Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients
Start by choosing high-quality coffee beans with a medium to dark roast. Dark roasts will contribute additional color and a slightly more intense flavor profile than a medium or light roast coffee.
In addition to the beans, you will need a 40 - 60oz container (a french press will work) and some filtered water. Bad water will make bad cold brew, so ensure to use a reliable source!
Step 2: The Ideal Coffee Grind Size
If you're using RICA's ground cold brew coffee, then you can skip this step! All of our coffee bags are ground to the same grind size that we use for our liquid cold brew.
If using whole coffee beans, grind your coffee beans to a coarse consistency, similar to small breadcrumbs. Most grinders are not very even, so it's ok if you have a mix of small and large coffee particles.
We use a coarse grind for cold brew making because our long steep times can cause over extraction if using really fine coffee grounds. To ensure the best extraction and flavor profile, look for coarsely ground coffee!
Step 3: Time to Measure!
It's best to use precise measurements when making cold brew coffee, but we understand that not everyone has a scale available, so we've included rough estimates to be used.
Small Batch Measurements:
Coffee Grounds - 75g or ~1 Cup
Filtered Water - 40 fl oz or ~5 Cups
Large Batch Measurements:
Coffee Grounds - 150g or ~2 Cups
Filtered Water - 80 fl oz or ~10 Cups
These ratios will result in a high strength, full-bodied cold brew coffee, so feel free to add more or less coffee to adjust the strength!
Step 4: Combine & Steep
Place the ground coffee in your container and combine with your filtered water. If you're using a french press, then you will be able to strain later, however if you are using another vessel then it's recommended to put the ground coffee in a cheesecloth before adding your water.
After combining, the cold brew needs to steep at room temperature for a minimum of 12 hours, but no more than 24 hours. At RICA, we steep our cold brew for 20 hours and find that we enjoy the result.
Step 5: Filter and Enjoy!
Remove the coffee grounds or strain the cold brew into a new vessel. If steeped properly, you should have a cold brew with deep red hues and bursting with roasted character.
We at RICA always refrigerate and drink our cold brew over ice, but that's up to you. Your cold brew will continue to develop in flavor over the next few days in the fridge and should be at it's best within 5 days of brewing.
RICA's Cold Brew Coffee Recipe:
Makes ~4 servings
- 40 Ounces of Filtered Water
- 75g (~1 cup) of Ground Cold Brew Coffee
- Steep 12 to 20 hours
- Filter & Pour Over Ice!