How to Make Cold Brew Coffee at Home

Life is busy, and Coffee gets cold. We’ve all made ourselves a brew, left it too long while running household errands, and returned to a tepid nightmare. But what happens when you chill it intentionally?

The short answer is something rather amazing. The long answer is what we’ll be discussing in our How to Make Cold Brew Coffee at home article below. Please keep reading to find out more.

Once you know the facts, from “What is Cold Brew Coffee?” to “Does Cold Coffee have Caffeine?”, you can buy the finest beans here. Since our founding in 1982, The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company has packed its products fresh to order.

Doing so ensures not only quality but also consistency - time and again. Allow us now to jump right in and prove that cold Coffee is better than you might think.

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

If you’re new to the world of the many different types of Coffee drinks, the chances are you have one question on your mind. What is cold Coffee? The name tells you much, though not everything. The way it works is by steeping coarsely ground beans in room-temperature water for around 12 hours. This results in a Coffee concentrate you mix with more cold water or milk.

The next questions is, undoubtedly, “What makes it so special, so unique?” Fans of the method believe that it tastes smoother than Iced Coffee (more on their differences in a moment). It is also an excellent choice for those who’re worried about acidity in Coffee.

Indeed, according to research, Cold Brew Coffee is 67% less acidic than a hot cuppa. The practice originates from Kyoto, Japan, during the 17th century.

But surely it is just another fancy way of talking about Iced Coffee? Not quite. The primary distinction between the two is that when it comes to how to make Iced Coffee, you brew it hot and serve it cold.

In other words, you chill hot Coffee by either refrigerating it for a few hours or pouring it over ice. Here, on the other hand, it is all cool, baby! We move on to the most important question of them all.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

We’ve provided you with the answers to “What is a Coffee cold brew?” What we need to do now, of course, is show you how to make cold Coffee at home.

You won’t need barista-level skills to master its creation, nor will you require specialised equipment beyond a sizable container and a sieve. As long as you have the finest Coffee from us, as well as patience, then you can follow these instructions:

1, Put Cold Water in a Large Container.

Fill your vessel with 400ml of cold water.

2, Add the Coffee Grounds to the Water.

Be sure not to stir the mixture as you do so.

3, Cover the Container and Leave for Several Hours.

Twelve hours is the minimum. Twenty-four hours is the maximum.

4, The Time has Come to Stir.

Please don’t be like James Bond and shake it.

5, Sieve out the Coffee Grounds.

Consider utilising these used Coffee grounds elsewhere!

6, Serve with Extra Water and Ice.

Dilute one part Cold Brew Coffee with two parts still water and ice.

How Many Calories in Cold Brew Coffee?

Finally, we will clear a few things up about Caffeine in Coffee. This stimulating chemical compound exists in at least sixty plants, including Camellia sinensis (Tea) and Coffea (Coffee).

It stands to reason, then, that you can expect an energy kick from the recipe above. The reality is a little more complicated. Which prompts the question: “Does cold Coffee still have caffeine, or is it void of the constituent?”

Caffeine is soluble in water, a factor primarily driven by temperature. Fundamentally, the hotter the water, the more caffeine is extracted from the beans.

This means that the cold water method applied here will result in lower levels of the stimulant than a hot brew. Yet that’s not to say it won’t help you start the day the right way - because it will, and all the while tasting fantastic!

Summary to How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Cold Brew Coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its smoother characteristics compared to Iced Coffee. While it takes a fair few hours to make, it is worth the time and effort. All that’s left, it would seem, is to buy the best beans from The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. You won’t be disappointed, regardless of whether you serve them hot or cold! 

Author: Richard Smith

Partner at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company

Richard Smith is a Tea expert, entrepreneur, and owner of The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Part of a family of renowned Tea planters dating back four generations, he was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where he spent his childhood between Tea Estates in Assam and Darjeeling.

In the late 1970s, having accumulated years of knowledge in the industry, Mr Smith and his mother, Janet Smith, moved to Kent, South East England, to establish a Tea business in the village of Pluckley. Their early days of packing Tea Bags by hand from chests of 10,000 prompted the creation of the company’s flagship infusion known as Pluckley Tea. It remains our most popular product today.

Mr Smith, who studied economics at London Polytechnic, has since specialised in over 1,000 types of Loose Leaf Tea - in addition to around 70 varieties of Roast Coffee - from around the world. These are now available at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, where everything is still packed by hand and fresh to order, not only to honour tradition but to ensure the utmost quality and consistency.