Save yourself some cash, calories, and time…make your own cold brew with this easy and delicious recipe. You won’t need to take a trip to the coffee shop all summer long! Best of all, this concentrate recipe makes multiple cups of coffee.

We all need a little pick me up now again, and face it, coffee is one of the best ways to do that. You might be a tea drinker, or a soda drinker, but coffee will always be a great, delicious way to get some caffeine on those busy days where you need a jolt. And since summer is here, you might need a way to do that that doesn’t involve hot coffee.

It’s a simple process to make it.

Key Ingredients:

• Course Ground Coffee. It’s incredibly important that your coffee is coarse ground for this cold brew iced coffee recipe. If you hear that someone tried to make their own cold brew and it didn’t turn out it’s usually because they tried to use the coffee they normally buy to make the cold brew. It won’t work. You need coffee that looks like breadcrumbs.
• Water. If possible, use filtered water for the best flavor. You are going to be using a coffee to water ratio of about 1:8. This recipe calls for 1 cup of coffee to 8 cups of water. If you want less, cut it in half. If you want more, double it. If you make the coffee and realize the taste is too strong you can always dilute it with water, so it’s better err on the stronger side.

How to Make:

• Add the course grounds to cold water and let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
• Filter the grounds from the concentrate.
• Use about 2 tablespoons of concentrate to 4-6 ounces of water or milk. Make sure to add ice!

Straining the grounds out of the coffee is likely the most difficult part, and a lot of people have their favorite ways to do it. A good way is if you have a pour over, Chemex, or even a funnel, to place a coffee filter in it and run your water through the filter (into a bowl or another pitcher, obviously). You could also scoop out the grounds if you’re dedicated, or if you have a french press you could filter them out through it.

If you like sweetener and cream in your coffee, make sure you use simple syrup or something else that will stir in to cold liquids. Try our homemade coffee syrups! TIf you try to stir granulated sugar into a cold beverage the sugar won’t incorporate properly and will sink to the bottom. Try adding a bit of vanilla or almond extract, a bit of cinnamon or ginger, and even lavender to your next cup of joe!

To use:

• Add 2-3 tablespoons of concentrate to 1 cup of cold water or milk and top with ice. Adjust the amount of concentrate according to your tastes.

How to Store:

This concentrate stores in the fridge for a couple of weeks in a tightly sealed jar or container. It will, however, begin to lose its freshness after about a week. Try freezing the concentrate in ice cubes (about 2 ice cubes per cup of water or milk) to get more life out of your concentrate. Try to use the frozen concentrate within 2 weeks for maximum freshness but it is safe to use for about a month.