21 Reasons I Love Cold Brew Coffee

This morning I put together a post for my coffee site on reasons I love cold brew coffee. Just before I published it, I was reminded that I had already written pretty much that same post a few years earlier. So instead of throwing away the article, I thought I’d share the updated list here.

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A few years ago, I posted 10 Reasons I Love Cold Brew Coffee. That wasn’t enough. I want to list some more reasons. I hope I don’t miss any or I might have to do a part 3 at some point.

Health

#1 Easy on the stomach

There was a period of time when I couldn’t handle drinking coffee on an empty stomach. I could either add cream to my coffee or eat something first, but neither of those choices appealed to me. Cold brew coffee to the rescue. The very low acidity of the cold brew was kind to my stomach.

#2 Caffeine detox

Every now and then we need to cut back on our coffee intake levels. Some people can go cold turkey and just cut out the coffee. I’ve never found that appealing or effective. I prefer to gradually reduce coffee levels to give the body time to adjust without getting headaches or feeling lethargic. Cold brew is perfect because you can easily drink very small amounts of coffee. By the end of a caffeine detox, I might just be consuming a few sips a day.

Economics

#3 Old coffee works

Cold brew coffee is super forgiving to freshness. Much more than regular brewed coffee. If you have coffee that you like but has lost its freshness as regular brewed coffee, make cold brew with it.  Coffee shops do this all the time. The whole beans that don’t sell are prime candidates for their next cold brew.

#4 OK tasting coffee works (sometimes)

Every now and then I will get a coffee that disappoints me. Instead of throwing it out, I’ll make cold brew with it and it ends up tasting much better. There is a limit to this rule. If the coffee is really bad, making it as a cold brew won’t make it suddenly taste great. But I’ve had many fair coffees turn into delicious cold brew.

#5 Cheap to make at home

You can buy a cup of cold brew at a time at the cafes or you can make it yourself and save money. Making cold brew doesn’t require much equipment – just a container and filter. I save my cafe purchases for espresso-based drinks where the equipment investment is much higher.

#6 Lasts weeks or longer

Once you’ve made the cold brewed coffee, it will last for a few weeks in the refrigerator. Maybe longer. To maximize the length of the freshness of my cold brew, I pour it into several small jars and then only open one at a time.

Time Savings

#7 Less hands-on time brewing

Although the brewing time itself can take 12-24 hours, it doesn’t take much time to start a cold brew or much time to jar it when finished. Compare that to other brewing methods where you are making a cup or a pot of coffee at a time and you can save a lot of time with cold brew.

#8 Less rushed mornings

Having the cold brew finished and waiting upon waking means you don’t have to devote time in your morning routine to either making coffee or going to a coffee shop. And cold brew coffee can absolutely be heated for those that want hot coffee in the morning.

#9 Brew and consume on two different schedules

Have you ever heard someone say they were too tired to make coffee? With cold brew, that problem is solved. Make the cold brew when you awake and then it will be ready when you are not.

#10 Perfect for households with multiple coffee drinkers on different schedules

The last person to get up no longer needs to drink the old coffee – assuming any coffee is still left. Just brew enough cold brew ahead of time and then all the household coffee drinkers can get their coffee on their schedule.

Emergency

#11 Power outage

If the power goes out you can’t grind coffee or use any electrical coffee brewers. You may not be able to heat water. But if you have some cold brew made, you’ll be able to deal with the power outage fully caffeinated.

#12 Grab and go

If there is an emergency and you need to leave the house immediately, having a jar of cold brew you can grab and go is a great asset.

#13 Backup coffee in case equipment breaks

What if you wake up to discover the grinder, kettle, or coffee brewer isn’t working? If the cold brew is in the frig, you can survive the morning and make plans to repair or replace what needs to be in a caffeinated state.

Making cold brew coffee.

Easy To Brew

#14 Water, ground coffee, and time

Learning how to pull espresso or make v60 coffee takes skill. Pouring cold water over ground coffee and waiting doesn’t. See the INeedCoffee article Cold Brew Coffee is Not Rocket Science.

#15 New brewers make it even easier

Although you could use any container to make cold brew coffee, the new glass cold brewers with fine metal filters make the brewing and clean-up process super easy. For an example of one such brewer, see my tutorial on the Penguin Coffee Cold Brew Coffee Maker.

Other Uses

#16 Camping or road trips

It is much easier to grab jars of cold brew coffee concentrate than grinders, kettles, and coffee brewers. And you can drink the cold brew directly from the jar. No need to bring mugs either.

#17 Recipes

Many recipes will call for espresso or double-strength coffee. Since cold brew is often brewed as a concentrate, it works well in recipes that call for an intense coffee taste.

#18 Coffee cocktails

The same is true for coffee cocktails. Who wants to be pulling shots of espresso when building their cocktail? Use a splash of cold brew concentrate instead.

#19 Ice cubes

You can freeze cold brew concentrate into ice cubes and then use them later.

#20 Avoid office coffee

Bring in your private stash of cold brew to avoid drinking office coffee.

#21 Coffee before coffee

When you are too tired to make coffee or just can’t wait for the brew to finish.

Last Words

I probably forgot a few reasons, but these are the ones that came to mind. I always have cold brew coffee made up and ready to serve. I make my own cold brew blends using leftover older coffee. My blends tend to be 50% Latin coffees and 50% African coffees. I find that yields a good balance between the deeper chocolate notes and the fruiter higher notes. Most of the time, I drink the coffee cold, but sometimes I will heat up my mug in the microwave. It tastes great either way.

Resources

Make Concentrated Cold Brew Coffee With the Penguin Coffee – This is the brewer I use.

Cold Brew Coffee is Not Rocket Science – An overview of the cold brew coffee method.