Cold brew has a reputation for being a specialty thing — something that comes out of a tap or a machine with a price tag. It isn’t. Cold brew is the most forgiving coffee you can make at home, and the equipment list is a jar and a spoon.
Here’s how we’d do it in your kitchen.
What you need
- 1 cup coarse-ground coffee — think breadcrumbs, not powder. If you’re grinding at home, use your grinder’s coarsest setting. Buying ground? Ask for a coarse grind.
- 4 cups cold water — filtered if you have it, tap if you don’t.
- A quart mason jar (or any container with a lid).
- Something to strain with — a fine-mesh sieve, a coffee filter, or a clean dish towel over a bowl. All three work.
The whole method
- Put the coffee in the jar. Pour the water over it. Stir until every ground looks wet — dry pockets are the only way to ruin this.
- Lid on. Fridge. Walk away for 12 to 18 hours. Overnight is perfect; a full day makes it stronger, not bitter — cold water never pulls the harsh stuff hot water does.
- Strain it into a clean jar and toss the grounds. If you used a sieve and want it crystal clear, run it through a paper filter once more.
- What you have now is concentrate. Pour it over ice and cut it with water or milk — start at half and half, then adjust to taste.
That’s it. It keeps in the fridge for about a week, which means one Sunday-night jar covers your whole work week.
A few honest tips
- Sweeten with simple syrup, not sugar. Sugar won’t dissolve in cold coffee; syrup (equal parts sugar and hot water, shaken) will.
- Don’t steep it warm. Room temperature works faster but muddier. The fridge is slower and cleaner. Use the fridge.
- Darker roasts shine here. Cold brewing flattens bright, acidic notes and pulls out chocolate and caramel — which is exactly the direction a dark roast already leans.
On that last note: the Java Square Blend — our dark roast, with its caramel, nut, and dark chocolate notes — is built for this. Grab a bag ground or whole bean at the bar or from the shop, and your mason jar is in business.
And if the jar’s empty and you’re impatient, you know where we are — 103 W Landry St, cold brew already made.