How To Make Cold Brew At Home, Plus More Iced Coffee Hacks

Quality iced coffee is something you can make at home—with the right tricks up your sleeve. Whether you prefer it on ice, with milk and sugar, or an added flavour shot, these simple hacks will make it easy to say goodbye to the long lineups at your local java stop and hello to more money in your wallet.

1. Start by making our cold brew concentrate

One batch can last the whole week. All you have to do is mix the cold brew concentrate at a 1:1 ratio with water or milk, then add your choice of extras.

What's the difference between iced cold brew coffee and iced coffee?

Iced cold brew coffee is made from a coffee concentrate brewed with cold water. The grounds are soaked overnight (or up to 24 hours), then strained out of the concentrate, which is refrigerated until ready to use. Iced coffee is simply your normal hot brew, served over ice. (Hot water pulls aroma and flavour from coffee grounds quickly, but it also intensifies the flavour quickly, giving you those acidic notes associated with a light roast, or the bitter notes found in most dark roasts.)

Cold brew coffee ratio

Cold brew's smoother, less acidic (and even sweet) flavour owes itself primarily to the slow, cold water steep. We found the best ratio to make the cold brew concentrate to be 2:1 (water to coffee grounds). Try our cold brew coffee concentrate recipe.

2. Start making iced coffee or milk cubes

Regular ice will water down your coffee, diluting its flavour considerably over time (especially if you're a slow sipper). Avoid this with strong-brewed coffee cubes, or frozen milk cubes.

3. Blitz it to make a homemade frapp

It's as simple as throwing your ingredients with a few ice cubes in the blender to make it an extra-icy refresher.

4. Add your own flavour shots

Vanilla lovers don't need to miss out; homemade simple syrups are easy to make, and last well in the fridge for continued use. Try our recipe for vanilla syrup. Or, mix your iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk for a Vietnamese-inspired sweet, creamy, indulgent treat.

This story was originally published in 2016; updated in 2022.