Cold Brew Coffee is so easy to make, and even more delicious than what you can buy at Starbucks! If you’ve ever wondered how to make iced coffee at home, you’ve come to the right place. Having a glass of homemade iced coffee is the best way to start your day.
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What’s in Cold Brew?
This Cold Brew Coffee Recipe is as simple as letting your favorite coffee grounds soak in water overnight, straining in the morning, and then mixing with our favorite perfect homemade creamer.
- Water: Filtered water will give you the best taste, but tap water works just fine.
- Coffee Grounds: I like dark roast, but it’s your coffee, so use your favorite grounds.
- Heavy Cream: Adds richness and creaminess to this iced coffee.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Adds even more richness and sweetness to this iced coffee.
Pro Tip: Freeze some coffee in an ice cube tray to make coffee ice cubes. You’ll never drink watered-down iced coffee again!
Variations on Cold Brew Coffee
It’s so easy to make this iced coffee recipe your own by changing up the flavoring. You could use different flavored coffees and/or syrups, or try:
- French Vanilla Iced Coffee: Use this delicious cold brew in place of the strongly-brewed coffee, and follow the recipe!
- Chocolate Coffee: Again, swap out strongly-brewed coffee for this cold brew.
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew: The perfect seasonal drink!
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Cold brew coffee, also called cold water extraction or cold pressing, is the process of steeping coffee grounds in water at cool temperatures for an extended period.
I’ve designed this recipe to be pretty close to the same caffeine levels as traditional coffee, so no need to worry about overdoing it!
Yes! Cold-brewing coffee makes it mellower, smoother, and more flavorful. It’ll also stay fresh tasting for much longer!
The best kind of coffee is your favorite coffee! Use a brand you already love, or experiment with something new.
How to Store
Store leftover cold brew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Serving Suggestions
A great cup of coffee is the perfect way to start any and every day. Some mornings I just simply don’t want hot coffee… I want it cold! If you want to love mornings even more, be sure to check out some of our favorite breakfast recipes, like Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole or Baked Breakfast Sliders. If a smoothie is more your speed, take a stab at our Glowing Skin Smoothie or Simple Mango Smoothie!
How To Make Cold Brew Coffee (Iced Coffee)
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Ingredients
For the Iced Coffee
- 4 quarts filtered water or tap water
- 8 ounces dark roast coffee grounds
For the Sweetened Homemade Creamer
- ½ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Optional Add-ins
- Coffee syrups
- Sugar
- Caramel sauce
- Chocolate syrup
- Ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the Coffee
- Pour half the water in two half-gallon pitchers. Sprinkle 4 ounces ground coffee over the water in both pitchers. Cover and let sit 30 minutes; after 30 minutes, stir.4 quarts filtered water, 8 ounces dark roast coffee grounds
- Cover again and let sit at room temperature overnight.
- Line a fine mesh strainer with a double layer of fine cheesecloth or a coffee filter set over a large bowl or pitcher. Pour the coffee mixture through the strainer and allow the liquid to run through. The coffee mixture will take several minutes to strain, and will need to be done about 2 cups at a time. When finished, discard the coffee grounds.
- Pour the strained coffee in a covered container in the fridge until cooled.
For the Homemade Sweetened Creamer
- In a pitcher or bowl whisk together the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready for use.½ cup heavy cream, ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
For Assembly
- Fill a glass with ice (or better yet, coffee ice!). Pour ¾ full with coffee. Fill the remaining ¼ with the creamer mixture. If you prefer a sweeter and creamier iced coffee you can do equal parts instead.
- Add in optional add-ins if desired.Coffee syrups, Sugar, Caramel sauce, Chocolate syrup, Ground cinnamon
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Pour some cold brew into an ice cube tray and freeze it to make coffee ice cubes. You’ll never have to drink watered-down iced coffee again!
Nutrition Information
More Iced Coffee Recipes We Love
- Iced Espresso
- Iced Mocha
- Iced Honey Almond Milk Flat White
- Iced Caramel Macchiato
- Iced Honey Cinnamon Latte
- Starbuck’s Pink Drink (coffee adjacent :)
- See all of our Coffee Recipes!
How long does the black coffee keep in the fridge?
I would say about 3-4 days!
During the winter when I make a full pot of coffee, and it doesn’t all get used, I pour it into ice cube trays, freeze it and store the cubes in ziploc bags till summer. Then use those coffee cubes instead of plain water, so as they melt you keep drinking coffee instead of watered down coffee. I do the same with tea.
That’s such a great tip!!
Is the 8 oz of coffee grounds in weight? Or dry volume (8 oz = 1 cup)?
Why make iced coffee and then add regular ice cubes? I make a full pot of chocolate flavoured coffee and allow it to go cold. I then pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it. It makes 5 full trays of ice cubes. Then when you have your iced coffee it never dilutes into watery dregs at the end. I do the same thing when I make iced tea.
What is the best brand of coffee that you would recommend for this?
Wouldn’t it be easier to put the grounds in a filter and swaddle them in cheesecloth and leave that in the water overnight?
putting them in a filter, the filter is paper and will fall apart. But I don’t think the grounds will release enough coffee if swaddled in cheese cloth.
Want to try this recipe but am confused. Your directions call for coffee grounds but the video looks like you are using coffee beans. Is it grounds or beans? Thanks for the directions….can’t wait to try.
Hey! I’m so sorry…that’s an error in the video that I’m actually having redone. You use GROUNDS, not beans. SO sorry for the confusion! Thanks for saying something :)
Also, dark roast has WAY less caffeine than light roast. FYI! =)
Where is the video to this besides on YouTube? I need some videos on cold brew and ice coffee alone with the recipes to post on FB. Other recipes I see on FB doesn’t come from YT and it gives a link to this site.
I haven’t posted this video except on youtube and the blog :) Have a great night!
Just in time for it to start getting warm out. I’m trying this!
Exactly! I ordered my first iced coffee of the season last week and knew it was time to learn!
I neeeeed this!!!!!!
Looks fantastic!
Thank you!