Sous Vide Cold Brew Coffee

Learn how to make Sous Vide Cold Brew Coffee! Make a smooth and sweet batch of cold brew in a fraction of the time with the sous vide method!

Cold brew coffee is a great way to start the day, but making it from scratch is time-consuming. What if you could make a few batches of sweet and smooth cold brew in much less time? That’s where sous vide cold brew coffee comes in.

Sous vide is a cooking technique that cooks food in temperature-controlled water for longer than usual without altering its texture or flavor. It’s mainly used to cook perfect meat and veggies, but it can be used for a bunch of cool things like chilling beer and wine. It also happens to be the fastest way to make homemade cold brew.

In a temperature controlled water bath, the coffee is brewed at just the right temperature to extract the nutty, fruity and floral flavors from the grounds without any of the bitterness. Make the best homemade cold brew coffee in 2 hours instead of 12 to 24!

👉 Benefits of Making Cold Brew with Sous Vide

• Coffee steeped at a cooler temperature is naturally creamier, smoother and sweeter than coffee brewed with hot water. It’s also less acididc.
• It’s way quicker. Traditional cold brewing methods can take up to 24 hours. The sous vide method makes perfect cold brew in only 2 hours.
• The average cost of a Starbucks cold brew is $3.25. That can add up! Making it from scratch costs less and you can make 2 to 3 jars of cold brew at once.

☕ Ingredients

Coarse Ground Coffee – I recommend a medium to dark-roast, but you can use any coffee here. It doesn’t need to be anything special, but the size of the grind matters. Larger grounds are easier to filter out and are less bitter.

Water – You’ll need water (preferarably filtered) to steep the coffee and for the warm water bath.

🔌 Equipment

Coffee Grinder – If you do not have a coffee grinder, use pre-ground coarse coffee for French press.

Mason Jars – You’ll need at least 1 16-ounce mason jar or heat-safe glass container with a secure lid. For a larger batch, you can immerse 2 or 3 jars into the water bath at a time.

Sous Vide (Immersion Circulator) – I have an Anova sous vide. It’s super user-friendly and can be programmed straight from my phone.

Large Pot – A deep, heavy pot is best for this. You should be able to fit 2 to 3 mason jars in the pot with plenty of wiggle room.

Mesh Strainer or Cheese Cloth – to strain any loose grounds from the cold brew.

📖 How to Make Sous Vide Cold Brew Coffee

Sous vide cold brew coffee saves you time and space. You can make a few jars at the same time, freeing up room in your fridge. For each 1/4 cup of grounds, you’ll need 2 cups of water. It’s best to use a container large enough to leave room at the top.

1️⃣ Set temperature:
Fill a large pot with water. Submerge the immersion circulator into the water, securing it to the side of the pot. Set the temperature to 150 degrees F.

2️⃣ Grind coffee:
If using whole coffee beans, grind them down into a coarse texture. Even if you aren’t grinding your own beans, you should still use course ground coffee.

3️⃣ Add grounds:
Add 1/4 cup of ground coffee to each mason jar.

4️⃣ Add water:
Pour 2 cups of filtered water into each jar, secure the lids and give the jars a gentle swirl to combine the coffee and water.

5️⃣ Immerse jars:
Carefully immerse the jars into the heated water bath. Set a heavy pot on top of the jars to keep them in place if you need to.

6️⃣ Steep:
Let the coffee steep for 2 hours in the circulating warm water.

7️⃣ Strain:
Then, strain the coffee through a sieve or cheesecloth to remove any loose grounds.

8️⃣ Chill:
Chill in the fridge or serve over ice.

💡Recipe Tips

• Coffee starts to loose it’s complexity after it’s ground, so only grind what you need.
• If you’d rather not grind the beans, use pre-ground course coffee for French press.
• You can easily scale the recipe to make the cold brew in larger or smaller jars.
• Don’t shake the jar after adding the coffee. Gentrly swirl it around to mix the grounds and water together.
• For a darker roast, you can brew the grounds a little bit longer. 2 hours is a good place to start.
• If the jars rise to the surface, use something heavy ike the bottom of a pot to weigh them down.

🤔 Flavored Cold Brew Coffee

If you’re wondering if you can add flavor to your homemade cold brew, the answer is yes! –and there are few ways to do so:

Herbs and spices: Add warm and cozy aromas. The herbs and spices listed below pair well with coffee. Stir as much or as little as you like into the grounds before cooking.

• Cinnamon
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Nutmeg
• Cardamom
• Allspice
• Lavendar
• Vanilla Bean
• Citrus Zest

Flavored syrups: Flavored simple syrups are a great way to enhance coffee and cold brew. For each cup of cold brew, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of your favorite flavor.

• Vanilla
• Hazelnut
• Amaretto
• Almond
• Brown Sugar
• Caramel
• Gingerbread
• Maple

Flavored extracts: With extracts, a little bit goes a long way. A couple of drops per mason jar is plenty. To use extract for flavor, add a tiny bit to each mason jar with the grounds and water before cooking. Vanilla, peppermint and almond taste great in cold brew.

♻️ Storing & Freezing

Storing: After straining, you can return the cold brew to the mason jars (or any airtight container) and keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezing: Cold brew can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. I recommend freezing it ice cube trays, and then you can use the ice cubes to keep your iced coffee drinks cold without watering them down.

❓FAQ

More Sous Vide Recipes

Sous Vide Chicken (fresh or frozen)
Sous Vide Corned Beef
Sous Vide Chuck Roast
Sous Vide Chicken Thighs