Cold Brew — extracting with time instead of heat
2026-10-21
Cold Brew means steeping coarsely ground coffee in water and extracting it over a long time, in the fridge or at room temperature. It uses time instead of heat.
What is different
At low temperatures, components dissolve much more slowly. Because how easily they dissolve changes differently for each component, cold brew often tastes gentler in bitterness and acidity, and mellower, compared with coffee brewed hot.
In exchange, what hot water does in a few minutes takes half a day to a full day.
Time & temperature
Brew time and water temperature
- Espresso25–30 sec
90–96°C
- Moka PotA few minutes on the flame
Near boiling
- AeroPress1–3 min
80–95°C
- Pour Over2.5–4 min
90–96°C
- Phin4–5 min
Around 95°C
- French Press4–5 min
92–96°C
- Cold Brew12–24 hours
Fridge to room temp
An example method
An easy way is to make it strong, at about 1:10 coffee to water, and dilute it with water or milk when you drink it.
Recipe
Cold Brew, step by step (an example)
Prepare coarse grounds
50g
Add water and stir
500g, room-temperature water
Leave in the fridge
12–24 hours
Filter
Through paper or cloth, down to the fines
Dilute and drink
About 1:1 with water or milk
Keep it in the fridge
Because it has not been heated, store what you make in the fridge and finish it within a few days. If grounds remain after filtering, the taste changes over time. We recommend filtering it well through paper or cloth, down to the fine particles.
Cold drip, not just steeping
In Japan, drip-style devices that let water fall onto the grounds one drop at a time have long been used too. The mechanism differs from steeping, and it is said to give a lighter taste.
To combine it with condensed milk in hot weather, you can also brew it strong with a Phin and pour it over ice, like Vietnam's cà phê sữa đá. Comparing brew methods sets out the differences from other methods in diagrams.
