If you have a grinder, buy coffee beans that have not been ground yet. Grinding your own will give you fresher and better tasting cold brew coffee.
To avoid flavors or chemicals leaching into your coffee, try to find a container that is made of glass. Glass will not react with the coffee and will not leach any chemicals into it either. There are some specialty products that are made specifically for brewing cold brew coffee. If you want to make a lot of cold brew and you like gadgets, consider investing in one of these systems. [1] X Research source [2] X Research source
If you like really strong cold brew, use more coffee per cup of water. It’s up to you, so experiment with the ration to find one you like! There is some debate about what grind to use. Some experts say that you want medium to course ground coffee beans as opposed to finely ground. This is because it makes for a slower, longer extraction of the coffee flavor into the water. [3] X Research source Others advocate for a finely ground coffee, as you will get more extraction out of the beans. [4] X Research source Since opinions vary, try grinding your beans both ways and figure out which you like better.
Once the grounds have been in the water for about ten minutes, stir the grounds in the water. [5] X Research source This will make sure that you are getting full extraction of flavor from all of the grounds.
You can occasionally stir the mixture while it is steeping to ensure even saturation of coffee grounds. Some recommend placing your coffee mixture into the refrigerator. While this is not necessary, as the coffee will not spoil at room temperature, it will result in a colder cold brew when the process is finished.
If you are using a french press, place the plunger on your press and gently press it down until all coffee grounds are at the bottom of the french press. If after your first filter you still have some grounds in the coffee, run the coffee through a filter a second time. After all the brewed coffee is poured out, there will be left over grounds at the bottom of the container. Do not pour these excess grounds into the filter. They will not add anything to your finished product.
Consider making some simple syrup to add to your cold brewed coffee. [7] X Research source Unlike regular sugar, which will not dissolve in cold coffee, simple syrup will combine with the cold brew nicely. Cold brewed coffee can be kept in your fridge for several weeks, just keep it covered. Unlike hot-brewed coffee, cold-brewed coffee will not become stale over time. [8] X Research source
