To brew a cold-brew coffee concentrate, combine 1 cup of ground coffee for every 4 cups of cold water. Be patient (most cold-brew coffee makers require 12 to 24 hours) and take a Goldilocks approach to tinkering with the grind of your beans: too coarse and you won’t extract enough flavor; too fine and coffee grounds will leak into the cold-brew, making it gritty. This guide will help with the learning curve. Ready to brew? We recommend the OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker. Here are the best cold-brew coffee makers on the market. What We Don’t Love: Delicate glass beaker can be prone to leaking The OXO Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the option most people will enjoy, due to its quality and simplicity. This 32-ounce countertop coffee maker translates to 12–14 cups of cold brew, and it’s compact enough to store away for the winter. It’s made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass with a stainless steel filter and silicone gasket. The showerhead-style design drips water onto coffee grounds, in contrast to the pot-style brewing method where ground coffee is immersed directly in cold water. A drip brewing process creates less sediment and intensifies the flavors in the final cup. Brew time is 12 to 24 hours, at which point you’ll pull a drainage switch to release coffee into the included decanter. Once you’re done, the entire maker comes apart for easy cleaning. The carafe can be put in the dishwasher, while everything else needs to be hand washed. Price at time of publish: $52 Dimensions (LxWxH): 9.5 x 9.5 x 14.75 inches | Capacity: 32 ounces | Weight: 4.4 pounds What We Don’t Love: Takes a long time to brew While the Primula Burke Cold Brew Coffee Maker is affordable, it rivals cold-brew coffee makers that cost double (or even triple) its price. This little coffee maker is made with heat-resistant borosilicate glass, with a silicone lid, and has a capacity of 6 cups. This cold-brew coffee maker uses pot-style brewing, where a basket of grounds is immersed in a brew pot. The mesh filter captures nearly all of the sediment for a smooth brew. The bottom of the filter unscrews so you can dump the grounds for easy cleanup, and both the filter and carafe are dishwasher safe. The biggest drawback? Brew time is 24 hours, so you need to plan ahead. Price at time of publish: $18 Dimensions (LxWxH): 8.7 x 5.1 x 7.6 inches | Capacity: 51 ounces | Weight: 1.75 pounds What We Don’t Love: Delicate glass Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Maker System is the undisputed king of big-batch cold-brew coffee, with a half-gallon consumer model. The Toddy system is made of glass, BPA-free plastic, and rubber, and comes with felt filters that can be reused 10 times. One aspect to keep in mind is that you have to remove the rubber stopper to drain your cold brew, and quickly position it over the glass carafe. Still, it’s a reliable method to get vast quantities of tasty cold-brew that rivals what you’d get at the cafe (especially since they may be brewing with Toddy’s 2.5-gallon system!). The Toddy system is among the larger cold-brew coffee makers, so plan to brew on the counter, then refrigerate your concentrate. Price at time of publish: $40 Dimensions (LxWxH): 7.3 x 7.3 x 13 inches | Capacity: 2 liters | Weight: 2.4 pounds What We Don’t Love: Mesh can bend out of shape It’s worth investing in a portable cold-brew coffee maker for travel, and a crowd-pleasing favorite is actually Bodum’s 34-ounce French press. Yup, you can use a French press for cold-brew. Let it steep, then plunge and strain. Sahra Nguyen, founder and CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply, recommends the Bodum model because a French press coffee maker “demonstrates how easy, simple, and accessible making cold brew can be! Whether you’re a cold-brew beginner or pro, looking for a cold-brew maker comes down to one simple thing: an easy way to remove the coffee grinds after it’s been fully immersed in the water (extracting). The height and the handle make it perfect for maneuvering in and out of the fridge. Plus, it doubles up as a French press for hot coffee! Win-win!” The borosilicate glass carafe resists heat, as does the BPA-free handle, and everything is dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. Like a lot of French press coffee makers, if you don’t handle the mesh screen with care, it can start warping a little and coming apart. And since this travel-sized coffee maker weighs a mere 1 pound, you can easily take it on the road with you. Price at time of publish: $28 Dimensions (LxWxH): 5.1 x 4.1 x 9.25 inches | Capacity: 34 ounces | Weight: 1 pounds What We Don’t Love: Tall height may make it hard to store Most cold-brew systems create a coffee concentrate, which is diluted with water to your preferred strength. The Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Pot, however, makes a refreshingly complex cold-brew you’ll want to drink directly. The 1-liter size model produces 4 to 4.5 cups of coffee using immersion brewing. Also, the heat-resistant glass pot and reusable fine mesh filter are dishwasher safe. While the manufacturer recommends an 8-hour brew time, dark roast lovers might prefer a 12-hour steep. Price at time of publish: $22 Dimensions (LxWxH): 4.7 x 4.3 x 11.8 inches | Capacity: 1 liter | Weight: 13 ounces What We Don’t Love: Bulky design, cleanup can take time If you’re too impatient to wait 12 hours for your coffee to brew, consider the Dash Cold Brew Coffee Maker. Three intensity settings (light, medium, and dark) brew in 5 to 15 minutes, thanks to a special “cold boil” brew process, where the coffee grounds are never heated, so the coffee oils don’t develop bitter flavors. There is one trade-off for the speed: even at its strongest, the coffee is weaker than a typical cold brew. This is among the larger cold-brew coffee makers with a capacity of 42 ounces or 1.5 liters. Both the coffee maker and included storage carafe are made of BPA-free plastic. Price at time of publish: $49 Dimensions (LxWxH): 10 x 6 x 13.5 inches | Capacity: 42 ounces | Weight: 2.8 pounds What We Don’t Love: Tricky to learn Like the OXO, the Bruer Cold Drip Coffee System uses gravity to prevent gritty cold-brew coffee. The top chamber of this coffee maker holds ice water, which slowly drips onto the coffee grounds held below. A center knob lets you adjust the drip rate to a recommended one drop of water per second. A steel mesh filter prevents sediment from leaching into the finished cold brew. This system is delicate, since it’s made of glass, and its capacity is limited to 20 ounces. A common complaint is the learning curve required to master the Bruer. However, if you want a silky-smooth cold-brew with no grit, this is your best bet. The Bruer weighs a little under 2 pounds and 10.5 inches in height, making it a countertop model. “There’s a bit of a learning curve to using this brewer, but once I mastered the process, I was rewarded with the smoothest homemade cold brew. Once brewing is complete and the tower is removed, I love that the silicone lid can be pressed into the pitcher for a tight seal when storing in the fridge. Plus, the pitcher itself is beautiful enough for other uses: I’ve used mine to mix big-batch cocktails and lemonade.” — Taysha Murtaugh, Commerce Editorial Director Price at time of publish: $80 Dimensions (LxWxH): 5 x 5 x 10.5 inches | Capacity: 20 ounces | Weight: 1.7 pounds
What to Look for in a Cold-Brew Coffee Maker
Countertop vs. In-Fridge
Unlike brewing hot water, cold brewing doesn’t require a specific temperature. However, the temperature can affect the brew or steep time. Countertop models brew at room temperature, so the cold brew is ready quicker. However, it must be transferred to the fridge or poured over ice so you can enjoy a cup of ice-cold coffee. In-fridge models are ready to pour or mix with water as soon as they’re done brewing, but you’ll have to wait longer since coffee extracts slower at colder temperatures. Both countertop and in-fridge brewing take several hours. It could take about 12 hours to brew on the counter and 17 hours to brew in the fridge. This requires a little bit of planning. As long as you plan ahead, both options are safe and work just fine. It ultimately comes down to your preference.
Capacity
Most cold-brew coffee makers produce a concentrate instead of a cold brew that is ready to drink. This means the finished brew needs to be diluted with water. Most cold-brew systems have a capacity between 20 ounces and 2 liters. “Consider how much cold brew coffee you’d like to make at a time, which correlates to how many servings you’d like to have within a week. Then, use this information to consider the size of your cold brew container and the storage space in your fridge,” says Nguyen. “If you really want to save on storage or fridge space, you can focus on making a cold brew concentrate—but make sure there’s an easy way to remove the coffee grinds after extraction so you can store the concentrate for days.”
Maintenance
Taking care of and cleaning your cold-brew maker can extend its longevity and prevent bacteria and mold from building up. Rinse out the coffee maker after each use and thoroughly clean it regularly. Hand-wash all removable parts with warm water and soap, and pat dry with a towel. Filters are an integral part of cold-brew systems, so their maintenance is as important as the rest of the maker. Many are made with fine mesh filters made of stainless steel that may be dishwasher-safe. For best results every time, rinse the filter and dry it off before the next brew.
What kinds of coffee work best for cold brew?
You can use any variety of coffee to make cold brew, though results may vary drastically depending on the coarseness of the grind and darkness of the roast. A coarse dark roast is usually recommended for cold brew.
What is the best coffee-to-water ratio for cold brew?
To make cold brew, you’ll need four parts of water for every one part of coffee grounds. Once the brew is finished, dilute the concentrate with the same amount of water for a 1:1 ratio.
Can you use a cold-brew coffee maker for other drinks?
Cold-brew coffee makers are pretty straightforward, but they can make a variety of types of coffee, mainly hot and cold. You can also use your cold-brew system to make different kinds of tea.
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Lindsey Danis is a former professional cook and a food writer for retail and trade publications. Read Next: The Best Blenders
