Looking for the best cold brew coffee recipes? We all know that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, so here are the top cold brew recipes and ideas to have a tastier summer.

Let’s take a look at all the ways cold brew coffee became such a popular brewing method that has revolutionised the way we keep up our caffeine intake in the warmer months.

What is the best cold brew recipe to start with?

There are so many different ratios, brewing times and techniques out here for cold brew coffee - so which one is the best?

The short answer is there isn’t one of course. It all comes down to experimenting with different methods and choosing the one that tastes and works best for you.

To begin with, this cold brew concentrate recipe works across the board and is a great place to get started:

• A ratio of 1:4 - 1 part coffee, 4 parts water
• A brewing time of 8-12 hours
• A medium coarseness for grind size
• A coffee blend or single origin with suited flavours

You can watch us brew a batch on video and learn more here, call our team or drop into our showroom for a brain-picking session with our awesome Espresso Bar team members.

Is cold brew healthy for you? Heck yeah!

Cold brew coffee and cold brew tea can be super healthy for you, depending on how you prepare them. With no added sugar and a super smooth taste, they’re easy to down without anything extra and that’s really what makes them a healthy option.

Of course, if you add a bunch of extra stuff, then it can become as unhealthy as any other thing you treat yourself to. The state of cold brew depends on how you like it - black, white and everything in between.

All of the following recipes are based on our own cold brew concentrate with our brewing ratio of 1:4, and a serving size of 12oz (355ml). You can play with ratios and adjust to taste depending on your own cold brew preferences, which is a big part of the fun!

The Black Cold Brew

This recipe can be altered to make it as strong or diluted as you desire, but we all have to start somewhere, so here is our standard recipe for a medium-sized (12oz) tasty black cold brew to make you swoon.

Ingredients

• 60ml cold brew concentrate
• Ice
• Chilled water, or replace this with sparkling or soda water for some serious fizz
• Optional: add a slice of lemon or lime for a fresh zing

Method

Add the ice to your cup, then add in your cold brew. Top with the water of your choice, and stir well to combine. Sip and enjoy!

The White Cold Brew

This moreish vixen has become the standard iced coffee in Australia in record time. While you can still get an iced coffee (often differentiated by being called an ‘iced latte’) being made with espresso, most baristas will now use cold brew in your iced coffee unless you specify otherwise. This is because cold brew is naturally sweeter and smoother than chilled espresso, which was originally intended to be served hot. With less need to add a syrupy sweetener to make it palatable, we’re already looking at an iced coffee that has all of the flavour and none of the guilt.

Ingredients

• 60ml cold brew concentrate
• Ice
• Milk of your choice - dairy and non-dairy alternative milks are all welcome here
• Optional: add a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate for a subtle flavour twist, minus the calories
• Optional: Add some dissolved chocolate or chai powder to the mix, for an iced mocha or iced dirty chai treat

Method

Add the ice to your cup, then add in your cold brew. Top with the milk of your choice, and stir well to combine. Depending on who you ask - some like to stir in a slight dusting of cinnamon or chocolate, while others prefer it to float on top as more of a sensory scent bonus.

The Custom Cold Brew

Who ever said you had to choose between black and white coffees? In beverage land, there is always another choice, it’s a sliding scale of caffeinated goodness around here!

Many choose to drink a cold brew that is mostly black - made with ice and water - but topped with a certain percentage of milk. How much milk is added to an otherwise black cold brew is entirely up to the individual's taste, but we can give you the recipe for the most common choice.

Ingredients

• 60ml cold brew concentrate
• Ice
• Cold water
• 90ml cold milk or non-dairy alternative

Method

Add the ice to your cup, then add in your cold brew and cold water, leaving space in the cup for your milk. Top with the milk of your choice, and stir well to combine.

If you’ve opted for a dairy-free alternative like almond milk or oat milk, you might notice some splitting. This is more likely to happen with a lower milk-to-coffee ratio, just the same as black coffees. But non-milk drinkers know that how it looks has nothing to do with how it tastes or final mouth feel. If the way it looks puts you off, just close your eyes and let the goodness happen to you.

Alternative Ways To Drink Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew calories matter when it comes to taking care of your health, especially if you like to drink as many of them in a day as we do! The benefits of cold brew are now well known, and you can put the three most common ways of drinking cold brew on your daily rotation in whichever form fits best with your lifestyle.

However, less calories doesn’t always equal better nutrition, and there is a lot to be said for a whole milk serving once a day if your personal tastes, body and diet have room for it.

Delicious Ways To Enjoy Cold Brew Everyday

Maybe it's lockdown, maybe you’re born with it - the desire to use your tasty cold brew every which way. And we don’t blame you, she’s a versatile goddess. Here are some top ideas on how to incorporate cold brew coffee into familiar recipes you already know and love:

Cold Brew Tiramisu

Take a tried and tested recipe like this one and replace the ‘2 cups of black coffee’ with 2 cups of diluted cold brew concentrate (50% water dilution) for a sweeter, more delicate take on the original version

Cold Brew Ice Cream

Whether you have a you-beaut ice cream maker at home, or you kick it old school with a tub and some hard whisking - cold brew ice cream is a must-try that we have no regrets about giving a go. Check out a great cold brew ice cream recipe here, though brewing with proper cold brew equipment will make the job easier!

Cold Brew Custard

Looking for something a little more peppy to fill those cannoli with? Or maybe you’re just after a little adult snack pack fun. You don’t need to convince us, but we’ll taste test it for you if you need some willing participants. Coffee custard recipes abound out there, but here is a simple recipe to follow if you substitute the instant coffee for two tablespoons of cold brew concentrate for a subtler coffee finish, and add in a little vanilla bean for extra pizazz.

Cold Brew Cheesecake

We’ve never met a cheesecake we didn’t like, let alone want to take home to meet our parents. Cold brew cheesecake might be The One, we’re not kidding. Take a peek at this damned snack of a recipe right here, a substitute instant coffee and coffee liquor for 5 tablespoons of fresh cold brew concentrate.

Cold Brew Protein Shakes & Pre-Workouts

This is a natural pre-workout with everything to offer. With the right mix of protein, carbs, good fats and caffeinated energy you’ll be on your way to peak performance and concentration. Simply add 60-90ml of cold brew concentrate to your protein shaker, with your normal preferred ingredients and hit the ground running. This is also a fantastic combination to start the day on the run, with a breakfast+coffee combo to kick your day into gear, convenience style! Try this recipe on for size:

The Mocha Magic

Who doesn’t love coffee and chocolate? We hear a lone ‘me!’ at the back there, and for you we suggest a vanilla or peanut butter protein flavour. But for the rest of us, we’ll be living our mocha dreams with this satisfying concoction.

Ingredients

• 90ml cold brew concentrate
• 200ml Milklab Almond Milk - Substitute for your milk of choice here, but we have found that almond milk just works with the right balance of flavours and consistency
• 1 scoop Chocolate Protein - we like Borne's Nutrition Chocolate Protein Powder
• Ice

Method

Combine your cold brew and milk of choice in a shaker and give a light swirl to combine. Add your protein powder on top, to avoid any getting stuck to the bottom of the shaker (we all hate that right?). Shake vigorously to combine, then remove the lid and add in your ice. Shake well again to make sure the mixture is super chill, before - as Oak likes to say - killing hungry-thirsty dead.

Cold Brew Cocktails

The invention and popularisation of cold brew has had a huge impact on the cocktail and bartending scene. Not only can bartenders make batches of coffee ahead of time, they can infuse it to levels never seen before, with a versatile product that is gentler and more delicate on the palate. Cold brew coffee has since come to replace a lot of espresso in traditional coffee cocktails, while inspiring new ones at the same time. Head on over to our article about coffee cocktails, and how they can make you richer (they give you the energy to find a good accountant).

Cold Brew Tea

Why the cold brewing method didn't stop at coffee, and boy we love it

Often forgotten but never far from our minds at Crema Coffee Garage is cold brew tea. There is simply nothing more thirst quenching than a fresh, chilled iced tea on a sweltering Australian day - especially when we’re feeling like milk might be a bad choice or we’ve hit our coffee quota for the day.

With no added sugar and flavours that even the kids will go crazy for, it’s a beverage that we wish got more air time and love than it does. Check out our short article and cold brew tea recipes here, and ask our team what the latest and greatest in fruity and fresh teas are that you can use to up your water intake this summer.

You can make cold brew tea with pretty much anything you have in the house, though not all of them will end up tasting amazing. As a general rule, fruity and herbal type teas do best as iced teams, but some traditional black teas can also shine when they are served with cold milk and ice.

Try steeping your tea in cold water in the fridge for around 12-24 hours, and taste testing from there. Some teas will require a shorter brewing time, and others longer - and some of it depends entirely upon your preference.

How To Make Cold Brew at Home

Figuring out your own secret recipe when it comes to cold brew simply takes experimentation and persistence. Here are the main variables to change up when finding the magic method:

Type of Cold Brew Coffee

Not all coffee tastes good cold-brewed, and that's a fact. We roast several different blends and have an ever-changing roster of seasonal and single origin coffees, and not all of them shine as a cold brew. We do however have some reliable offerings, and you can get updated recommendations on seasonal and single origin coffees from our knowledgeable staff at any time. Some of our top cold brew coffees include:

• The Cold Brew Blend
• Kingdom Road
• Zanzibar
• Montezuma

Brewing time & cold brew ratio

The flavours, acidity level, sweetness, bitterness and a host of other common coffee tasting notes and mouth feel factors are all massively affected by both brewing time and the ratio of coffee to water that you use.

You can experiment with both by brewing two batches with the same ratio (try ours at 1:4) for different time periods. We suggest trying one batch with an 8 hour brew time, and one with a 12-16 hour brew time. The reverse is also true - you can try different ratios of coffee to water, but keep the brewing time stable.

If you do enough of these test runs with different coffees, eventually you’ll find the golden rules for your perfect cold brewing experience.

Type of brewing equipment

Not all cold brew coffeemaker kits are created equal when it comes to the final product they produce. Some have limitations based on the physical shape and design of the brewing vessel, others use different filtering systems.

The best way to find one that will work for you is by having conversations with your local experts. If you chat to the team at Crema, they’ll ask you how you like your cold brew to taste and how you prefer it served - this will tell us a lot about the best type of cold brewing gear to set you up with.

Of course, we do have some reliable favourites and the majority of customers walk out the door with the original Toddy Cold Brewing System or the Mizudashi Cold Brew Pot. For smaller batches or specific taste preferences, we suggest you ask us about the Toddy Artisan Small Batch Cold Brewer , the Bruer Cold Brew System or even cold brew French Press style if you’re feeling it.

Cold Brew Coffee - Get It In Ya!

The benefits of cold brew and the lasting change it has made on our coffee industry and our drinking habits are pretty monumental. It’s hard to wrap up an article like this with anything other than “Go and buy some immediately, fall in love, start making it at home, stop waiting in lines for morning iced coffee.”

Honestly, if it’s good enough for the team at Crema Coffee Garage to have hooked up to a keg system and be going through an average of 100 litres a week selling direct to our customers - It’s a sure thing. We don’t have to sell a product that so deftly sells itself, but we do feel compelled to screech the good news from the rooftops, because sharing is caring right?

If you’re looking for more information or you’re buzzing with inspiration after reading this article call in to see our experts in our Newcastle and Brisbane showrooms for demonstrations and tastings or call our sales team to discuss your options.