Just realized I was making cold brew wrong for 2 years

I always thought you needed fancy beans or a special brewer to make good cold brew. Turns out I was using water that was too cold and steeping too short. My buddy at the shop in Austin showed me his method last week - room temp water, 18 hours on the counter, no fridge. Tried it and the difference was night and day. Anyone else have a simple fix that changed their whole coffee routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_lopez18d ago

Switched to room temp water after years of using fridge water and it made a huge difference. I was overcomplicating it with special filters and ratios before a friend showed me the simple way. Now I just use a mason jar and a cheap nut milk bag, tastes way better.

the_thomas18d ago

bro wait 18 hours on the counter? that sounds like a mold risk honestly

henderson.wesley18d agoMost Upvoted

@the_thomas you're not wrong to be cautious about 18 hours. Actually the sweet spot is more like 12 to 24 hours depending on your climate. If you live somewhere humid or warm you probably want to err on the shorter side. But with cold brew specifically the risk is lower because the coffee grounds don't have the same sugar content that milk or fruit would, so mold isn't as eager to grow on it. I do mine for 20 hours in the fridge and it's totally fine, room temp might just need more watching.