The whole idea of making cold brew coffee at home was first introduced to us when we were in Chicago hanging out at my friend Aliza's house. She had set up cakes, cookies, and most importantly, a cold brew station complete with flavored syrups and assorted milks. It was delicious. I needed to know how to make this coffee.

The last time I wrote a post on this, I used cheesecloth and a pitcher. Since then, I've perfected my method and bought some actual equipment, which is both affordable and practical. There has been great feedback on my (almost) daily cold brew coffee and milk swirl on my Instagram stories, enough to make me want to edit this post.

What is cold brew?

Are you new to cold brew? Let's break it down from the top. Cold brew is coffee grinds brewed in cold water and never heated, as opposed to iced coffee which is hot brewed coffee that is then cooled down with ice or milk.

What's the benefits of cold brew over regular iced coffee?

It's less acidic
Perfect for a hot day
EASY to make and store for later
It's cold already so you don't need a lot of ice (ie watery coffee)
More concentrated flavor

Here's what I use to make the best cold brew:

Whole coffee beans*. I prefer the Starbucks ones.
Coffee grinder.
Cold brew maker.
Water

*you may use ground coffee as well. Here's two reasons why grinding your own beans to get a coarser ground is better:

1. To make the filtration process easier.

2. It'll help make your coffee less bitter.

If you would rather use ready-ground coffee, try this one that's already coarsely ground for cold brew.

Now let's begin!

First, grind of the coffee beans into a coarse grind.

Next, fill your cold brew maker ¾ of the way up with cold water. Put your grinds into the sleeve of your cold brew maker. Screw the lid together and put in your refrigerator for 24 hours.

When 24 hours is up, unscrew the lid to discard the grinds. Next, store the cold brew in the refrigerator for up to 7 days for peak freshness.

Here are some things you can add to your cup of cold brew:

Milk, creamer, ice, flavored syrups (hazelnut, vanilla etc), simple syrup for sweetness. Or, get boozy and try some alcoholic syrup like dulche de leche or chocolate liqueur.

Now that you know how to make iced coffee cold brew at home...what are you waiting for? Get to it!