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How To Make Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate?

Many people prefer coffee to tea. In fact, almost everyone has ever drunk coffee at some point in their life. For some people, coffee is a daily beverage.

Some take it for breakfast while others drink it throughout the day in either small or large amounts according to their preference. It’s especially loved for boosting mood and energy levels.

One of the most preferred type of coffee is iced coffee. But how is iced coffee made? Well, there’re several methods of making iced coffee. However, the best-tasting iced coffee is made using a cold brew coffee concentrate. The concentrate is flavorful, extra strong, simple, and slowly brewed.

It’s perfect for storing in the fridge such that you’ll always have a ready concentrate to make iced coffee. In this article, you’ll learn how to make the best cold brew concentrate at home, including the best ratio to make iced coffee concentrate.

Essentially, the process of making cold brew concentrate coffee starts with choosing your preferred coffee beans and roast level. You can get fresh coffee beans from a local grocery store for a richer flavor.

The beans are ground into a coarse grind and mixed with the right water ratio. Next, the mixture is steeped overnight. Thereafter, you’ll sieve the brew with a strainer or coffee filter. Next, dilute and serve.

That’s all you need to make the concentrate and serve it with your favorite iced coffee drink. In fact, your DIY cold brew coffee concentrates may taste better than other coffee drinks such as the American Starbucks coffee, French coffee, lattes, or even espresso. You just need to get the ratios right.

 

iced cold brew coffee in a bottle and in a glass.

Yulia.Panova/shutterstock.com

 

The most important thing to do when making the concentrate is to use the right ratio of ground coffee to water.

Basically, the concentrate should be more concentrated and stronger than a regular cold brew.

Its high concentration is what makes it served by diluting it with water. Thus, the ratio for making the concentrate is different from that of making cold brew coffee.

Whether you want to prepare the concentrate for making cold brew, coffee ice cubes or iced coffees, making it at home is cheaper than buying the concentrate from your local coffee shop. Besides, it’s easy to make the concentrate.

 

Cold Brew Concentrate vs Cold Brew Coffee

Essentially, regular cold brew is very similar to the concentrate. The only difference is that the concentrate is more potent and stronger than regular cold brew.

The two are made using a similar process that involves steeping coarse ground coffee in cold water for several hours and straining the mixture to get a ready brew.

The process is typically slower than that of making hot coffee. As a result, you’ll get a stronger and more flavorful brew due to the longer brewing time.

When making cold brewed coffee, you’ll use more coffee and less water than brewing hot coffee. Brewing with hot water removes some caffeine and flavors from the grounds. With cold brewing, you want to retain all the flavors.

Thus, cold brew is stronger than a regular hot brew. On the other hand, making the concentrate requires using more coffee and less water than cold brew coffee.

Thus, the concentrate is more potent than cold brew coffee. Also, the concentrate is more flavorful. Besides, it contains a higher caffeine content. That’s why you need to dilute it with water when serving. Regardless, it’s an easy to make concentrate.

 

Best Ratio to Make Cold Brew Concentrate

If you want a simple way to make a mid-level concentrate, especially if it’s your first time trying it out, combine 1.5 ounces of coarse grounds with 8 ounces of water. That’s an equivalent of ½ cup of coarse grounds and 1 cup of water.

An easy way to make cold brew concentrate ratio for a more potent concentrate is to combine 2 ounces of coarse grounds (2/3 cup) with 8 ounces of water (1 cup).

 

woman pouring cold brew coffee into a glass.

New Africa/shutterstock.com

 

Recipe for Making Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate At Home

Required ingredients:

  • Coarse coffee grounds (4.5 ounces or 1 1/2 cups)
  • Cold water (24 ounces or 3 cups)
  • Ice cubes

 

Instructions:

Step 1 – First, add coarse ground coffee into a glass jar or mason jar.

Step 2 – Pour cold water over the grounds. Cold water is more ideal than room temperature water. Use a measuring cup when adding water for accurate measurements.

Step 3 – Next, stir the mixture to wet all the grounds evenly.

Step 4 – Cover the container. Allow the mixture to steep at room temperature overnight or for at least 12 hours.

Step 5 – By now, the grounds will have settled at the bottom. Next, sieve the mixture. To do this, place a clean cheesecloth, new handkerchief, or kitchen towel on a sieve, preferably a fine-mesh type. Place the sieve over an empty container. You don’t need any special coffee filters.

Pour the brew over the sieve to separate it from the grounds. Doing so will leave you with a cold brew concentrate.

You can store the concentrate in your refrigerator in an airtight container.

With this recipe, you can make 4 cups of cold brew coffee from the concentrate.

 

Conclusion

As you can see, it’s simple to make iced cold brew coffee. The brewing process is outlined in a few simple steps, unlike some coffee recipes that tend to be more complicated.

You can prepare cold brew concentrate with coffee beans of your choice. It’s recommended to use freshly ground coffee for the best results. Most grocery stores stock coffee beans.

You can grind coffee beans at home to stand higher chances of brewing with fresh grounds. If you must buy pre-ground coffee, ensure they’re properly packaged and only buy the amount you can consume within a week.

Preferably, use coarse grounds to make the concentrate. The good thing is that making the concentrate at home allows you to customize it. Thus, you can adjust the required ingredients depending on the amount and the strength you want.

Besides, you don’t need any special coffee maker or equipment with this cold brew concentrate recipe. Also, you’ll get rich tasting coffee without additives such as sugar, syrup, cream, creamer, almond milk, or any other sweetener. Thus, it’s low in sugars and carbs.

 

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