How to Make Cold Brew at Home with La Colombe
By La Colombe Coffee Workshop - Buy Coffee Online | Published: 2026-10-17
Category: How-to Guides
Learn how to make smooth, concentrated cold brew at home using La Colombe's signature recipe. Step-by-step guide with tips for perfect results every time.
Quick Answer
You can make rich, smooth cold brew concentrate at home using coarsely ground La Colombe beans and a simple steep-and-strain method. The key is a 1:4 coffee-to-water ratio and a 12- to 24-hour steep in the fridge.
Why Make Cold Brew at Home?
Homemade cold brew gives you full control over strength and flavor, and it costs a fraction of café prices. La Colombe's Cold Brew is a ready-to-drink option, but brewing your own lets you experiment with different beans and roast levels. For a lighter, fruitier concentrate, try Heat Wave (a fully washed Colombian with a lighter roast) or Frogtown (a medium-roast Latin American blend). Both work beautifully for cold brew.
What You'll Need
You need coarsely ground coffee, a large jar or pitcher, a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and cold filtered water. A scale helps for consistent ratios, but measuring cups work too. Avoid pre-ground coffee meant for drip machines—it's too fine and will make your brew bitter.
Step-by-Step: Homemade Cold Brew Concentrate
- Grind Coarse: Grind 1 cup (about 100g) of La Colombe whole beans on the coarsest setting. You want pieces the size of breadcrumbs, not powder. Too fine a grind leads to over-extraction and bitterness. Checkpoint: If your grinder has a French press setting, use that. A blade grinder works but produces uneven particles—sift out fines if possible.
- Combine and Steep: Add the grounds to a large jar and pour in 4 cups (960ml) of cold filtered water. Stir gently to wet all the grounds. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Longer steeping extracts more caffeine and flavor, but beyond 24 hours it can turn bitter. Common mistake: Leaving it at room temperature can cause off-flavors. Always steep in the fridge.
- Strain and Store: Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and set it over a bowl or pitcher. Pour the steeped mixture through. Let it drip naturally—don't press the grounds or you'll force bitter sediment through. Store the concentrate in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Verdict: This concentrate is about 4x stronger than regular drip coffee. Dilute 1:1 with water or milk, or use it in cocktails and smoothies.
La Colombe Beans That Shine in Cold Brew
- Cold Brew: Brewed bold. Crafted cold. Pure gold. Stay stocked on our signature Cold Brew—perfected at our cafés, perfect for any occasion. We put in the work and fine-tuned the recipe over three decades at our cafés, sweating every detail, from roasting temperature to brewing time to coffee-water ratio. This is straight-up perfection. If you want a ready-to-drink option that mirrors the café taste, this is the shortcut. No steeping, no straining—just pour over ice.
- Heat Wave: Origins: Fully washed and sun-dried Colombian beans. Roast Level: Lighter. How We Like It: It’s extraordinary every way—french press, filter, or espresso. A lighter roast like Heat Wave yields a brighter, more tea-like cold brew with subtle fruity notes—ideal if you find dark roasts too heavy.
- Frogtown: Origins: Crafted with a unique blend of thoughtfully sourced specialty Arabica coffee beans showcasing Latin American coffees. Roast Level: Medium. How We Like It: It’s extraordinary every way—french press, filter, or espresso. Frogtown's medium roast strikes a balance between acidity and body, making it a versatile base for cold brew concentrate that works in both black and milk-based drinks.
