Is Homemade Cold Brew Really Worth It?
Cold brew coffee has exploded in popularity, and so have the prices at the grocery store. A single bottle of ready-to-drink cold brew can cost $4 to $6, and that bottle might only get you two glasses. When you drink cold brew regularly, those costs add up fast — often exceeding $60 to $90 a month for daily drinkers.
The good news: cold brew concentrate is one of the easiest and cheapest drinks to make at home. All you need is coarse ground coffee, filtered water, a mason jar, and about 12 to 24 hours of patience. No heat, no machines, no barista required.
The Simple Math Behind Cold Brew at Home
The standard ratio for cold brew concentrate is roughly 1 ounce of coffee grounds (by weight) for every 8 ounces of water. A typical home batch uses 4 ounces of grounds steeped in 32 ounces of water, producing a concentrate that you dilute 1:1 when serving. That 32-ounce batch of concentrate becomes 64 ounces of finished cold brew — about 8 eight-ounce servings.
At $12 per pound of quality coarse ground coffee, that 4-ounce batch costs just $3.00 total — or roughly $0.38 per serving. Compare that to $2.50 per serving from a store-bought bottle and you are saving over $2 every single drink. If you drink one cold brew a day, that is more than $60 a month back in your pocket.
Choosing the Right Coffee
Cold brew is forgiving, but your coffee choice matters. Because cold water extracts coffee slowly, you want a medium to coarse grind — finer grinds make filtering a slog and can produce bitter results. A medium-dark roast tends to taste smooth and chocolatey when cold brewed. Look for single-origin beans from Central or South America if you want a naturally sweet, low-acid cup.
You do not need to buy specialty beans. Even a solid grocery store brand ground coarse will outperform most bottled cold brews at a fraction of the price. The key is the ratio and the steep time, not the provenance of the bean.
Equipment You Already Own
A quart-size mason jar is the classic vessel. Steep in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours, then strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with a paper coffee filter or cheesecloth. Pour the concentrate back into a clean jar, refrigerate, and it keeps well for up to two weeks. The total equipment investment is effectively zero if you already have a mason jar and a strainer.
Hidden Costs to Keep in Mind
This calculator focuses on the coffee grounds, which represent nearly the entire variable cost of a cold brew batch. Filtered water from a pitcher or tap filter is functionally free per serving. The mason jar and strainer are one-time costs. The only real ongoing expense is the coffee itself — making homemade cold brew one of the most cost-efficient daily beverages you can make.