One of cold brew coffee’s main advantages is its simplicity — and homemade cold brew is easier than ever with our Cold Brew Bags. We’ve pared it down to a compostable bag that you can use with any container (mason jars work great). And because cold brew coffee uses room temperature or cold water, some of the acid and bitterness in hot coffee is left behind. So, what’s a cold brew coffee? If you prefer iced coffee with a smooth, mild taste, cold brew coffee is the brew method for you. With that, let’s dive into how to make the best cold brew coffee.
What You Need
- Trade Cold Brew Bags
- 1 qt. container
- 25 oz / 700 g of water
- 3 oz / 85 g of coarsely ground coffee. Don't have a grinder? We can grind it for you!
Getting Started
1. Fill Cold Brew Bag
Fill your bag to the top with coarse coffee grounds. Some helpful tips to ensure you fill your bag properly include:
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- If you’re not weighing with a scale, use the drawstring as a guide and pour to right below that line.
- Resist the urge to pack the bag as tightly as humanly possible — you want that cold water to penetrate all the way into the center of the coffee grounds.
- Pull the drawstring gently until the bag is sealed tightly, which will stop the grounds from spilling into your homemade cold brew coffee concentrate and muddying it up with sediment.
2. Add Bag & Water
Put the sealed bag in your container and fill it with room temperature or cold filtered water. No fancy pouring technique is required, just make sure all the coffee is submerged. To stop the coffee from oxidizing (thus, picking up stale flavors) during the brewing process, tightly cover your container and keep it out of direct sunlight. This is especially important, because hotter temperatures speed up oxidation and the brewing process, potentially leaving you with bitter flavors.
3. Let Sit & Steep
Cold brewed coffee requires a certain amount of patience (or at least forethought). Wait 12 to 18 hours; longer brew times will yield a richer cold brew concentrate, but steeping it for more than 18 hours could cause bitter flavors. Because cold water extracts slower than hot water, you’ll need that time to get flavor into the creation of your cold brew coffee recipe.
Our cold brew bags make cleanup no more difficult than your tea brewing process. Just remove the bag — no need to strain — and discard or commercially compost it (along with your coffee grounds).
4. Drink to Taste
Your homemade cold brew is ready! Because this recipe creates stronger coffee, ice, milk, or dairy substitutes won’t dilute the taste too much. If the concentrate feels like it’s too strong, add water to taste. Because our cold brew is brewed as a concentrate, it stands up to other ingredients, like those in a cocktail or mocktail recipe, too.
If you’re not planning to drink it right away, keep any leftover concentrate you brewed in your refrigerator for up to a week.
And don’t forget to check out our other coffee brewing tips so you can ensure you are making the best possible coffee flavor.
