The allure of cold brew coffee goes far beyond its trendiness. It’s less bitter than hot coffee, which means the subtle flavors in the coffee beans can shine. And if you make your own cold-brew concentrate at home, you can use your favorite coffee beans and make it to your likes and specifications.
In this video, part of our “Kitchen Smarts” series on our Youtube channel, Cook’s Illustrated editor in chief Dan Souza demonstrates our technique for making cold brew coffee at home. We tried a number of out-there techniques, including near-continuous agitation and five-day-long extractions in the refrigerator. But in the end, we found that a simple steep in a French press was the best method. Here are some other things we learned along the way: