Cold Brew Concentrate: brew a coffee base that lasts all week

As soon as it warms up outside, our coffee ritual changes. The hot V60 in the morning stays, but something gets added: a bottle of cold brew concentrate in the fridge. Brew it once a week, and for the rest of the week you'll have an iced coffee, espresso tonic or creamy cold latte on the table within thirty seconds. No equipment needed — just time, water and good beans.

Why a concentrate, and not a regular cold brew?

A "ready-to-drink" cold brew is lovely, but you finish it in one go. A concentrate works differently: you brew it at a higher ratio (stronger than usual), keep it in the fridge and dilute it glass by glass. The upsides: brewing less often, more flexibility in flavour, and a base that stays fresh for up to seven days.

Thanks to the long cold extraction (12–16 hours), you mainly draw out the soft, sweet and chocolatey notes from the bean. The acids that normally come out during hot extraction largely stay behind in the bean. The result: a round, almost sweet coffee with no bitterness.

Which beans work best?

Cold brew isn't the place for your lightest, most floral microlot — those delicate aromas are largely lost in cold extraction. Go instead for:

• Medium to slightly darker roasted beans, often of Latin American origin (Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala)
• Beans with tasting notes like chocolate, caramel, nuts, dried fruit
• A natural or honey processing for extra sweetness and body

A blend with a Brazilian base often works fantastically. We prefer to use an espresso-oriented roast — the body you look for in espresso translates beautifully into a creamy cold brew.

The recipe: 1:4 concentrate

What you need

• 100 g coffee, coarsely ground (coarser than French press — think coarse sea salt)
• 400 g filtered water at room temperature
• A glass mason jar or carafe with a lid (at least 750 ml)
• A fine sieve + paper filter (a V60 filter works fine)

Steps

1. Put the ground coffee in the jar. Slowly pour the water over it and make sure all the coffee is wet. Give it a quick stir with a spoon if needed.
2. Close the jar and leave it for 12 to 16 hours on the worktop or in the fridge. Longer = stronger and slightly more bitter; shorter = softer and lighter.
3. Once the wait is over, filter in two steps: first through a fine sieve to remove the coarse sludge, then through a paper filter for a clean finish.
4. Store the concentrate in a sealed bottle in the fridge. Keeps for up to 7 days.

What do you do with it?

This is where it gets fun. One base, endless applications:

Classic iced coffee

Fill a glass with ice. 60 ml concentrate + 120 ml cold water or milk. Stir and done.

Cold Brew Tonic

Glass with ice, 50 ml concentrate, 100 ml tonic, a slice of orange. Surprisingly fresh and bittersweet — an excellent summer terrace aperitif.

Creamy Cold Latte

50 ml concentrate + 150 ml whole milk or oat. Add half a teaspoon of maple syrup if you like. Give it a quick shake in a shaker for a bit of foam.

Cold Brew Spritz

40 ml concentrate, 60 ml prosecco, 60 ml soda water, ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint. On a warm Saturday evening, a small miracle.

Affogato with a twist

A scoop of vanilla ice cream, 30 ml warm cold brew concentrate poured over it. Not the classic espresso, but softer and sweeter.

Common mistakes

Grinding too fine. This makes your concentrate cloudy and bitter. A coarse grind is essential — if you don't have a grinder, ask us for a "French press" or "cold brew" grind.

Water that's too warm. Always use water at room temperature. Warm water speeds up extraction and brings forward exactly the acids you want to avoid in cold brew.

Brewing too long. Beyond 18 hours you start pulling out woody, bitter components. Set an alarm.

Finally

As far as we're concerned, cold brew concentrate is the smartest fifteen-minute summer investment there is. Brew it once on a Sunday evening, and you've got something special within reach all week — for yourself, or for the visitors who drop by unannounced.

Try this recipe with a natural process Brazilian or a chocolate-rich blend from our shop. We'd love to hear what your favourite ratio turns out to be — everyone finds their own sweet spot.