Are you a fan of cold brew coffee? Did you know it is super simply to make and you don’t need any fancy equipment! Make it at home with this easy recipe!
There’s a lot to like about cold brew coffee. Due to its long steeping process and not having to heat the coffee beans, cold brew has a lower acidity level than normal coffee (better for your teeth and stomach), it doesn’t taste as bitter, it allows the natural flavours of the beans to become more prominent and it has a higher caffeine content!
Once prepared, an awesome perk of cold brew is it doesn’t change in flavour as it is not moving from a hot to cold state. This makes it perfect to prep in batches and keep on hand in the fridge or to take with you when travelling.
Iced Long Black Cold Brew
When making cold brew, what we are left with is called a ‘concentrate’ (hence the higher caffeine levels). When serving, pour in as much concentrate as you wish and add water to achieve your favourite strength of coffee. I like a 60% cold brew concentrate to 40% water ratio over ice. If you like milk or cream in your coffee, add the concentrate, a little bit of water and as much milk / cream as you like.
And yes, you can heat up cold brew if you still want a hot coffee! Simply place into the microwave or gently heat over the stove.
Onto the recipe! This recipe is more about portions than actual amounts. Adjust the amounts depending on the size of the jar you are using. The only equipment needed is a large mason / glass jar and natural cheesecloth. You can get cheesecloth from kitchen or fabric stores. I use it not only for making cold brew, but things like labneh and almond milk!
When it comes to the coffee, you can either freshly grind your own coffee (in a coffee machine, coffee / spice grinder, thermomix, vitamix, hand-grinder etc.) or buy pre-ground coffee. The general recommendation is that a courser grind is better for cold brew, but in my experience it doesn’t really matter too much as we will be using cheesecloth to filter the coffee grounds and this doesn’t allow any grinds to get through.
Start by filling a third of a large mason / glass jar with ground coffee.
Fill half of the jar with filtered water. Pour over the water in a circular motion (outside to inside) to wet all of the grounds. Allow the grounds to start to soak into the water for a few minutes and then fill up the rest of the jar with water. We ultimately want all of the coffee wet and no dry coffee grinds floating on top.
Close the jar lid and leave in a cool spot, out of the sun for 24 hours to brew. I like to make my cold brew in the evenings so that it is ready the following evening and I don’t have to rush around in the morning before work to filter my coffee.
On the following day (after the 24 hours); fold the cheesecloth fabric so there are ~4 layers. Lay this over the opening of another large jar or plastic container and push in the middle slightly to create a well shape.
Carefully pour the cold brew coffee into the cheese-cloth well to filter the coffee from the grounds. You may need to pour it in a bit at a time to allow the coffee to filter through the fabric. Twist and squeeze the cheesecloth to remove all of the liquid.
Once filtered, remove the cheesecloth, discard the coffee grounds** and wash the cheesecloth clean with plain water. Wash the original mason jar out with hot water so that it is clean of any leftover coffee grounds.
Lay the cheesecloth over the opening on the original mason jar and filter the coffee back into the jar. You are essentially filtering your coffee twice to make sure there any no grounds left in the liquid. Store your cold brew concentrate in the fridge.
To serve, add ice to a large glass, pour in as much cold brew concentrate as you like and top with filtered water. Add in milk / cream as you like.
** P.S. Don’t just throw away the leftover coffee grounds – these are excellent for your garden or to make a sugar coffee body scrub!
Easy Mason Jar Cold Brew Coffee
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Ground coffee
- Filtered water
Essential Tools
- Mason Jar
- ~50cm square natural cheesecloth fabric
Instructions
- Fill a third of a mason / large glass jar with ground coffee (you can grind yourself or purchase already ground).
- Fill half of the jar with filtered water. Pour over the water in a circular motion to wet all of the grounds.
- Allow the grounds to start to soak into the water for a few minutes.
- Fill up the rest of the jar with water.
- Close the jar lid and leave in a cool spot out of the sun for 24 hours to brew.
- The next day: fold the cheesecloth fabric so there are ~4 layers. Lay this over the opening of another large jar or plastic container and push in the middle slightly to create a well shape.
- Carefully pour the cold brew coffee into the cheese-cloth well to filter the coffee from the grounds. You may need to pour it in a bit at a time to allow the coffee to filter through the fabric. Twist and squeeze the cheesecloth to remove all of the liquid.
- Once filtered, remove the cheesecloth, discard the coffee grounds**, and wash the cheesecloth clean with plain water. Wash the original mason jar out with hot water so that it is clean of any leftover coffee grounds.
- Lay the cheesecloth over the opening on the original mason jar and filter the coffee back into the jar. You are essentially filtering your coffee twice to make sure there any no grounds left in the liquid.
- Store your cold brew concentrate in the fridge.
- To serve, add ice to a large glass, pour in as much cold brew concentrate as you like and top with filtered water. Add in milk / cream as you like.
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