How much coffee for cold brew?
For cold brew concentrate, use a coffee-to-water ratio between 1:4 and 1:8 by weight, a coarse grind, and a 12 to 24 hour steep, then dilute with water or milk to taste. This calculator gives you the exact grams of coffee and ml of water for your batch size, plus brew time, caffeine, and the savings you bank versus paying $5.25 at the cafe.
A 4 cup batch fits a typical 32 oz mason jar.
12 oz is a typical home cup, 16 oz matches a Starbucks Grande.
Strength
Coffee to water by weight. Lower number = stronger.
1 g coffee per N g water. Most home brewers stay between 3 and 10.
Brewing method
Picks brew time and shows equipment cost.
Cost & savings
What you pay for beans and what you usually order out.
$12 to $18 covers most grocery brands.
Plain cold brew, 16 oz
Per-cup dilution
Build a 12 oz cup over ice with this pour.
Caffeine per cup
Estimated from 12 mg caffeine per g of dry beans and 85% extraction over a 16 h cold brew. Whole batch holds about 1,957 mg.
Track this in your daily caffeineCost per cup
Beans + filter + electricity. Starbucks Cold Brew (Grande) runs $5.25.
You save $1354.01
a year.
7 cups per week of homemade medium cold brew versus Starbucks Cold Brew (Grande) at $5.25 per cup. That is a real, repeatable line item on your monthly budget.
Pick the right method.
Four ways to make cold brew at home. Each one trades off cost, time, cleanup, and clarity in the cup. The calculator tunes brew time to whatever you pick.
Mason jar immersion
- +Cheapest setup
- +No moving parts
- +Forgiving to grind size
- -Slow filter step
- -Sediment without fine filter
- -Awkward for big batches
French press
- +Built-in filter
- +No paper filters needed
- +Doubles for hot coffee
- -Press mesh lets fines through
- -Plunger stir can over-extract
Toddy cold brew system
- +Felt filter = very clean cup
- +Big 32 to 56 oz batches
- +Reusable filter
- -$40 upfront
- -Felt filter needs rinsing and refrigeration
- -Bulky on the counter
Slow drip (Kyoto / Yama)
- +Cleanest, brightest cup
- +Precise drip rate
- +Looks great on a counter
- -Expensive equipment
- -Slow batch turnaround
- -Drip rate finicky to set
Seven steps, start to first sip.
Same workflow for any method. The calculator gives you the grams, the steps below show you what to actually do in the kitchen, including how long to steep cold brew concentrate (a 12 to 24 hour steep covers everything from mild to extra strong).
Weigh and grind
Weigh the grams the calculator gives you on a kitchen scale. Grind coarse, like kosher salt. Skip pre-ground unless the bag says cold brew.
Combine with cold water
Pour the grounds into your vessel, then add cold filtered water. Stir until every ground is wet. Do not heat the water.
Steep
Cap loosely (no plunger pressure on French press) and refrigerate 14 to 18 hours for medium concentrate, 16 to 20 hours for strong.
Filter
Press the plunger, lift the Toddy filter, or strain through cheesecloth or a paper filter. A double pass through paper makes the cleanest cup.
Decant and label
Pour into a glass bottle or jar. Label with the brew date. Concentrate keeps 10 to 14 days sealed in the fridge.
Dilute per cup
Pour the concentrate over ice in your cup, then add the matching ml of cold water or milk. The calculator shows the exact pour for your cup size.
Adjust next batch
Too weak? Drop the ratio one notch (1:5 to 1:4). Bitter? Grind coarser or shorten the steep by 2 hours. Sour? Steep 2 hours longer.
Pick the right strength.
Concentrate stores longer in the fridge and uses less freezer space, but knowing how to dilute cold brew concentrate (roughly one part concentrate to one or two parts water or milk) takes a second pour. Ready-to-drink is brewed weaker, often closer to a 1:12 cup once you account for the ice, so it pours straight but needs more fridge real estate.
Concentrate
More coffee per ml. Designed to be diluted in the cup with cold water, milk, or oat milk. Holds flavor longer in the fridge.
- +Keeps 10 to 14 days sealed
- +Easier to fit in a small fridge
- +Stronger caffeine option for big mugs
- -Requires diluting per cup
Ready-to-drink (RTD)
Brewed at the strength you drink it. No dilution step. Same flavor as cafe cold brew, since most cafes serve diluted cold brew, not concentrate.
- +Pour straight from the bottle
- +Cafe-quality every time
- +Best for milk-free drinkers
- -Takes more fridge space
- -Keeps only 4 to 7 days
See every ratio at a glance.
Each cold brew coffee to water ratio by weight produces a different cup. A 1:8 ratio in grams is 125 g of coffee to 1,000 mL of water for a milder ready-to-drink batch, while a 1:4 concentrate ratio packs in more grams of coffee for the same milliliters. Stronger means more dilution in the cup but more efficient brewing.
- Coffee
- 125 g
- Water
- 1,000 mL
- Yield
- 825 mL
- Dilute
- No dilution
- Coffee
- 200 g
- Water
- 1,000 mL
- Yield
- 740 mL
- Dilute
- 1:1 in cup
- Coffee
- 245 g
- Water
- 985 mL
- Yield
- 675 mL
- Dilute
- 1:1.5 in cup
- Coffee
- 290 g
- Water
- 870 mL
- Yield
- 500 mL
- Dilute
- 1:2 in cup
Sample numbers for a 4-cup batch of 12 oz drinks. To see how much coffee for a quart of cold brew (about 950 mL), drop the batch size in the calculator and it shows the exact grams for your container.
Recipe history
Up to 8 recipes stored in this browser only. Use it to dial in your favorite batch.
Save your first recipe to see it here
Click Save recipe above and the batch numbers land in this list.
Why cold extraction works.
Four chemistry levers that separate cold brew from hot-brewed iced coffee, and the same extraction physics that decide how strong cold brew concentrate ends up. Anchored in food-science research.
Lower acid, lower bitter
Caporaso et al. 2014 (Scientifica) compared hot and cold extracts and found cold brew has about 67% less titratable acidity than hot drip. Chlorogenic acids and quinic acids extract less efficiently at low temperatures, which is why cold brew tastes smoother.
Time replaces heat
Hot water at 195 to 205 F pulls solubles in 4 to 6 minutes. Cold water needs 12 to 18 hours to reach the same total dissolved solids (TDS). Slowness selects for sweeter, lower-acid compounds and leaves more of the harsh ones behind in the grounds.
More water-to-bean contact
Coarse grind exposes less surface area per gram, which sounds wrong but actually prevents over-extraction at 12+ hour steeps. Fine grind gives you more bitterness, sediment, and muddy texture. Coarse keeps the cup clean.
More caffeine per mL
Concentrate is concentrated. A 1:5 cold brew lands around 200 mg caffeine per 8 oz of concentrate, versus 95 to 165 mg in 8 oz hot drip. After dilution in the cup it lands closer to a standard cup. Cold brew has more caffeine ONLY if you drink it neat.
What beans work best.
Cold extraction rewards the same beans that taste good as iced coffee: medium to medium-dark, chocolate-leaning, single-origin or blend.
Chocolate and caramel notes shine. Try Brazil, Sumatra, or a generic 'breakfast' blend. Most home brewers stop here.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe or Kenyan AA reveal more complexity in cold brew. Pair with the Toddy method for the cleanest cup.
Pre-ground bags from Stumptown, La Colombe, or Trader Joe's are sized to a 1:5 to 1:8 ratio. Look for 'coarse grind, cold brew' on the label.
Italian espresso blends in cold brew turn smoky-sweet and chocolatey. Buy whole beans, not pre-ground espresso (that grind is too fine).
Pretty but risky. Cold extraction underplays the bright acidity that makes light roast interesting. Push steep to 20+ hours or stick to medium roasts.
Eight O'Clock, Folgers French Roast, or Cafe Bustelo work fine for cold brew. Cold extraction hides a lot of cheap-bean sins.
Frequently asked questions.
Plain-English answers about ratios, steep times, grind size, caffeine, storage, and the math behind the calculator.
Where the numbers come from.
Data sources
Brew ratios, grind, and storage guidance come from the Specialty Coffee Association standards. Extraction chemistry comes from Caporaso 2014. Toddy method comes from the original Toddy patent and product literature. Caffeine math comes from USDA Food Data Central and published lab assays.
- 01Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)
Coffee Standards for grinding, brewing, and total dissolved solids
- 02Caporaso et al., Scientifica (2014)
Acidity, antioxidants, and caffeine in cold-brewed vs hot-brewed coffee
- 03Todd Simpson, Toddy Cold Brew System Patent (1964)
US Patent 3,257,212: Cold brew coffee maker with felt filter
- 04USDA FoodData Central
Caffeine content per gram of coffee, brewed coffee, espresso
- 05Cordoba et al., Scientific Reports (2019)
Cold brew coffee: effects of grind size, brew time, temperature on chemistry
- 06Rao et al., Scientific Reports (2020)
Acidity differences between cold and hot brew coffee
Related guides
Hands-on guides on cold brew at the cafe, caffeine timing, espresso vs coffee, and a 100-drink caffeine chart.
Data Sources
Cold brew math uses grounds-to-water ratios from 1:3 (extra strong concentrate) to 1:8 (mild RTD). Yield is computed as water minus absorbed water (1.3 mL per g of coffee). Caffeine assumes ~12 mg per g of dry beans with ~85% extraction over a 16-hour immersion. Annual savings compare per-cup cost to published Starbucks cold brew prices.
- SCA Coffee Brewing Standards — Specialty Coffee Association standards for extraction, ratios, and brew time.
- Cordoba N et al., 2020 (Sci Rep) — Caffeine and antioxidant extraction analysis for cold brew vs hot brew coffee.
- Counter Culture Cold Brew Guide — Professional roaster guidance on ratios, grind, and immersion time.
- Starbucks Beverage Nutrition Information — Published cup size and caffeine values used in our cost-savings comparison.
Other free tools.
Calculators that pair well with home coffee brewing. All free, no signup, no upsell.