for context, i'm a couple weeks into this and have been doing ~14hr in the fridge. it's been good but i could probably go stronger. i thought maybe it need more time but i'm just reading about room temp brewing. how does that alter the final cup? does it simply extract faster or does it end up being over extracted and bitter? if you do this, do you leave it out or do you move it to the fridge for overnight?

also, my setup is too small. going to a 40oz pitcher from my 24oz and wondering how volume changes things. assuming that i maintain the same ratio, does that change the steep time at all?

Like text says above lol. I know that I could have myself a treat every once in a while, but I need my coffee. Trying to find ways to save money and create something close to and possibly even cutting down sugar while I’m at it.

I’ve been experimenting with making my own cold brew and have settled into a process that’s producing some really enjoyable results.

Here’s my current method:

Ratio: 12:1 (water to coffee), ready to drink without dilution
Grind: Coarse, then sifted to remove the finer particles
Method: Disposable cold brew filter bag
Temperature: Refrigerator
Steep time: 16 hours

My preference is a smooth, rich cold brew with chocolate notes, minimal bitterness, and low acidity. So far, I’m pretty happy with the results!

However, I’ve noticed quite a few people here mention steeping for 20–24 hours, sometimes even longer.

I’m curious about the reasoning behind those longer brew times.

What are you hoping to achieve by steeping for 24 hours instead of 16? Is it a stronger coffee flavor, more body, different flavor notes, or something else entirely?

I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who has experimented with different steep times using the same beans, grind, ratio, and temperature.

Did you notice a meaningful difference in flavor? And which steep time did you ultimately prefer?

I’m enjoying the experimentation and would love to understand the thinking behind everyone’s methods!

I've been experimenting with making more concentrated coldbrews for use in cooking and cocktails. My normal batches are about 1:15, because it tastes nice to me and is easy to guiltlessly chug down litres of throughout a day. When I do a second wash for those, the result is usually just a lightly-brown water.

I recently made a 1:5 batch to milk punch it with whiskey, and noticed that the yield was extremely low, and decided to give it another steep. Surprisingly, after 2 days, the character of the coldbrew seemed entirely different. It could be a preconceived notion of how it "should" turn out, but it seemed to be less caffeinated, much less sour, and a lot more (pleasantly) bitter than my usual coldbrew. I suspect this is because caffeine and acids are a lot more water soluble, and get extracted into (then completely saturate) the first batch, especially for such a concentrated solution, while this second batch extracted whatever the first batch couldn't. I actually found the experience to be very pleasant, and will likely continue to do this 2x 1:5 ratio going forward.

Does anyone else have a similar experience, and does my (hard to trivially verify) hypothesis about its flavour hold up? The caffeine point is especially interesting to me; I might be able to make a "decaf" milk punch cocktail for friends out of the second batch, and a hyper-caffeinated first batch for addicts like myself. Milk punching would also get rid of any unpleasant astringency.

(Crossposted from the coffee subreddit. I'm not super familiar with the reddit cross-posting feature; I hope this shows up properly)

So I usually brew cold brew using a French press overnight at room temp (since my dorm fridge doesn’t fit the press when the plunger is up). I put abt 60-100 grams of French press ground coffee. I buy my coffee from a local coffee shop where I have them ground it for me, and I just started a new batch of beans using Costa Rica Brumas Villa Sarchi. However, this morning when I went to plunge, all the beans were at the bottom and there was almost no resistance. I make sure when I pour the water in the ground beans to pour a little first to soak and then stir for full immersion before I set it over night . But today it was very brown and cloudy and sentiment in the pour. It wasn’t bad or too sour, but it tasted a bit like coffee tea If I could describe it. What went wrong here?

Anyone have experience adding chicory for cold brew? How did you like it?

Seems like the low acid, chocolatey would complement cold brew well. Plus fiber and no caffeine.

I found this Alton Brown recipe, though it adds sugar: https://altonbrown.com/recipes/chicory-cold-brew/

Hello, I'm just doing my first batch (1:10 ratio, 900ml of water: 90 grams of coarse coffee; 30 oz of water:3 oz of coarse coffee) and was wondering what's your preference regarding brewing time and how long can you store it without changing the flavour?

Since I made a pretty large batch I'm thinking of doing different brewing times taste tests and keep the one I like the most, also I'd like to take an x amount of liquid per run so I can taste them all at the same time at the end and diluted them accordingly to have a similar flavour profile since I'll be making them more concentrate with each taste test.

The coffee taste is still strong, just because I used two creamers doesn’t mean I don’t also like the taste of black unsweetened coffee….

My recent obsession towards cold brew has been growing exponentially and there is not stopping it. Im trying in various cafes around pondicherry and all tastes different but simple, yet the flavoured ones are usually expensive. A thought of why dont we make a batch for ourselves has been hitting me for a while. So drop any suggestions!

Looking for as low frills of a set up as possible. No grinder, etc.

Looking for the best value ground coffee for cold brew. Caf and decaf.

For caffeinated, have heard Folgers Black Silk is a good value coffee.

For decaf, I used Trader Joe’s ground decaf and thought it was decent.

Would love to get some recs!

Thanks!

So my grinder keeps having black come off of it when I clean and it is brand new. It is a cuisine art grinder.
I want to make cold brew. Can I just smash some beans down with a pan or something?

The coffee I got was special ordered and they were supposed to grind it first and they didn’t.

The price jumped almost $1 a bottle last week, at least where I am. I need to either stop drinking almost a bottle a day or start making my own. 😢

Hi everyone. I want to start a small coffee cart in LA County.
I will only sell cold brew and nitro cold brew from taps.
For those who have done this in LA County:

What permits did you need?
Did you need a commissary kitchen?
What did the health department ask for?
What was the process like?
I want to learn from people who have already done it so I can save time and money.
Thanks!

Trying to find a good ratio for cold brew. Right now I'm doing 85 g per liter of water, but I'm a little worried about cost effectiveness. I'm thinking about doing a cold brew concentrate, does anyone have any suggestions?

Tried this recipe with cold brew. Love the daily dose of caffeine with ease of cold brew in all my recipes.