How To Make Delicious Cold Brew At Home, According To An Expert Roaster

Sure, there's a subset of people who drink cold coffee year-round. But for the rest of us, sunny days mean it's finally cold brew season. While cold brew from your local coffee shop may be delicious, you can also make it at home—and it's surprisingly simple. 

Cold brew is made from coarsely ground coffee, which is steeped in cold water overnight (approximately 12 hours). This process extracts the coffee and creates a concentrate.

Brewing iced coffee is the same process as brewing hot coffee—it's simply left out to cool and poured over ice rather than being served hot. Cold brew, on the other hand, is made by steeping ground coffee in water overnight and does not require any heat to make (hence the cold in cold brew).

Since it is a concentrate, cold brew tends to be stronger than iced coffee, and according to registered nutritionist Nour Zibdeh, M.S., RDN, "cold brewing extracts less acid and bitter compounds from the beans, which can make coffee easier to tolerate."

To get started on your homemade cold brew, all you need are coffee beans, a filtration device, and a container to steep and store your brew.

To filter the grounds, you can use something as simple as a paper coffee filter or a cheesecloth. "You can also use a French press if you want to," Schein says. "That wouldn't filter it the same, but it's an easy way to do it, and it works well."

If you're interested in buying a more specific piece of brewing equipment, Schein recommends this cold brew maker from OXO.

The type of beans you choose really comes down to your taste. For chocolate notes, Schein suggests a medium roast from Central America. For fruity notes, try light roasted African coffee beans. "The lighter roast will be brighter and maybe not as appealing," Schein says. "The taste is going to be kind of interesting—maybe you'll get some fruit and lemon notes." 

How you steep the grounds can also alter the flavor. There's no right or wrong way to steep them, but some people choose to leave theirs at room temperature for 12 hours, which will create a bigger mouthfeel with more chocolate notes, according to Schein. Whereas, steeping in the fridge will lead to cleaner and brighter notes.