Good things take time. That’s why it takes 12–24 hours to brew cold brew.
Cold brew isn’t just iced coffee. It’s made using a completely different brewing process. While iced coffee is hot coffee served cold, cold brew is extracted exclusively using cold water, creating a completely different flavor experience. This method results in a smoother flavor profile, reduces bitterness and makes the coffee taste less acidic.
Want to try it yourself? Let’s get into the details of brewing your own cold brew at home. The best part? You don’t need any fancy equipment to get started.
What you need:
- 100 g of freshly, coarsely ground coffee
- 1 L of water
- a glass container with a lid (or a French press, if you have one at home)
- a paper filter
- add-ins of your choice (for example, oat milk or vanilla syrup)
Step 1: Pick the right coffee for your cold brew
The beans you choose shape the entire cold brew experience. Slow extraction highlights the coffee’s natural sweetness, smoothness and unique character.
Medium to light roasts are a great place to start. They produce a smoother, sweeter and more balanced result. Dark roasts can taste bolder but may overpower more delicate flavors.
Slow extraction gives the coffee’s naturally sweet character room to unfold. Beans with good balance and natural sweetness tend to make especially enjoyable cold brews.
Our recommendation: Avelã
For cold brew, we love reaching for Avelã. Time brings out what already makes this coffee special: its natural sweetness, rounded character and chocolate-forward profile. Shaped by slow fermentation, these characteristics have time to gently unfold during the cold brew process, resulting in a refreshing cup with depth, balance and a dessert-like character that feels beautifully natural.
Throughout this guide, we’ve been brewing with Avelã. Like many of our coffees, it’s a limited batch and won’t be around forever. If it’s already gone, don’t worry—you now know what to look for when choosing a coffee for cold brew. Explore the collection and find the one that feels right for your next brew.
Step 2: Grind size and coffee ratio
For a cold brew, we grind the coffee coarsely. Think of the texture of coarse sea salt. This helps the coffee extract slowly and evenly.
We like to start with a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio. It gives the coffee enough strength to develop a full, balanced character while leaving plenty of room to serve it however you like.
Step 3: Prepare the brew
Put the ground coffee into your container or French press and pour the water over it. Give everything a gentle stir and cover the container. You can leave it on the counter or put it in the fridge.
Step 4: Let time do the work
Now we come to the hardest part: let the coffee rest for 12–24 hours.
During this time, patience does what heat usually would. The water slowly draws out the coffee’s sweetness, body and character, allowing each layer to gently unfold.
Step 5: The final pour
Once the brewing time is over, filter the coffee to separate the grounds from the finished brew. We recommend using a paper filter because it gives you the cleanest result.
If you’re using a French press, simply press the plunger down slowly once the brewing time is over.
Step 6: Finish your cold brew
Enjoy it over ice, with your favorite milk, or simply black. However you drink it, take a moment to appreciate how time has shaped every step.
The CODOS team’s favorite ways to enjoy cold brew:
My favorite way to drink cold brew is with a splash of tonic water or condensed milk.
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Carmen
Marketing Manager
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When I drink cold brew, I prefer it straight.
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Özden
CFO
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I love my cold brew over ice with coconut milk.
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Chiara
Marketing Intern
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Cold brew is all about patience, not perfection.
Give it time, trust the process and don’t be afraid to experiment. Different coffees, brewing times and add-ins all create their own unique cups. Small changes can create a completely new experience.
If you enjoy what’s in your cup, you’ve brewed a great cold brew.
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V60 Guide: Brewing at Home