That’s the standard.Īnother important aspect is the freshness and quality of the beans.
That said, when you make cold brew coffee, you often use medium or dark roasted beans. Therefore you might not need as high coffee ratio for dark roasted beans as for light roast. A darker roast will give a stronger taste than a light roast. There are many things about coffee beans that can affect the ratio, but maybe that the roast level is most important. The coffee beans have a HUGE impact on the taste and, therefore, also the ratio. If you are new to cold brew and want to try it out, I would recommend you aim for somewhere between 16 and 18hrs and then adjust.
Standard brewing time is between 12 and 24hrs. If you brew it for a long time, the coffee will start to taste both bitter and sour, which isn’t what most people want for their cold brew. The brewing time will affect the taste in other ways as well. Or just add less extra water before serving. Meaning, if you want to brew your cold brew for a short time, you might want to increase the coffee to water ratio. The longer you brew, the stronger the coffee. It is essential to understand that these parameters won’t just affect how strong the coffee will be brewed, it will also affect the taste in other ways. I will go through each of these parameters and explain how they may affect the ratio and taste. That said, here are some other parameters that will affect the taste and, therefore, also might change what ratio you want to use. If you want to brew ready to drink cold brew coffee, I would recommend using a ratio between 1:12 to 1:18 (coffee to water). For serving, add equal parts cold brew concentrate and water. If you want to brew a concentrate, I would recommend somewhere between 1:6 and 1:9 coffee to water ratio. But you can also brew drink ready cold brew instead of a concentrate. So, make sure to test out things for yourself.Īs said, you often brew cold brew to concentrate or extract, which you then add water to before serving. After all, it doesn’t matter what I write here if you, in the end, don’t like the result. The most important one is, of course, your personal preference. The cold brew coffee ratio does depend on a lot of different parameters. What Ratio Should You Use? And what parameters matter? If you brew it too weak, just add a bit less water before serving. If you, by mistake, brew it a bit too strong, just add a bit more water before serving. It all depends on precision and if you like it to be “perfect”. If you are not that exact about timing, you might not need to be that accurate when it comes to the coffee-to-water ratio, either? Since 12-24hrs is a span most people use, and you are often not that exact about the timing.
You often brew it to a cold brew concentrate and then add water before serving, which leaves room for last minute adjustments.Ĭold brew also needs a long brew time, and this affects the taste of the coffee as well. That said, when it comes to ratios, you don’t have to be as exact for cold brew coffee as for many hot brewing methods. However, the weight is pretty much consistent. Weight is the most accurate one since the other ones are affected by the coffee grind size and how packed the coffee is. This ratio can be measured in different sorts of ways, for example, volume, weight, and scoops. In other words, how much coffee and water should you use? If you want to make cold brew coffee at home, you need to make a couple of choices, and one question people often have is, “what coffee-to-water ratio should I use for my cold brew?”. What Is Cold Brew Coffee Ratio? And how do you measure it?