COLD BREW FAQ's

What are the best coffees to use for cold brew?

For a more fruit-forward profile (and especially if you like your cold brew black) Loki & Rocko are best. If you like something a bit more mellow with notes of chocolate and prefer to sweeten things up with milk and sugar, go Ride or Die or Thor. A well-balanced blend like Rage is another great option for something complex and sweet that can be enjoyed on its own or stand up to milk and sugar.

If Smooth Dark & Strong Caffeine is your thing...FIERCE

How long does Cold Brew last after making it?

7-10 days refrigerated. If your cold brew starts to taste off, some of your plants might want it! Dilute it with 2 parts water, 1 part cold brew. Water plants that prefer a slightly acidic soil like roses, begonias, and ferns. Just don’t overdo it.

Do I need to keep Cold Brew refrigerated after making it?

YES!

How long should I let my Cold Brew steep for?

16 hours, but don’t stress. Anywhere from 14-18 is fine. We’ve found the water and coffee reach an equilibrium, which slows extraction drastically towards the end. Just don’t get into the 20-24 hour range or you’ll get some unpleasant woody notes. If you’re looking for a stronger profile, just dilute a little less rather than steeping longer.

What grind should I use for Cold Brew?

Coarse, like you would grind for a french press. This makes filtration nice and easy and allows you to steep while you sleep.

I don’t have room in my fridge - do I have to leave the brewer/jar in the fridge while it’s brewing?

Nope! Room temp is fine, but you want to get the cold brew in a fridge as soon as it’s done filtering to get it cold as quickly as possible. Creating an ice bath and letting whatever vessel you filtered into swim around in there expedites the cooling process rapidly. If you’re steeping in your fridge try a longer steep closer to 20 hours.

What should the coffee to water ratio be?

12 ounces of coffee (that’s 3/4 of a bag of Iron Bean Coffee coffee) to 64 ounces of water is a good place to start to yield cold brew concentrate. You can then cut 1:1 with water (or milk!) when you’re ready to drink. That should yield you a little under a gallon of cold brew, which gives you 12 ounces of cold brew a day for 10 days!

Should I filter the water I use to make Cold Brew?

Yep! Cold brew is ~98% water so make sure it’s fresh and clean!

If I’m not using a cold brew maker or other device with a built in filter, what are my options?

My favorite method is steeping in a French press just like you would hot coffee, but instead of plunging after 4 minutes, plunge after 16 hours. Then pour that through a paper coffee filter (chemex, v60, kalita, melitta, whatever) to polish it off.