With hot days approaching, you may be wanting to make the switch from your usual steaming cup of joe to something to cool you down. If you love cold brew but it just gets too watered down and flavorless when you make it at home, our tips will help you keep your cold brew from getting watery.
Make sure you have the coffee-to-water ratio right
Too much water will make your cold brew, well, watery. Starting with one ounce of coarsely ground coffee – not too fine or it will come out bitter – to one cup of water is a good place to start. Experiment with more or less ground coffee as needed.
Use freshly roasted beans
Stale coffee beans aren’t going to give cold brew that strong, rich flavor that you’re looking for. They can make your brew taste watery and just lifeless. You can roast the beans yourself to make sure they’re definitely fresh or find a place that sells roasted beans to order.
Let it brew
Cold brew needs about 18-24 hours to reach peak deliciously smoothness. Anything under 18 hours can make your cold brew too watery.
Don’t strain too fast
Cold brew needs a while to brew, and it also needs a little time to strain. Slowly pour it through the cheesecloth or sieve, and don’t force it down or squeeze the cheesecloth. Just let it sit and watch gravity do its work.
Bonus: make coffee ice cubes
Have you made the perfect cold brew and adding ice is the culprit to making it water? Just freeze coffee – cold brew ice cubes if you’re feeling fancy, or just regular coffee frozen as cubes will work – and let the coffee ice cubes keep your cold brew cold without watering it down.
Or just buy our ready-to-drink, delicious cold brew
All that sound like too much work? We get it. That’s why we do the work for you with our own cold brew. Grab one (or a few) of our perfected strong and smooth cold brew cartons. But we’ll warn you, they’re addictive.
