Slow-Steeped Cold Brew Concentrate (Coffee-Shop Strength)

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The 1:5 concentrate that third-wave coffee bars keep in a keg under the counter, made in a pitcher on your counter instead. Coarse-ground medium roast steeps 18 hours at room temperature, then gets a two-stage strain — mesh first, paper second — so the finished concentrate is sweet, chocolatey and completely grit-free. One batch lives in the fridge for two weeks and turns into iced lattes, americanos or a splash-of-cream desk coffee in about 30 seconds.

Ingredients

• 300 g whole medium-roast coffee beans (about 3 3/4 cups once coarsely ground)
• 6 1/4 cups filtered water, cool or room temperature (1.5 L)
• 1 pinch fine sea salt (optional, about 1/8 tsp)

• ice
• cold whole milk, oat milk, or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (for simple syrup)
• 1/2 cup water (for simple syrup)
• 1 strip orange peel or 1 vanilla bean, split (optional, for the syrup)
• flaky salt or grated nutmeg, for finishing

Instructions

1. Grind the beans coarse — noticeably coarser than drip, closer to raw sugar or coarse breadcrumbs. If you're buying pre-ground, ask for cold brew or French press grind. Fine grounds are the single biggest cause of muddy, bitter concentrate and a strain that takes forever.
2. Put the grounds in a 2-quart pitcher, large jar, or French press. Add the filtered water in two or three pours, stirring gently with a long spoon after each addition until every ground is wet — dry pockets floating on top means weak, uneven extraction. Add the pinch of salt if using; it quietly rounds off any harshness.
3. Cover the vessel (plastic wrap, a lid set loosely, or the French press plunger left up) and let it steep at room temperature, out of direct sun, for 18 hours. Range: 16 hours for a brighter, fruitier cup, up to 20 for maximum body. Do not stir again during the steep. If your kitchen runs above 78°F, steep 4 hours on the counter then move it to the fridge and extend the total to 24 hours.
4. Strain stage one: set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour the slurry through, letting it drip on its own. Do not press or squeeze the bed of grounds — that's where the bitterness and silt live. Let it drain 5 minutes, then discard the grounds (they're great in the compost).
5. Strain stage two: line the rinsed sieve with a paper coffee filter, a double layer of cheesecloth, or a nut-milk bag, set it over a clean pitcher or wide-mouth jar, and pour the liquid through in batches. This pass takes 10 to 20 minutes and is what separates flat-tasting homemade cold brew from café-clean concentrate. If a filter clogs, swap in a fresh one rather than pushing the liquid through.
6. You should end up with about 4 to 4 1/2 cups (1 L) of very dark, syrupy concentrate. Seal it and refrigerate. It's good immediately and holds its sweetness for 10 to 14 days; after that it starts tasting flat and papery.
7. Optional simple syrup: combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan, add the orange peel or vanilla bean, and heat over medium, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves and it comes to a bare simmer, about 3 minutes. Cool, discard the peel or bean, and refrigerate up to 1 month.
8. To serve an iced americano: fill a 16-ounce glass with ice, add 1/2 cup concentrate and 1/2 cup cold water, and stir. For an iced latte: 1/2 cup concentrate over ice topped with 3/4 cup cold milk. For a small, punchy desk coffee: 1/4 cup concentrate, 1/4 cup hot water, and a splash of cream. Sweeten with 1 to 2 teaspoons syrup and finish with flaky salt or nutmeg if you like.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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