Cold Brew, Made Right

Cold brew isn't just "iced coffee" — it's a completely different extraction process. Steeping coffee in cold water for hours pulls out sweetness and body while leaving behind most of the acidity and bitterness that heat brings out, which is why cold brew tastes naturally smoother and sweeter than hot coffee poured over ice.

Grind coarse — coarser than French press, close to cracked pepper. A finer grind will over-extract during the long steep and turn muddy.

Ratio for a concentrate you'll dilute later: 1:8, meaning 100g of coffee to 800g of cold or room-temperature water. If you'd rather brew it at drinking strength with no dilution needed, use 1:12 instead.

Combine coffee and water in a large jar, stir once to make sure everything's saturated, and cover. Steep in the refrigerator for 16-18 hours — steeping at room temperature works too and extracts slightly faster, but keeping it cold is safer for longer steeps.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper filter or cheesecloth. This takes a few minutes since cold brew is naturally slow to filter — resist the urge to press or squeeze the grounds, which pushes bitter compounds through that the slow steep was designed to avoid.

If you brewed concentrate, dilute roughly 1:1 with water or milk over ice. Store any extra concentrate in the fridge for up to two weeks — it only gets more mellow with a few days to rest.