Cold Brew Coffee: How to Make It at Home
Cold brew coffee has taken the UK by storm — and once you've made your own at home, you'll never go back to the shop-bought stuff. It's smooth, naturally sweet, low in acidity, and incredibly easy to make. All it takes is coffee, cold water, and a little patience.
What Is Cold Brew?
Cold brew is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold or room-temperature water for an extended period — typically 12 to 24 hours. Unlike iced coffee (which is just hot-brewed coffee poured over ice), cold brew is never exposed to heat. The result is a concentrate that's naturally sweeter, smoother, and far less bitter than hot-brewed coffee.
What You'll Need
- A large jar, jug, or dedicated cold brew maker
- A fine mesh sieve or coffee filter for straining
- Freshly roasted coffee — a medium roast or light roast works beautifully, bringing out fruity and chocolatey notes
- Cold or room-temperature filtered water
- A burr grinder
- A kitchen scale
The Recipe (Makes a Concentrate)
Use a ratio of 1g of coffee per 8ml of water for a concentrate, or 1g per 15ml for a ready-to-drink strength. For a 1-litre batch of concentrate, use 125g of coffee to 1 litre of water.
Step-by-Step Brew Guide
1. Grind Your Coffee
Grind your coffee very coarsely — coarser than you would for French press. A coarse grind slows extraction and prevents over-extraction during the long steep, keeping the flavour clean and sweet.
2. Combine Coffee and Water
Add your ground coffee to your jar or jug. Pour cold or room-temperature water over the grounds and stir gently to make sure all the coffee is saturated. There's no need for hot water at any stage.
3. Steep
Cover your container and leave it to steep. You have two options:
- Room temperature: 12–14 hours
- In the fridge: 18–24 hours
Room-temperature steeping is faster and produces a slightly bolder flavour. Fridge steeping is slower but gives a cleaner, more delicate result.
4. Strain
Pour the steeped coffee through a fine mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter or muslin cloth into a clean jug or bottle. This removes all the grounds and produces a clear, smooth concentrate. Don't squeeze or press the grounds — just let it drain naturally.
5. Store and Serve
Transfer your cold brew concentrate to a sealed bottle or jar and store it in the fridge. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. To serve, dilute the concentrate with cold water or milk at a ratio of roughly 1:1, pour over ice, and enjoy.
Tips for a Better Cold Brew
- Use filtered water. Cold brew is mostly water, so water quality matters more than in hot brewing methods.
- Don't rush the steep. Under-steeped cold brew tastes weak and sour. If in doubt, give it a little longer.
- Experiment with ratios. Once you've nailed the basic recipe, try a stronger concentrate and dilute to taste.
- Try it with milk. Cold brew concentrate with oat milk or whole milk is a revelation — naturally sweet, no sugar needed.
Which Coffee Should I Use?
Cold brew is wonderfully versatile. A medium roast delivers a balanced, chocolatey cold brew with a pleasant sweetness. A light roast produces a more complex, fruit-forward result that's surprisingly refreshing over ice. Browse our full coffee range to find your cold brew bean.
Happy brewing!