Avoid These 4 Mistakes and Make the Perfect Cold Brew

I’m a former barista who absolutely loves fresh drip coffee and makes it every morning. While I deeply enjoy the process of brewing a heavenly pour-over coffeewhen it’s hot out, I’ve been known to crave a big, refreshing glass of cold brew instead. Recently, a friend asked me how to get started with making cold brew, and after giving it some thought, I boiled it down to some pretty basic advice. Pick up some solid coffee gear, use great beans, and avoid these common mistakes.

Have questions about recipes and ratios? Consult our guide to making cold brew. Otherwise, scroll on for the main cold brew pitfalls to avoid when brewing it at home, complete with recommendations for tools to help you quickly and inexpensively reach café-quality cold brew.

Mistake: Steeping It Incorrectly

Fix: Use a Built-In Filter

Ideally, you want cold brew to steep for more than 12 hours but less than 24. It’s important to have a vessel that gives the coffee plenty of space, allowing it to extract and circulate during the brewing process. You don’t want the grounds loose in the pitcher — that’s how you get grounds, fine sediment, or unruly flavors in your finished cup. For a clean, tasty glass of cold brew that truly showcases the flavorful notes of the beans you’re using, use a high-quality cold brew maker from a trusted brand. Fortunately, they’re generally inexpensive and easy to learn, so grab one of these and you can be sipping a high-quality brew in no time.

Mistake: Using the Wrong Grind Size

Fix: Use a Conical Burr Grinder

Having the correct grind size is crucial for all kinds of coffee, but it’s especially so for cold brew. Since you’re letting the grounds steep for many hours (as opposed to seconds or minutes, like with espresso machines or pour-over coffee), you need to ensure that your coffee is extracting properly. If the grinds are too fine, you’ll over-extract them, and the coffee will quickly become bitter and unpleasant. If they’re too coarse, you can under-extract, leaving a lot of good flavor in the beans, and end up with a weak brew that doesn’t fully express the range of flavor of your beans. So, get a decent conical burr grinder so you can dial in your grinds to the perfect size.

Mistake: Over-Diluting By Using the Wrong Ice Size

Fix: Use Larger Ice Cubes

It’s important to serve your cold brew at the optimal temperature in order to enjoy it at its best. The goal when drinking cold brew is making sure it doesn’t get too warm or watered down, which can happen especially quickly if you’re drinking it outside in the sun. Therefore, you need medium- or large-sized ice that won’t melt as fast. If you serve it with pellet ice or smaller ice cubes, they’ll melt and dilute your cold brew, so I recommend one of these ice trays.

• OXO Good Grips Silicone Ice Cube Tray$12
• Gorilla Grip Large Silicone Ice Cube Tray, Set of 2$14
• W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray$15, originally $16
• Nax Caki Ice Cube Trays, Set of 3$10, originally $14
• Tovolo King Cube Ice Tray$8
• Excnorm Silicone Ice Cube Trays, Set of 3$15, originally $17

Mistake: Using Tap Water

Fix: Invest in a Water Filter

Think about it: Cold brew is almost entirely water. So if you’re using water that isn’t filtered, it’s likely to contain all sorts of minerals and chemicals that can affect how coffee tastes. Whether you’re using single-origin beans from a coffee subscription or something you just picked up at the corner store, you want to give your water the best opportunity to marry with your beans’ notes and flavors. Grab a reasonably priced water filter pitcheror one that can live on your countertop, and enjoy all the benefits of cleaner, better-tasting water even if you’re not drinking coffee.

• Brita UltraMax Large Water Dispenser With Standard Filter$32 with coupon, originally $38
• Pur 7-Cup Water Pitcher With Filter$15
• ZeroWater 10-Cup 5-Stage Water Filter Pitcher$30 with coupon, originally $37
• Amazon Basics 10-Cup Water Pitcher With Filter$21, originally $23
• Pur Plus Vertical Faucet Filtration System$30, originally $32
• Brita Water Filter Pitcher$25