Cold-Brew Coffee Concentrate
Homemade Cold-Brew Coffee Concentrate is smooth, flavorful, and easy to make. This double-strength batch yields enough coffee for seven 8-ounce iced or hot drinks.
Servings: 28 ounces of coffee concentrate
Calories: 5kcal
Equipment
- Magic Bullet blender (or other coffee grinder)
- French Press
- Mesh strainer (optional)
- Paper coffee filters (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup coffee beans (3 ounces)
- 4-4.5 cups water (32-34 ounces, at room temperature)
Instructions
The Night Before
- Grind your coffee beans to a coarse grind. This takes me 10 pulses in the Magic Bullet blender with the flat blade. I do this in 2 batches; don't overfill your appliance. Consult your coffee grinder's instructions.
- Stir together ground coffee and water in a pitcher; I prefer using my French press. Give it a good stir, at least 30 seconds, to get everything moistened. The top should get a little foamy.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 12 hours, in the fridge or on the counter. It's ok if it rests longer.
The Next Day
- Stir coffee and grounds again.
- Push down the plunger of the French press, then strain. Don't squish or press on the coffee grounds. Pour the coffee concentrate into a clean container.
- If not using a French press, you can strain the coffee concentrate through a mesh strainer or paper coffee filter. The mesh strainer will let a small amount of sediment through; you may want to strain it more than once. A paper coffee filter lets only a little coffee through at a time, will need a support (like a strainer or funnel), and will take a while to filter. You may need multiple paper filters.
- Refrigerate coffee concentrate in a sealed container until ready to use. It will last a few weeks if stored in the back of the refrigerator.
Making Iced Coffee
- To make iced coffee, mix equal parts coffee concentrate and water or milk. If you'll nurse your iced coffee, cut back on the water since your ice will dilute the coffee as it melts.
- The coffee concentrate makes about seven 8-ounce iced coffees.
Making Hot Coffee
- I prefer light roast coffee in the mornings, so I find using a medium or dark roast for the coffee concentrate gives me a tasty cup of hot coffee. Note: this only works for some coffee brands.
- Combine 1 part coffee concentrate with 2 parts boiling water in a heat-proof mug. You'll have the best results if your water is at a full, rolling boil, but even so, your hot coffee may not be incredibly hot. You may gently warm up the coffee concentrate before adding the boiling water, but not too much or the flavor will be off.
- If you usually add milk to your hot coffee, milk should replace some of the boiling water. Heat the milk first, then add coffee concentrate, then add the remaining boiling water.
Coffee Concentrate Ice Cubes
- If you can't drink all of the coffee concentrate within 2 weeks, freeze it in ice cube trays. After the coffee ice cubes have frozen, store them in an airtight container.
Notes
This works equally well with regular and decaffeinated coffee, as long as you use quality beans.
Use good coffee beans. You get more flavor from iced coffee, so bad coffee beans will yield bad iced coffee.
Use freshly ground coffee beans; pre-ground coffee loses freshness and will not be as flavorful.
Coarse ground coffee is what is used for cold brew and French press coffee. The more finely ground the coffee, the more bitter and over-extracted the resulting coffee will be.
Although I prefer light roast coffee, I usually use medium-dark roast coffee for coffee concentrate. This is ideal both for iced coffee, and for diluting to make hot coffee.
Although you add 32 ounces (4 cups) of water, you only get 28 ounces (3 ½ cups) of coffee concentrate since some remains behind in the coffee grounds. This makes me about seven 8-ounce iced coffees.
Adapted from the DIY Coffee Concentrate recipe on Oh She Glows
Originally published June 2018. Revised and clarified May 27, 2025.
Nutrition
Calories: 5kcal | Sodium: 2mg | Calcium: 1mg
