Cold brew is not hot coffee that has been chilled: it is a different method. Brewing cold over several hours does not extract the chlorogenic acids that appear with heat, so the result has up to 65% less acidity, it is naturally sweet and does not turn bitter even if you leave it too long. That is why it works so well with milk, ice or on its own.
Making it at home costs literally five minutes of active work. The fridge does the rest. Here are the exact ratios, the timings, the coffee worth using and the jugs worth buying in 2026.
In this guide
- Cold brew vs iced coffee: not the same thing
- The base recipe
- Which coffee to use
- Brew times
- Japanese method (cold coffee in 4 minutes)
- The best cold brew makers
- How to serve and store it
1:8 by weight for concentrate (100 g of coffee per 800 ml of water) and 1:15 if you want it ready to drink. The concentrate is then diluted to taste with water, milk or ice and keeps for up to two weeks in the fridge.
Cold brew, iced coffee and frappé: not the same
| Drink | How it is done | Time | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold brew | Cold water infusion | 12-18 h | Sweet, no acidity, dense body |
| Japanese iced coffee | Hot drip over ice | 4 min | Aromatic, bright, acidic |
| Ordinary iced coffee | Chilled hot coffee | — | Flat and bitter once oxidised |
| Frappé | Coffee + ice, blended | 2 min | Frothy, milkshake texture |
The third row explains why home iced coffee usually disappoints: chilling hot coffee oxidises it. The volatile aromas have gone and only the bitterness is left. Any of the other three methods is better.
The base cold brew recipe
- Grind coarse. Texture of coarse salt or brown sugar. Any finer clogs the filter and clouds the result.
- Weigh: 100 g of coffee per 800 ml of cold filtered water for concentrate.
- Wet all the coffee. Stir so no dry pockets are left floating; nothing gets extracted there.
- Rest: 12-14 h in the fridge. At room temperature 8-10 h is enough, but the fridge gives a cleaner result.
- Filter by taking out the mesh filter. If you want an even cleaner cup, pass it through a paper filter.
- Keeps in a sealed bottle. Two weeks in the fridge without losing quality.
Which coffee to use
With no heat to extract the acids, very acidic African coffees lose much of their appeal. What works better are the medium roasts from Latin America with notes of chocolate, caramel and nuts: Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala are safe bets. Avoid sugar-glazed torrefacto roasts: served cold, burnt sugar tastes like stale liquorice.
If you are torn between Arabica and Robusta, choose Arabica for cold brew: Robusta brings a bitterness that has nothing to balance it here. More detail in the guide to types of coffee bean.
Timemore C2 Max manual grinder
Cold brew demands a coarse, uniform grind. With supermarket pre-ground coffee (ground for filter or espresso) the brew comes out cloudy with a bitter undertone. A conical burr grinder gives you the coarse-salt grind this method needs.
- Coarse, even grind, the key to cold brew
- Works for every method
- Needs a minute of hand grinding
Steeping times: what happens hour by hour
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| 6 h | Weak and watery, lacks body |
| 12 h | Sweet spot for medium roast |
| 16 h | Ideal for light roasts or very coarse grinds |
| 24 h+ | Woody notes and astringency appear |
If you have overshot the time, do not throw it away: dilute it more. Over-extracted cold brew recovers rather well with water and ice, unlike espresso.
Japanese method: cold coffee in 4 minutes
It is called flash brew and it is what speciality cafés serve when they want an aromatic iced coffee. It means making a normal drip brew but replacing 40% of the water with ice in the jug, so the hot coffee falls straight onto the ice and cools instantly, trapping the aromas before they can evaporate.
- 20 g of medium-fine ground coffee in the V60.
- 120 g of ice in the receiving jug.
- Pour 180 g of water at 93 °C in three stages.
- When you finish, stir until the remaining ice melts. Total: 300 g of drink.
The result is brighter and more floral than a cold brew, with lively acidity. It is the best method for Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees.
Hario V60 with jug and filters
For the Japanese method — iced coffee made in four minutes, not fourteen hours — you need a pour-over dripper. The V60 is the standard: you brew hot coffee straight onto ice and keep all the aromatics that cold brew loses.
- Cold coffee ready in 4 minutes
- Far more aromatic than cold brew
- Needs scales and some technique
The best cold brew makers of 2026
Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew 1 L
The benchmark jug: sturdy plastic body, a very fine mesh filter running the full height and a lid with a handle that lets you pour without removing it. It stands up in the fridge door, which is exactly the detail that makes you use it every day.
- Very clean filter brew, no grounds
- Fits in the fridge door
- Keen price
- Plastic body, not glass
Glass cold brew jug with filter 1,5 L
Borosilicate glass and a double-mesh stainless steel filter. A litre and a half gives you five or six glasses, so you brew on Sunday and have cold coffee all week. Glass does not pick up smells, which you appreciate in something that lives in the fridge.
- Absorbs no odours or flavours
- Capacity for the whole week
- More fragile and takes up more space
How to serve and store it
- Cold brew with milk: 1 part concentrate to 2 of whole or oat milk, over ice.
- Cold brew and tonic: 40 ml of concentrate, 150 ml of tonic and a slice of orange. It sounds odd and it works.
- Iced black coffee: 1 part concentrate to 2 of water, with two ice cubes.
- Storage: sealed glass bottle, up to 14 days. Once diluted, drink it within 3-4 days.
- Coffee ice cubes: freeze concentrate in an ice tray and use it as ice. The glass will never go watery.
Cold brew grounds have barely been extracted compared with espresso grounds. They work very well as fertiliser for medium-acidity plants — hydrangeas, azaleas, rose bushes — and as a homemade exfoliant. It is the cleanest way not to throw away 100 g of coffee.
Frequently asked questions
How long does cold brew take?
Between 12 and 18 hours in the fridge. At 12 h it is spot on for a medium roast; beyond 24 h astringency and woody notes start to creep in.
What coffee-to-water ratio does cold brew use?
1:8 by weight for a concentrate (100 g of coffee per 800 ml of water) that you then dilute, or 1:15 if you want it ready to drink straight away.
Does cold brew have more caffeine?
The concentrate does, because it carries far more coffee per millilitre. Once diluted and served, a glass has about as much caffeine as a normal filter coffee.
How long does cold brew keep in the fridge?
Undiluted concentrate keeps for up to two weeks in a sealed bottle. Once diluted with water or milk, it is best drunk within 3-4 days.
Can I make cold brew with pre-ground coffee?
Yes, but the result will be muddier with a bitter finish, because supermarket pre-ground coffee is too fine. If you can grind your own, use a coarse grind like coarse sea salt.