Just Because You Asked, Here’s How I Cold Brew Coffee

A few months ago in my “How we work” article, I mentioned the fact that I cold-brew my coffee. Since then, I’ve been asked a few times the method I use to transform my grounds into smooth, drinkable concentrate, so today I’m going to share my (very simple) process.

First, there are a few things you’ll need:

  • Ground coffee. If you have the equipment, you can buy the beans and grind them yourself, but one of the great benefits of cold-brew is that it makes even cheap supermarket coffee taste good. So a reasonable compromise is to find a decent brand and just buy a bag of pre-ground coffee.
  • Upphetta IKEA coffee plunger. A great purchase at $14.99, the Upphetta is the perfect size for brewing a generous quantity of coffee concentrate. A lot of online guides recommend using a filter and letting the coffee drip itself clean, but using this press is much faster for similar results.
  • A second container to hold the concentrate.

Now, for the making part. First, measure out about a cup’s worth of coffee and dump it into the Upphetta. I just use a regular drinking glass from the cupboard. The idea is to use one-part coffee to four-parts water.

Then, turn on the tap, making sure the water is coming out at low pressure, and place the Upphetta underneath. Fill it slowly, being sure to move the container around a little to help mix the coffee.

Let the water fill until it’s directly below the bottom of the steel band of the Upphetta — the one that attaches the handle to the side. Take a spoon and stir the coffee/water mix for 10-20 seconds. Leave it uncovered (if possible) for ten minutes and then stir it again for another 10-20 seconds.

Finally, cover the Upphetta with glad wrap and a rubber band (as in the picture above), or another method that seals it. Then, leave it overnight — 24 for hours if you can. Uncover and plunger the coffee slowly — apply only the minimum force required to move the mesh downwards. Once you reach the bottom, pour the concentrate into the second container.

That’s it. You can either use the concentrate immediately — one-part to two-parts milk or water — or store it in the fridge, covered. It should last a week and should provide four-five glasses, depending on how strong you like your coffee.

Have your own method? Share it in the comments!


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