Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate
I started making cold brew coffee concentrate about a year and a half ago after my in-laws told me about their Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker. They preferred cold brew because it’s less acidic and smoother tasting since the coffee grounds are not exposed to high temperatures. Me, I’ve always just loved the taste of coffee. Coffee everything, actually… coffee ice cream, coffee candy, coffee candles, my beloved tiramisu, and at that time I was obsessed with affogatos… you get it 😉 Some of you may be wondering, what the heck are affogatos and why is she obsessed with them?! Okay, maybe not the latter. Don’t worry I’ll post my affogato recipe soon.
Anyway, I was left thinking I needed to have easier access to some coffee concentrate for: 1) my affogatos and 2) my sanity since my body runs on 3-5 hours of sleep and I need energy for my little guy. So frugal me stood in my pantry and it hit me—I will make cold brew coffee with my mason jars like how I make my cold brew tea! I got me some cheesecloth and sieve sitting in my kitchen. Why not? It’s totally do-able.
Making cold brew concentrate is easier than you may think. My coffee concentrate ratio is about 1 cup ground coffee for every 2.5 cups of water. After combining these ingredients in a mason jar, you just let it in room temperature and/or refrigerator for about a day, then filter, and store undiluted for 1-2 weeks. Honestly, I’ve slacked off before and drank coffee concentrate that’s been sitting in my carafe for about two weeks. I survived. Now I’m not telling you to try that—just letting you know I’ve done it. The following recipe yields a little more than 2 cups of coffee concentrate so depending on your coffee addiction, make however many batches you want at once while you’re at it. I’m all about saving time.
Want your coffee hot? No problem. Aside from the flexibility of how much you want to dilute your coffee concentrate for a drink, you can heat up your cold brew without compromising on taste. Meaning it won’t get bitter.
Tips:
If you can, buy whole bean coffee vs pre-ground for freshness, aroma, and flavor. Don’t have a coffee grinder at home? Just grind it at the store and start steeping when you get home.
Careful not to over extract your coffee. Too long of a steeping time or too fine of a grind can result in some bitterness in your coffee so aim to steep your ground coffee no more than 24 hours.
If your time permits, leave your steeping ground coffee in room temperature for several hours before putting it in the fridge for the night. This helps extract caffeine faster than in the fridge. If you do it this way, aim for no more than 20 hours steeping time.
Keep in mind some water will be absorbed by the coffee grind so don’t be surprised you’ll end up with about 3/4 to 1 cup less water than what you started with. I doubled the recipe below to last me over a week.
Resist the urge to squeeze every drop of liquid from your saturate ground coffee. This will also result in bitterness.
So take away points on why you should try this cold brew coffee concentrate:
✔️ Less acidity and bitterness
✔️ Time saver since it can sit in your fridge 1-2 weeks at a time
✔️ Flexibility on coffee concentration
✔️ You can drink it hot or cold without compromising on taste
✔️ The concentrate can be used in other recipes 😉
Have I convinced you to try it yet? 😊
Materials & Ingredients (yields 2.5 cups of coffee concentrate)
1.5 cup coarse ground coffee
3-3.5 cup water (up to mason jar rim)
1 quart (32oz) mason jar
Fine mesh sieve
Cheese cloth or coffee filter (I prefer cheese cloth because it’s versatile and used in other recipes)
Carafe or any other glass container to store your coffee concentrate
Directions
In a mason jar, pour coarse ground coffee then fill the rest of the mason jar with water. Screw lid tight, then gently flip jar upside down several times to gently saturate the ground coffee grinds.
Steep in fridge for 20-24 hours. During this time, I tend to flip the mason jar upside down 1-2 times to mix contents whenever I reach for something in the fridge.
To strain, place one or two layers of cheese cloth (or paper coffee filter) over a fine mesh sieve resting on a pitcher or measuring cup. Then pour mixed concentrate through. I let it strain for several minutes before discarding the ground coffee. Don’t squeeze any remaining fluid in the coffee grinds since that will result in bitterness as well.
Store your concentrate in a glass container in the fridge for about a week.
Have you tried making this? Don’t forget to include me in your hashtags #PlayteFull. I’d love to know what you think about it!