In the summer, I treat cold brew like liquid gold. Regular coffee just won’t do – I need it iced, concentrated and, ideally, mixed in with a bit of coconut milk. Pink straw optional (OK, not really). While I’ve been my own summertime barista for a few years now, I’ve recently discovered a far less messy way to get my favourite brew at home. Spoiler: it doesn’t involve a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or double-straining.
At-Home Cold Brew Coffee
What you’ll need:
- A lidded jar or container large enough to hold your coffee grounds + water
- A second lidded jar to store your finished cold brew
- A Melitta pour-over cone + #4 coffee filter
- 2/3 cup (60 grams) fresh, ground coffee (I used Melitta)
- 16oz cold, fresh water
- Optional: coconut milk (I prefer canned) + ice cubes to serve
Preparation:
- In a pitcher or jar, add 2/3 cup ground Melitta coffee to 16oz of cold water. Stir until all the grounds are moistened. Note: I doubled this recipe because I love my cold brew coffee – feel free to do the same!
- Cover and let rest in the fridge for 4 hours (or longer for bolder taste). You can let it steep overnight, which is what I generally do.
- Remove from refrigerator, uncover and stir vigorously.
- Fold a Melitta #4 filter at the crimps and place in a Melitta pour-over cone. Set cone atop an empty pitcher or jar. Pour the coffee/water mixture into the pour-over cone. Wait for all of the liquid coffee to filter through the cone and drip into container below. This may take up to 5 minutes. Repeat pour-over process until all of mixture is filtered.
- Enjoy! Your coffee concentrate will keep – covered and chilled – in the fridge for up to one week.
Now – before I tell you how I use that delicious coconut milk… let’s talk about the Melitta ceramic pour-over cone. This little ceramic wonder changed my cold brew game in the best way. Instead of my previous extremely messy method of pouring the coffee mixture into a coffee filter laying inside a fine-mesh sieve, set over a mixing bowl… this drip-drops the coffee right into the jar and contains the mess so simply. It also turns what was a 30-minute process into a pour-and-forget-it dream.
My favourite way to enjoy my homemade cold brew is to pour 1 part coffee to two parts water into a resuable travel tumbler filled with ice. I’ll open up a can of chilled coconut milk, whisk it until the mixture is creamy and thick and then pour a 1/4 cup layer onto the prepared coffee. It’ll naturally mix into the cold brew and tastes incredibly decadent without any added sugar. Of course, it tastes best while luxuriating on the balcony instead of on the way into work…but we can’t have it all!
How do you dress up your homemade cold brew? Let me know in the comments!
