 2020
Rating:
Preparation Time & Servings
Requires simple ingredients.
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
*Nutrition information should be considered an estimate.
TOOLS NEEDED: Pitcher and Filter (you can make it in a French press so you can plunge it using the press).
Cold brew coffee can create some confusion among inexperienced coffee drinkers. The name “cold brew” refers to the actual brewing process, rather than the temperature of the drink. Although cold brew is fairly new to the American coffee scene, it is far from new in origin. There is some debate over who was the first to craft cold brew coffee, but we know it has been in existence for at least four centuries!
Cold brew is significant because it uses cold or room-temperature water, rather than hot water, to extract flavors from the grounds. Cold brew is one of the simplest coffee drinks to create and is extremely versatile to use.
Keep in mind, however, that cold brew requires 12-plus hours to make, as it takes much longer for cold water to extract the full flavor from the grounds.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh medium-fine ground coffee, any roast
- 36 ounces room-temperature water
- Ice, for serving
Directions
- Place the coffee grounds in a large pitcher and add the water. Stir to combine. Refrigerate for roughly 12 hours (more or less time based on your desired strength of the brew)
- Pour the mixture through a filter and serve it over ice! If it is too strong, add more water
Recipe Tip
Using a larger pitcher, you can double or triple the recipe easily to have more cold brew later. For a fun experiment, make a batch of cold brew and a batch of traditional hot coffee using the same type of grounds. Test your palate. Can you taste the difference between each one?
Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee
Iced coffee and cold brew: Is there a difference? Iced coffee is simply coffee brewed hot, then poured over ice. Cold brew, however, is brewed using cold or room-temperature water, which requires up to 12 hours to extract all the flavor. The result is a less bitter, less acidic, but highly concentrated coffee with even more caffeine.