I know you are used to your regular hot brewing process day in day out. But let’s now break the monotony and give this cold brewing process a shot. That means, I’m going to teach you how to make coffee concentrate at home. Moreover, who knows, you might even never get back to your regular hot coffee drinks after this. Besides, this article will discuss how to use cold brew concentrate.

To make your coffee concentrate, coarsely grind your coffee beans and mix with water. Afterward, let the mixture steep overnight or for 14-18 hours. Strain your brew through a sieve and dilute it before serving.

Cold Brew Vs. Cold Brew Concentrate

Typically, cold brew concentrate and cold brew are quite similar. The two cold brews go through the same cold brewing process, which involves steeping coarse coffee grounds in the water for several hours, then strain. The cold brewing process is slower and results in a rich and more flavorful brew than hot brewing.

Even so, the two cold, caffeinated drinks are not the same; one stands out more potent compared to the other. Let’s see how.

The cold coffee concentrate is highly intense compared to a usual cold brew. In other words, the concentrate is more flavorful and contains the highest caffeine content. And that’s the reason why you dilute it with water or milk before drinking. But for the cold brew coffee, you consume it the way it is without diluting.

Regarding coffee grounds to water ratio, a standard cold brew utilizes 1-ounce coffee grounds to 8-ounce water. This ratio implies that for 1/3 of a cup of coarse coffee ground, you use one cup of water.

When it comes to the cold brew concentrate ratio, you increase the coffee grounds quantity relative to water. For a mid-level cold coffee concentrate, combine 1.5-ounce coarse coffee grounds with 8-ounce water. If you are still a beginner in this coffee concentrate game, I advise you to begin with this ratio.

If you aim to make the strongest cold coffee concentrate, use this ratio: 2-ounce coffee grounds to 8-ounce water. Better still, 2/3 cup of ground coffee to 1 cup of water.

Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate Ingredients

To make your cold brew coffee concentrate, you need:

• ²/₃ cup of coarse coffee grounds
• 1 cup of cold water

Note that you can use any coffee beans type or grounds to prepare this concentrate. Even so, the coarse grind size is the most suitable. You can also adjust ingredient amounts to suit the brew size you wish to prepare.

How to Make Coffee Concentrate

Follow these 5 steps when preparing your cold brew coffee concentrate:

1: Mix Your Coarsely Ground Coffee with Water and Stir

Pour your coarse coffee grounds into a large bowl. Take your cold water and gradually add to them. Thereafter, stir the mixture to combine. You can decide to use store-bought grounds or buy your favorite beans and coarse-grind them yourself.

2: Allow to Steep

Cover your bowl with cheesecloth and leave it to steep at room temperature for about 14-18 hours. With Starbucks, their cold brew steeps for about 20 hours. Personally, my cold coffee concentrate stands for about 15 hours.

Therefore, I can say it’s up to you to decide on how long you want to steep your cold brew. Just bear in mind that the longer your cold brew takes to steep, the bitter and stronger it becomes.

3: Strain

Pull out the cheesecloth from your bowel and line it on a fine-mesh sieve placed on a large pitcher. Strain your coffee using the sieve into the jug. Don’t stir your concentrate; it will make your coffee cloudy. If you don’t have a cheesecloth, feel free to use coffee filters, a nut milk bag, or a clean handkerchief.

4: Transfer Your Cold Coffee Concentrate into a Reserved Jar and Store

Take your cold brew and pour it through a sieve lined with a coffee filter into a reserved jar. At this point, you may decide to get on and drink your cold brew coffee concentrate or store it in the fridge. Make sure you keep it chilled all the time.

5: Prepare to Drink

When you are ready to drink your cold coffee concentrate, put some ice cubes into a glass. Take ½ cup of the cold brew coffee concentrate and dilute it with ½ cup of water or milk, then add the mixture to the glass with ice cubes. If you like, you can add in a sweetener and stir. Fix your straw and enjoy your caffeinated drink while you are still alive.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Thoughts

You already have all it takes to make your fresh cold coffee concentrate at home. No more money wasted on ready-made cold brews that you don’t even know how long they have stayed on the shelf. This post is here to guide you every step of the way, and I will be glad to hear you made it.