The Daily Pour

Brew guide · beginner · 4 min read

Cold Brew, Step by Step: Smooth Concentrate With 10 Minutes of Work

Cold brew is patience disguised as a recipe: coarse grounds, cool water, and 14–18 hours in the fridge. The full method, the right ratio for concentrate, and how to store and serve it all week.

By The Daily Pour Editorial · Reviewed by Editorial Review · Updated 2026-07-13

A glass of cold brew beside a bottle of concentrate

Cold brew swaps heat for time: room-temperature or cold water extracts slowly and selectively, leaving behind much of the sharp acidity and bitterness hot brewing picks up. The result is smooth, sweet, and gentle on sensitive stomachs — and the active work is about ten minutes per week of iced coffee.

The method, for 1 liter of concentrate

Brew it

  1. Grind extra coarse

    Use 200 g of coffee ground as coarse as your grinder goes — cracked-peppercorn territory. Fine grounds turn cold brew muddy and hard to filter.

  2. Combine at 1:5

    Add the grounds to a large jar or filter pitcher and pour in 1 liter of cold or room-temperature water, stirring until every ground is wet.

  3. Steep 14–18 hours

    Cover and refrigerate. Twelve hours is the floor; past twenty, woody flavors creep in. Overnight plus a morning is the sweet spot.

  4. Filter

    Lift out the mesh basket, or strain through a fine sieve lined with a paper filter. Take your time — pressing the grounds pushes silt through.

  5. Store and serve

    Keep the sealed concentrate refrigerated up to two weeks. Serve over ice, cut roughly 1:1 with water or milk, and adjust to taste.

The 1:5 ratio makes concentrate on purpose: it stores in half the space and lets everyone at the fridge dilute to their own strength. If you'd rather brew ready-to-drink, use 1:8 and skip the dilution.

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