BREW GUIDE · No 03 / 06
Caffeine & Co · Brew Guides
Cold brew,
worth the wait.
Cold brew at home: a 1:8 steep ratio, coarse grind, 12 to 18 hours in the fridge, then dilute to taste. Numbers sourced to roasters who publish theirs.
Brew along
Watch it fill as you scroll.
The clock and the vessel track your place in the brew. Every step carries its moment on the timer, and the reason it matters.
in the vessel: 1000ml of a 1000ml target
Sanitise the jar, measure coarse
Clean your jar or brewer thoroughly. Grind coarse, close to breadcrumbs, noticeably coarser than a French press grind.
Counter Culture calls out sanitising specifically: cold brew never sees heat, so bacteria that hot water would kill can linger in a dirty jar. Stumptown's head brewer describes the grind the same way: coarse, like French press, so it filters cleanly over a long steep.
125 g coffee to 1 litre water, cold
Combine coffee and room-temperature or cold, filtered water at a 1:8 ratio, about 125 g of coffee per litre. Stir to make sure every ground is wet.
That's Counter Culture's preferred ratio for a concentrate you'll dilute later. It's on the stronger end of a range that runs from 1:4.5 (much stronger) to 1:11 (drink without diluting); Stumptown's own recipe sits close to 1:5 for a similar concentrate.
Into the fridge, and leave it
Cover and steep in the refrigerator. Room-temperature steeping works too, but move it to the fridge the moment it's done.
Stumptown is explicit that cold brew should always end up refrigerated, whether you steep it cold from the start or at room temperature and chill it after.
Sixteen hours is the sweet spot
Aim for 16 hours. Anywhere from 12 to 18 hours works well; don't push much past 20 to 24.
Stumptown's own FAQ gives this exact window. Coffee and water reach equilibrium toward the end of a long steep, so going a little over won't ruin a batch, but pushing past 20 to 24 hours starts pulling out bitter, woody notes.
Filter out the grounds
Strain through a paper filter for a clean, bright concentrate, or a cheesecloth or metal filter for more body and texture.
Both Counter Culture and Stumptown treat this as a texture choice, not a right answer: paper for clarity, cloth or metal mesh if you want more oils and solids carried through.
Dilute to taste, then drink within 10 days
Cut the concentrate with water or milk, somewhere between equal parts and 2 parts water to 1 part concentrate, over ice.
Counter Culture prefers roughly 1:1; Stumptown's own recipe dilutes closer to 1:2 (concentrate to water). Either sits inside their combined recommended range. The finished, diluted brew keeps about 7 to 10 days refrigerated.
Dial it in
Turn the knob. The maths follows.
Drag the dial to how many litres you are brewing. Dose and yield update live, on the same ratio as the guide.
Counter Culture's own math: about 125 g of coffee per litre of water for a 1:8 concentrate. Dilute the finished concentrate to taste, this scaler doesn't do that part for you.
Troubleshoot by taste
The taste compass.
Tap what is wrong with the cup. Get the one move that fixes it.
Sour · under-extracted
The long, cold steep didn't pull enough out of the grounds.
- Steep longer, toward the 18-hour end of the window
- Grind a touch finer, cold brew tolerates finer than you'd expect
- Confirm you actually hit the full steep time, not a rushed batch
Bitter, woody · over-extracted
The steep ran too long, or too fine a grind let too much through the filter.
- Read the full breakdown of what causes woody, bitter cold brew
- Pull the batch before 20 to 24 hours, per Stumptown's own ceiling
- Grind slightly coarser and re-check your filter for fines bleeding through
Weak · under-strength
Either the concentrate itself is too dilute, or it's over-diluted at the pour.
- Tighten the steep ratio toward 1:5, closer to Stumptown's recipe
- Dilute less at serving, toward equal parts concentrate and water
- Don't confuse a short steep for weak strength, check the clock first
Harsh · texture and clarity
Too much sediment or fine particulate made it into the final pour.
- Switch to a paper filter for a cleaner, brighter concentrate
- Coarsen the grind if you're using a cloth or metal filter
- Let the filtered concentrate settle before pouring off the top
Common questions
Cold brew FAQ.
What's the best ratio for cold brew concentrate?
Counter Culture's preferred ratio is 1:8 (about 125 g of coffee per litre of water), inside a wider range that runs from a strong 1:4.5 to a drink-it-straight 1:11. Stumptown's own recipe sits closer to 1:5.
How long should you steep cold brew?
Stumptown's FAQ recommends 16 hours as the target, with 14 to 18 hours working well either side of that. Avoid pushing much past 20 to 24 hours, which pulls out bitter, woody flavours.
What grind size is best for cold brew?
Coarse, close to breadcrumbs and noticeably coarser than French press, per Stumptown. Coarser grounds filter more cleanly over a long steep and are less likely to over-extract.
Can you make cold brew with pre-ground coffee?
You can, but freshly ground just before brewing extracts more evenly over a long steep. If you're buying pre-ground, ask for a coarse, French-press-style grind specifically.
Do you need to refrigerate cold brew while it steeps?
It's the safer default and Stumptown's stated standard. Room-temperature steeping is workable too, but move the batch to the fridge the moment it's done steeping.
How much do you dilute cold brew concentrate?
Somewhere between equal parts (Counter Culture's preference, for a less intense cup) and 2 parts water to 1 part concentrate (closer to Stumptown's own recipe), over ice, to taste.
Fits the recipe above
Gear for this method.
Transparency: the buttons below are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Fit notes come from manufacturer specifications read against this guide's recipe, not hands-on trials.
The 34oz high-heat borosilicate glass beaker and stainless steel frame suit the 1:15 ratio, coarse grind and 4:00 steep in our French press guide, and work for overnight cold brew steeps too.
Its 24-ounce brewing container turns out cold brew concentrate for up to seven drinks, matching the 1:8 concentrate-then-dilute approach in our cold brew guide.
Fellow names espresso, pour-over, French press and cold brew directly among the Opus's supported methods on one 41+ setting dial, though the 110g hopper and catch bin fall short of the 125g per litre our cold brew guide calls for in a single load.
Retailer listings state a built-in scale that grinds straight to a gram target, matching the 15g pour-over dose in our guide, but the stated grind range tops out at a French press setting and the 110 gram grounds container falls short of the 125 gram cold brew dose our guide calls for in one pass.
One system, six methods
Every guide is this same skeleton wearing its method's numbers: the dials re-read, the vessel changes shape, the compass carries method-specific fixes. Design once, brew six ways.
What you need
- Large jar or dedicated cold brew maker
- Coarse-capable burr grinder
- Paper or cloth filter
- Digital scale
- Fridge space for 12 to 18 hours
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