Cold brew coffee involves steeping coarse-ground coffee with cold water for 18–24 hours. The cool water is less efficient at extracting heavier, more bitter, or astringent molecules from the beans — resulting in a brighter cup of concentrated coffee. Cold brew also has much lower acidity than conventional hot coffee.

Brewing cold brew coffee is simple — grind your beans (medium-coarse or coarse), mix with water (ratio of around 1:8 is ideal), seal and steep in the fridge for 24 hours. Once finished, strain using a French press, cheesecloth, or mesh strainer to remove the grounds.

Serve over ice, with milk or cream to your desired taste.

The best coffee beans to use for cold brew contain relatively high concentrations of aromatic elements. Very strong, bitter coffees should be avoided. We recommend our DaLat (100% Arabica), DaNang (50/50 robusta/arabica blend), or BanMe (100% Peaberry coffee).

Your cold brew should be left to steep for at least 18 hours — 24 hours is even better. Don’t let your cold brew steep longer than 36 hours.

→ Read the full guide to brewing cold brew coffee at home.

You can, but the resulting coffee won't taste very good. Most of the elements that contribute to coffee's good flavor are extracted during the first brew, leaving behind only the bitter, musty, and astringent elements for the second batch.

Cold brew coffee is made using only cold or lukewarm water, which is steeped for long periods of time. Iced coffee is brewed hot, but cooled down using ice. The flavors extracted from hot steeping (bold, intense, and slightly bitter) are different from the flavor profile of dedicated cold brew coffee (which is smoother and sweeter).

Related: Learn how to brew iced Vietnamese coffee at home.

Once brewed, cold brew coffee will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator if stored in an airtight container. Many people prepare cold brew coffee in large batches and drink it slowly throughout the rest of the week.

Yes, cold brew coffee generally contains higher concentrations of caffeine than regular coffee (about 15% higher). The long steeping process for this type of coffee tends to concentrate the caffeine from the coffee.