Easy DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags come together in minutes, and costs just a fraction of the store bought version! Get some brewing in your fridge today!
An ode to coffee.
I’m so excited to share this recipe…or more of a how to guide…that I’ve been working on for a while! Everyone knows I love my coffee. And it’s always iced. I haven’t always loved coffee, but once Jonny came along and decided not to sleep for a year it became a necessity. And then a treat. And now, even though I have slept through the night for 4 years, I still have my coffee every morning. Not right when I wake up—I’m busy hustling my kids out the door, throwing lunch boxes and hoodies at them, and making loving comments like “if you don’t get in the car right this second….” Hmmm….maybe I should do the coffee first thing? But I don’t. I wait until I’ve gotten home from my hour of school drop offs, change back into my comfy jammie clothes, and make myself a giant mug of iced coffee before plopping down on the couch to start blogging, Facebooking, etc. And despite coffee not actually being that hard to make, I’ve made it a tiny bit easier with my DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags. Just in time for warm weather!
Cold Brew Coffee
I drink my coffee iced. Year round. Virtually no exceptions. I just really prefer it that way. And you can make any coffee iced. It doesn’t have to be cold brewed. But cold brew is kind of fun in the summer. It’s hands off. It doesn’t involve hot water. The real theory/science behind cold brewed coffee is that it’s gentler on the coffee, and therefore the taste is a little more mellow. Less harsh. By the way—this is Jonny’s new favorite thing to say—”whoa, that was so harsh.” Apparently he’s heading back to the 90’s to hang out with his friend Cher? But anyway—cold brew is where it’s at for yummy, easy, summertime coffee!
DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags
I really struggled with what to call these guys. Because when I mention them to my friends I say “I’m making these little coffee bags, sort of like a tea bag, but with coffee in it. You know what I mean?” It has a certain ring to it! But then I say “coffee pouches” or “coffee tea bags.” And neither sound right. And I’ve seen them in the stores called “coffee sachets” but that just makes me think of potpourri and that’s not really what I want to think about while drinking my coffee. So DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags is what I’ve landed on. I think it works!
How do you make Cold Brew Coffee Bags?
I’ve experimented a fair amount with these little coffee bags. I know, I know. How hard can it be? But I actually learned some things along the way. I use unbleached coffee filters to make my little coffee bags. This way I can pop the rubber band off when I’m done and throw the filter and grounds into my compost! I like to snag the rubber bands off of my produce and reuse them—look at me, so eco-friendly!
This morning I told my mom about this post that I was writing and she said “oh, but couldn’t you just use a tea ball?” I felt a little bit like an idiot—why hadn’t I thought of that? I was relieved when after I rushed home to try it I realized that none of the tea balls I have (several, in different sizes!) could hold the coffee grounds. Little bits of ground up coffee beans spilled through the mesh and left coffee grounds all over my kitchen counter. Phew—I was happy to know that I didn’t have to go back to the drawing board. Paper filters are definitely the way to go.
I also learned that you have to use wet grounds. They have to “bloom.” I tried making a bundle with dry grounds and the inner grounds remained dry for 2 days, despite the coffee bag being fully submerged in water! Not so great for extracting flavor. So wet it is. That means that you can’t make a ton of little packets and store them in your cupboard. But you can brew about a week’s worth of coffee at once, and that’s pretty handy! I just pour some coffee grounds into a bowl, top with a bit of water, and give it a stir. Then divy it up into the coffee filters, bundle them up with a rubber band, and pop them each into their own jar with some water. 2 days later they have sufficiently brewed (1 day is too weak in my humble opinion!). If you make multiples I recommend removing the coffee bags by the second or third day and just storing the brewed coffee in the fridge. If you let them brew any longer than that the filter paper gets pretty flimsy. It will defeat the purpose if it breaks and dumps the grounds back into your coffee!
Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!
All this coffee talk has me craving more coffee! You already know about my Cold Brew Coffee Milk and my Coffee Date Shake! Here are some other recipes from my blogger friends that I think you will also love!
- Coffee Granola by Veggie Inspired — how yummy is this? A perfect way to start your day!
- French Press Coffee Ice Cream with Rum Raisins by Glue & Glitter — coffee ice cream is my favorite flavor. It only makes sense to make your own at home!
- Toasty Graham Coffee Latte by Spabettie — take your coffee to the next level!
- Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins by Vegan in the Freezer — these could be breakfast or dessert!
- No Bake Espresso Fudge Cake by A Virtual Vegan — for a truly decadent dessert!
Vegan Coffee Creamer
I love my coffee with cream! You know those memes that float around Facebook? The ones that have you identify yourself as a color of coffee on a grid? Yeah….mine are always pale, pale, pale! I like to use soy creamer—it has a good consistency, flavor, and it doesn’t curdle. Plus I like the joke about a vanilla soy latte being a three bean soup! Oat milk comes in second place—it’s fairly thick and mixes well. Almond milk seems watery, and separates from the coffee which looks less than appetizing, so it’s not my favorite. Oh, and don’t forget a good squeeze of agave!!!
Ready to make DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags at Home?
Let’s get brewing! Just a few simple steps and you’ll have a fridge packed with cold brew coffee! I like to make enough over the weekend to have one ready to grab and go every day of the week! Give this a try and leave me a note (and a star rating!) in the comments below letting me know how it goes!
DIY Cold Brew Coffee Bags
Ingredients
- paper coffee filters
- rubber bands
- coffee grounds (2 Tablespoons for every serving)
- water (1 Tablespoon for each coffee bag, plus 12 ounces for each jar)
- 16 ounce mason jars
Instructions
- In a small bowl scoop out about 2 Tablespoons of coffee grounds for every cup you'd like to make.
- Add 1 Tablespoon of water for every 2 Tablespoons of coffee grounds.
- Mix well and allow coffee to "bloom."
- Divide into coffee filters, with 2 Tablespoons of grounds in each.
- Gather up outer edges of filter and twist rubber band around filter to seal.
- Place each coffee bag in a separate mason jar.
- Add about 12 ounces of water to each jar.
- Place jars in the fridge and allow to brew for 48 hours.
- Remove jars from fridge, and remove coffee bags from jars, giving a very gentle squeeze to remove excess coffee.
- Add ice, creamer and sweetener as desired, and serve!
I’ve been brewing mine similarly, except I stitched up reusable pouches from remnants of cotton fabric, or flour sack type kitchen towels. I started with a big circle and then stitched darts to create a shape similar to large purchased filter papers. I tie them shut with organic cotton yarn. Seems to be working well for me since I began using these homemade pouches.
I also compost (and have worm bins) so I am happy to save on filter papers by reusing these homemade versions.
Thank you for your explanation and recipe!
Ooh, that’s a great idea, really smart! I will have to make some for myself! Thank you for sharing!
this is so cool. i’ve been trying all kinds of instant cold brews and bottled iced coffees and it’s getting soooo expensive (also for the price I’m paying I feel like they’re not that good *cough cough* …trader joe’s). def trying this
I know, it feels so expensive to do the store bought ready made cold brew pods!!! I hope this DIY version works for you too!!!
Hi! I haven’t tried your recipe (yet), but I enjoyed reading the detailed instructions and idea of coffee filters with rubber bands as bags. I read that if you don’t pack the grounds too tight in the bag the water can reach the grounds on the inside of the clump. Maybe try tying the rubber band higher on the filter? I’ll be testing this out myself. I can’t believe I didn’t think of a rubber band to seal the bag! I’ve been racking my brain for weeks.
Yes, if you don’t pack the grounds too tightly more water can get through. But, to get a strong enough cup of coffee you’ll need more grounds! I found soaking them to be the best way (I tested both ways). Hope you enjoy it!
been doing this for cold brew for awhile, another alternative is using a stapler, stainless steel staples. i just fold it over and down on itself on end and staple once or twice if i messed up fold and then just drop in mason jar with cold water in fridge. not need to remove anything from and just drop closed bag in trash
Ooh, yes, a staple is a great idea! Thank you for sharing, and so glad you’re enjoying your cold brew!
I was buying ready-to-drink cold brew at TJs, but have decided to make my own since quarantining has made me a coffee monster. Can’t wait to try this out!!
Yes!!! I have bought some ready made cold brew, but I drink it so quickly that it gets expensive! Making your own is so easy!
I’m curious to try this as commercial cold brew is so expensive. Is it safe to soak rubber bands? I’m Leary to have rubber leached into the coffee.
You could use kitchen twine if you feel more comfortable! Or purchase food grade silicone bands!
I’m about to give this a try! I’m going on a 7-day hike, and I’m not sure that there will always be access to hot water, so I was trying to think of how to cold-brew conveniently on the go… I’ll have to experiment with maybe giving the grounds a little more space, or even using more grounds if need be, because I’ll have to make it the night before and drink it in the morning if I don’t want to lug four full jars for 29 miles every day for a week… lol. Hopefully it works!
Ooh, yes! I bet you can fiddle with it to make it work! If the grounds have more space (not so tightly packed, maybe a bigger filter?) then you can probably let them brew over just one night!
Of course the flavor is week after only one day of cold brew you’re not leaving any room for expansion so the water can’t get in and it takes longer to penetrate. You need either less coffee grounds or a bigger filter to allow for the expansion of the grounds to fully develop the flavor.
As noted in the directions, you need to first “bloom” the grounds by mixing them with water. I’ve found that 2 days of brewing suits my tastes best, but you can of course experiment to find a way that works for your tastes.
What size filters are you using? The large type for meetings/commercial brewers.
I would think using a gallon or 1/2 gallon glass jar (from pickles, etc.) would be more time efficient.
But I usually have 4-6 cups of coffee during the morning.
I use a standard filter that would make one mug of coffee. Each jar I make is 16 ounces—plenty of coffee for me for the morning!
I don’t have much room in my fridge for lots of mason jars. I wondered if there’s any reason not to keep the premade sachets in one jar and brew one jar at a time? Or maybe brew one big batch with one large (or several small) sachets. What do you think?
You have to moisten the coffee grounds before you make the sachet, so they aren’t shelf stable. So you would have to do them one at a time. Or you could do a large jar if that fits better in your fridge? I only do about 4 at a time! Otherwise I won’t be able to drink it quickly enough!
Great idea! Thank you for sharing. I’ve made a few batches of your cold brew coffee and it’s awesome.
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for popping in to let me know!!! I’m all about the cold brew!!!