I stopped drinking coffee in October. I literally quit cold turkey. I didn’t do it on purpose. I did it because my body (and baby) made me. It’s probably good I stopped drinking coffee because I was drinking at least 2-3 cups a day, if not more.

I’ve started drinking coffee again but have decided decaf is the route for me. I’ll be honest, was addicted to coffee and it’s been nice learning to function with having to rely on caffeine.

Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible for me to enjoy a warm cup of coffee now. I pour myself a cup and then suddently I need to feed, change, and dress the baby and by time I come back to my mug, my coffee is cold. So I figured, I need to just start drinking cold coffee on purpose.

There’s no easier way to enjoy cold coffee than by having a nice cup of cold brew iced coffee! Today I’m sharing how to easily make a batch of cold brew coffee that you can enjoy all week long for a FRACTION of the cost of Starbucks or Dunkin’.

For my cold brew concentrate you need two ingredients, coffee grounds and water. If you want to fancy it up a bit, make some simple syrup and grab a $0.65 can of evaporated milk. You can make this recipe with regular or decaf coffee grounds. Make sure you give yourself a day as it takes 24 hours for the coffee to steep.

Step 1:

Combine 7 cups of room temperature water with a (11.3 oz) container of your favorite coffee grounds (regular or decaf). I used the entire container of Aldi Brand Beaumont decaf coffee grounds.

Step 2:

Stir the coffee grounds and water to combine, making sure all the coffee grounds are well moistened.

Step 3:

Cover the coffee/water mixture and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Step 4:

After 24 hours, strain the coffee/water mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the coffee grounds.

Step 5: (Optional but recommended)

Strain the cold brew liquid through a coffee filter to remove any fine grounds that slipped throuh the mesh sieve. This is a little time consuming but worth it to remove any extra grit.

Step 6:

After the coffee has filtered through the coffee filter, pour the remaining liquid into an easy to pour (and store) airtight container.

Step 7:

This cold brew is concentrated so be sure to use 1 part coffee concentrate and one part water when serving. For one serving pour 1/2 cup concentrate and 1/2 cup water over ice and enjoy! I used simple syrup to lightly sweeten the coffee and used evaporated milk as a cream (its super concentrated, and inexpensive, and adds a perfect creamy consistency).

This recipe makes approximately 4 cups of cold brew concentrate and serves 8 people. It will last a week if refrigerated in an airtight container.

This recipe is great for every day of the week but is also a great make ahead beverage for events such as breakfast and brunch, summer get togethers, or girls night!