Cold brew concentrate is the meal prep of coffee: twenty minutes of effort on Sunday, and every morning for the next week your coffee is already made. Strong, smooth, and waiting in the fridge like a small act of kindness from your past self.
Concentrate vs Regular Cold Brew
Regular cold brew (1:8 ratio) is ready to drink. Concentrate uses a stronger 1:5 ratio so you dilute it to taste, which means one jar serves every purpose: cut with water for black coffee, poured over ice with milk for lattes, even mixed into recipes.
The Recipe
What you need
- 200g coarsely ground coffee (about 2½ cups of grounds)
- 1,000g (1 liter) cold filtered water
- A large jar or pitcher, and something to strain with
1. Combine
Grounds in the jar, water on top, stir until everything is soaked.
2. Steep 16 hours
Counter or fridge, covered. Sunday evening to Monday morning is the natural rhythm.
3. Strain twice
Once through a mesh sieve to catch the grounds, once through a paper filter or cheesecloth for a clean, silky result. Don't squeeze the grounds; it pushes bitter sediment through.
4. Store
Sealed in the fridge, it keeps beautifully for 7 to 10 days.
How to Serve It
- Iced coffee: 1 part concentrate, 1 part water, over ice
- Iced latte: 1 part concentrate, 1 part cold milk (see our iced latte recipe)
- Hot coffee, weirdly enough: 1 part concentrate, 1 part just-boiled water. Smooth and instant.
The Right Beans
Cold water pulls chocolate and caramel notes and leaves harshness behind, so medium and medium/dark roasts shine. Rise & Shine makes a syrupy, caramel-forward concentrate; Resurrection Espresso leans chocolate milkshake. Since concentrate is coffee with the volume turned up, specialty grade beans matter double here. This is also the single best use for a 5 lb bag if your household drinks iced coffee daily.
