How to Make Cold Brew at Home (No Special Gear Needed)
30 July 2026 · Cela Coffee · ☕ 2 min read
Cold brew is smoother, less acidic, and stronger than iced coffee — and it takes about two minutes of active work to make. Here's the recipe that works every time.
Why cold brew is different
Regular iced coffee is hot coffee cooled down. Cold brew never touches heat.
Steeping coffee in cold water for many hours extracts flavour without extracting the bitter and acidic compounds that hot water pulls. The result: naturally sweet, smooth, and about twice as strong as filter coffee.
Which means one thing: use less than you think. Cold brew is a concentrate.
What you need
- 100 g of coffee, coarse-ground (like sea salt)
- 800 ml of cold, filtered water
- A large jar (1 litre or bigger)
- A fine strainer or coffee filter
That's a 1:8 ratio by weight — the sweet spot for balanced strength.
The recipe
- Add the coffee to your jar. Pour in the water. Stir once to make sure all grounds are wet.
- Cover and refrigerate. 12 hours is minimum. 16 hours is ideal. Longer than 24 gets bitter.
- Strain. First pass through a fine mesh strainer to remove the grounds. Second pass through a paper coffee filter for a clean, silt-free brew.
- Store the concentrate. Sealed in the fridge, it stays fresh for 2 weeks.
How to serve it
Cold brew concentrate is strong. Dilute it before drinking:
- Black over ice: 1 part concentrate to 1 part cold water. Fill glass with ice.
- With milk: 1 part concentrate to 1 part milk (or oat milk). No dilution needed.
- Vietnamese-style: Add 20 ml condensed milk, top with cold brew concentrate, plenty of ice. Basically iced cà phê sữa without the phin.
Which beans to use
Cold brew rewards beans with body and dark, chocolatey notes — exactly what Vietnamese Robusta delivers. Our Robusta whole beans are ideal here. If you like something lighter and more fruit-forward, try our Arabica whole beans.
Common mistakes
- Grinding too fine. Makes the brew silty and over-extracted. Aim for chunky, like sea salt.
- Not straining twice. One pass through mesh leaves fine sediment. A paper filter finish is worth 30 seconds.
- Skipping the fridge. Room-temperature steeping works but ferments faster. Stick to the fridge.
- Drinking it undiluted. It's concentrate. Cut it with water, milk, or ice.
Try it with our beans
