Cold Brew Concentrate

If you love cold brew, then learn how to make your own cold brew concentrate! Mixed with water to make the iconic beverage using just 2 ingredients. 

For the longest time ever, coffee came either as a hot coffee or cold coffee. 

These days, cold brew coffee has taken over the world and has become one of the most popular ways to enjoy coffee. If you love a good nitro brew, you’ll love its origin. 

Table of Contents

1. What is cold brew concentrate?
2. Ingredients needed
3. How to make cold brew concentrate
4. Making the best homemade cold brew
5. Recipe tips
6. Flavor variations
7. Storage instructions
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. More coffee recipes to try
10. Cold Brew Concentrate Recipe (Recipe Card)

What is cold brew concentrate?

Cold brew is a mixture of cold brew concentrate with iced or warm water. It has taken the coffee world by storm and is easily one of the most popular beverages at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and more.

Now, cold brew coffee concentrate is NOT the same as cold brew. As the name suggests, the concentrate is like a shot of espresso that we add water and/or milk to. It also refers to brewing, which involves the ground coffee seeing the flavor and caffeine into the water. 

Here are some reasons why we’ve been making it on repeat:

• 2 Ingredients. All you need is ground coffee and water, and that is it. 
• Affordable. A standard cold brew starts at around $5 for a small cup. Making your own homemade version costs less than 20 cents! 
• Easy to make. Like my almond milk latte, there are no fancy gadgets or equipment needed, but you’d never tell. 

Ingredients needed

This recipe has such a simple ingredient list that you surely already have in your pantry. Here is what you’ll need:

• Ground coffee– Roughly ground coffee is the best texture for cold brew. This means the granules have a similar texture to coarse sugar or salt. 
• Water– Filtered cold water, not tap or lukewarm water.
• Vanilla extract– Optional, but add this if you will add sugar or sweetener to your cold brew coffee.

How to make cold brew concentrate

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Combine the ingredients. In a large pitcher, add the ground coffee along with 2 cups of cold filtered water. Whisk together until the coffee begins to dissolve. Add the remaining cold water, cover the pitcher, and set it aside. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours.

Step 2- Strain. After 12 hours, pour the coffee through a fine mesh sieve into a large mixing bowl. Next, pour the sieved coffee through a cheesecloth to ensure no excess coffee granules remain.

Step 3- Refrigerate. Pour the sieved coffee concentrate back into the pitcher and refrigerate until ready to make cold brew coffee. If using vanilla extract, whisk it through the end.
Step 4- Make cold brew. To make one cup of strong cold brew coffee, add 1/4 cup of concentrate with 1/2 cup of iced filtered water.

Making the best homemade cold brew

Now that we’ve made the cold brew concentrate, you can use it to make an actual cold brew. The ideal ratio is one part cold brew concentrate to four parts cold or hot water. Obviously, this depends on how strong or weak your coffee is! Here are my tried and tested ratios:

• Strong coffee: Pour 1/4 cup of cold brew concentrate with 1/2 cup cold water. 
• Standard coffee: Add 2 tablespoons cold brew concentrate with 1/2 cup of cold water. 
• Flavored coffee: Combine 3 tablespoons cold brew concentrate with 1/3 cup of cold water. Add flavorings of choice. 
• Milky coffee: Combine 3 tablespoons cold brew concentrate with 1/3 cup of cold water. Add milk of choice. 

Recipe tips

• Use filtered water. If possible, I find using filtered water gives the coffee a cleaner flavor. 
• Use coarsely ground coffee. You don’t want your coffee to be too finely ground, or else it can make the concentrate gritty (even when put through the cheesecloth).
• Strain twice. While it may seem cumbersome, straining the coffee twice (through a fine mesh sieve AND a cheesecloth) will ensure the cleanest and most refreshing coffee ever.

Be patient. Pouring the coffee through the sieve can take upwards of an hour, so I try to make it when I’m already working in the kitchen.

Flavor variations

You may have noticed that many popular coffee shops have various flavors of cold brew. While the original tastes delicious on it’s own, here are some fun flavors for some variety-

• Salted caramel cream– Use the concentrate in the base and make a caramel cream cold brew.
• Vanilla sweet cream– Add sugar free or traditional vanilla syrup into a mixing bowl with 2 tablespoons of heavy or plant based cream. Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Pour over the cold brew and swirl through using a spoon or straw.
• Add chocolate– Whisk in 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup into the cold brew.
• Add milk– Almond milk, whole milk, oat milk, or your favorite milk of choice.
• Honey almond cold brew– Whisk in 2 tablespoons honey (or try my keto honey) and 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk to the prepared cold brew. 

Storage instructions

To store: Coffee concentrate should be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks. 

To freeze: Pour the concentrate into a shallow container or sterilized jar and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Alternatively, you can freeze them as ice block cubes for single serving coffee drinks. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More coffee recipes to try

• Protein coffee– Get your protein fix AND your coffee fix in one go. 
• Affogato– My dessert of choice: Warming espresso poured over ice cream. 
• Gingerbread latte– The perfect copycat version of the classic Starbucks drink. 
• Peanut butter coffee– Rich, dark, smooth coffee flavored with creamy peanut butter.