How to Make Cold Brew Coffee is a super easy make-at-home, no-machine-needed method for enjoying iced coffee all year long.

I wrote a post quite a few years ago sharing how to make iced coffee, and it was a big hit.  That method is the super simple way of making iced coffee without much effort involved.  And I totally enjoy drinking my iced coffee that way too.  But I recently started making cold brew coffee at home and keeping in the refrigerator for my whole family to enjoy.  It’s especially nice to have in the summer months when it’s sweltering hot outside.

How to make Cold Brew Coffee:

Start with a one-gallon pitcher.  I just use a cheap, plastic pitcher that I picked up in my market’s “summer section” for about $3.00.  Fill your pitcher with bottled or filtered water.  Room temperature is just fine.  If your tap water is decent, it’s okay to use that too.

Put two cups of coffee grounds directly into the water in the pitcher.  As for the type of coffee used… choose a kind of coffee that you enjoy.  And it’s okay to use either regular or decaf.

Stir the coffee grounds into the water.  Put the lid on and refrigerate overnight (or for 24 hours).  This is the “cold brew coffee” process.  The coffee will have a chance to brew into the water and give it great flavor!

Next you’ll need to set up a way to strain the coffee grounds.  I used a bowl with a strainer set inside and then a double layer of cheesecloth inside the strainer.  If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can use paper towels or a coffee filter.  

You will probably need to strain the cold brew coffee twice to make sure you are not leaving any coffee grounds behind.

Then you’ll discard all of the grounds and pour the strained cold brew coffee back into a clean pitcher.  Now you can keep it in the refrigerator to be enjoyed for up to two weeks!

How to serve Cold Brew Coffee:

Serve it over ice, of course!  If you’re really energetic, you can make some ice cubes out of some of the cold brew so you’re pouring your cold brew over cold brew ice cubes!  Then there’s no chance of it getting watered down with regular ice cubes.

It’s ready to drink… UNLESS you’d like to add some additional ingredients to make this cold brew iced coffee extra awesome.

I suggest adding a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk and a splash of milk.  That’s how I like to drink it anyways.  It will be perfectly sweet, and the milk mellows out the strong coffee flavor a bit.  Sweets lovers might wish to add TWO spoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk.  It will taste like dessert.  Buy the FAT FREE sweetened condensed milk if you want it to be a little less indulgent.

Stir it up with a spoon or a straw.  You’ll see that the condensed milk settles at the bottom of your glass, but if you give it a few vigorous stirs then it will mix into the coffee just fine.

And now it’s time to enjoy your cold brew coffee!  It’s the best iced coffee around.  Note:  I found these stainless steel straws on Amazon and I’m obsessed with using them for everything now!

Happy Summer!

Here are a few more “How to Make” posts that you might be interested in:

• How to Make Iced Coffee
• How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte
• How to Make a Charcuterie Board
• How to Make Homemade Nutella
• How to Make Homemade Cool Whip
• How to Make Ricotta Cheese
• How to Make Homemade Basil Pesto
• How to Make Rich and Flavorful Chicken Stock

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