THE BEST COLD-BREW COFFEE MAKERS TO FUEL YOUR MORNINGS

Nothing is more satisfying than taking that first drink of finely ground, intensely flavorful, and irresistibly wonderful cold-brew coffee. Somehow, it tastes even better when it is your own creation.

You practically have everything you need on hand to operate one of these cold-brew coffee makers if you have a favorite brand of coffee beans and a coffee grinder for brewing a hot batch every morning in your conventional coffee maker. You may adjust the flavor of your cold brew to be exactly as smooth or as powerful as you’d like with the help of these wonderfully simple-to-use products.

MAKERS OF THE BEST COLD-BREW COFFEE

Takeya Deluxe Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the best overall.
OXO Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the smallest.
KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the easiest to pour.
Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Maker is the most attractive.
Cuisinart Automatic Cold Brew Coffee Maker: Fastest Brew

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT

Iced coffee vs. cold-brew coffee
First, let’s clarify the terminology. Cold-brew coffee and iced coffee are different beverages, despite the fact that they are sometimes used interchangeably. Iced coffee is nothing more than hot coffee that has been chilled. Ground coffee beans are steeped in cold water for 12 to 24 hours to create cold-brew coffee. The end result typically tastes less acidic and has a bolder flavor than ordinary iced coffee.

Because hot water removes more caffeine, cold-brew coffee has a tendency to taste stronger even though it contains somewhat less caffeine than coffee that has been brewed hot. It is advised to serve cold brew over ice with milk or a dairy substitute of your choice.

The amount of ground coffee that should be used depends on the cold-brew maker; the recommended ratio is typically 1:4 coffee to water. However, the general guideline is to utilize a coarse grind when grinding your own beans for cold brew. Pre-ground coffee is typically too fine, and as more of it might escape through the filter when steeping, it might produce a murkier brew.

Making your own cold brew is fantastic because, in addition to being fulfilling, you may experiment with various beans, coarsenesses, and steep periods until you find the combination that works best for you.

Brewer Volume
The typical serving size for cold-brew coffee is 12 ounces, which is also the size of a Starbucks “tall” cold brew and the quantity Stumptown recommends. However, this is typically diluted with ice and milk rather than being merely cold brew in a cup. Even if you consume more or less coffee each day than this, it’s a good idea to consider a cold-brew coffee maker’s capacity to see whether it can accommodate your weekly needs.

The OXO Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker, with its 16 fluid ounce capacity, has the smallest capacity in this list, making it ideal for people who drink relatively little coffee on a daily basis. However, the Cuisinart Automatic Cold Brew Coffee Maker makes 7 cups to accommodate numerous cold-brew drinkers in a home (or one person with a high caffeine tolerance) (or roughly 56 fluid ounces). If you already have limited space, pick carefully because a large capacity can also suggest how much room it will take up in your fridge!

How We Ran Tests

After a preliminary 3-week trial, our editors provided testing input for our guide to the best cold-brew coffee machines (although many of us have continued to use these devices for much longer). Each cold-brew maker’s capacity, user-friendliness, and of course, coffee quality have all been assessed. We also took into account any design strengths or weaknesses, price, and product footprint, which may also influence your purchasing decision.

Making your own cold brew in the convenience of your own home will allow you to make a batch of coffee that is brewed to your exact specifications for strength, flavor, and quantity. Learn more about these simple-to-use cold-brew coffee makers that will simplify your daily routine by reading on.

1 Takeya cold brewer for coffee

PROS
holds a respectable quantity of cold brew each week.
Fits on fridge door or shelf
Watertight top
CONS
A plastic carafe feels less expensive.
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Contains 32 ounces.

The Takeya Cold-Brew Coffee Maker is a popular item since it’s easy to use, convenient to store, and produces enough cold brew each week for a person who consumes light to moderate amounts of caffeine.

The container is constructed of BPA-free plastic and has a fine-mesh filter for steeping coarse-ground beans that can be removed without having to fish them out from the top. Along with a space-saving size and footprint, it also boasts a strong handle and an airtight lid. Its design received high ratings from our tester Erica Murphy, who commented, “I didn’t think it took up too much space. It’s approximately the size of a tiny pitcher. It fits on the top shelf as well as the door handle of my refrigerator.

Filling the Takeya cold brew coffee maker’s filter basket
— Brandon Carte “All the parts are easily removable for cleaning, and everything is dishwasher-safe.”
BARBARA RAMSEY
Brandon Carte, one of our testers, is likewise totally smitten with this product and has even used it to make tea. According to him, the pitcher even includes a tiny cup so that you won’t spill dirty water while adding or removing the tea or coffee grinds. The components can all be readily taken apart for cleaning, and everything is dishwasher-safe. The pitchers have not leaked at any point, either.

This pitcher should create enough coffee to get you through the workweek if your servings of cold brew are a little smaller than the typical 12 ounces. However, if you dislike the fact that it’s constructed of plastic rather than glass, we suggest the Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Maker in this guide as a comparable, marginally thinner substitute.

2 Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker by OXO

PROS
No sediment, clean, and robust coffee flavor
Brewing is a simple and enjoyable procedure.
CONS
minimal capacity

Contains 16 ounces.

Using less caffeine than usual? Despite its small size, the OXO Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker produces some very excellent coffee. This two-part set includes a brewer that allows water to seep through the coffee grounds in a manner akin to rain, as opposed to steeping your coffee grinds in a brew basket that is submerged in water. After 12 to 24 hours of cold brewing, the coffee can be effortlessly poured into a separate cork-topped, borosilicate-glass carafe for convenient pouring and leisurely drinking.

As much as she liked the coffee’s flavor, our tester Jennifer Hussein said the gadget was convenient and took up very little room. Every time, the strength and sweetness of my cold brew were just right; it never had a bitter or overpowering flavor. In order to create more cold brew in a single session, I wish the carafe were just a little bit bigger.

 

If you prefer something bigger, OXO also makes a 32-ounce cold-brew coffee machine that is larger but functions similarly.

3 KitchenAid coffee makers for cold brew

PROS
can be repurposed to serve cocktails or tea.
CONS
occupies a lot of refrigerator space
Size: 38 or 28 ounces

Fueling up with cold brew is quick, easy, and efficient with the KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker. You can make your own cold brew at home and have it available for the entire week by simply adding coffee grounds and water to the carafe, letting it steep overnight, then removing the brewing filter. The appliance has a glass and stainless steel construction that gives it a very elegant appearance, but because of its shape, it requires a little more shelf space in the refrigerator and cannot be kept on the door.

However, according to our tester Caitlyn Fitzpatrick, it is a complete joy to use if you have room to spare. If brewing your own cold-brew coffee intimidates you, the KitchenAid maker will demonstrate how simple it is. The instructions are really straightforward, and it just takes a few minutes to set everything together before the tea begins to boil. Making a batch of coffee before going to sleep is simple.

4 Hario Mizudashi cold brew coffee makers.j

PROS
streamlined and capacious
easy to wash by hand
CONS
Design is a little top-heavy.
33 ounces of capacity

The Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Maker, which is straightforward yet sculptural, will transform your regular coffee ritual into a peaceful morning ritual. It is made of heat-resistant glass, has a filter basket, and a snap-on lid; it may be used to steep ground coffee in the same way as the Takeya Cold Brew Maker.

Cold brew coffee maker by Hario on the kitchen counter
Its filter basket performs an excellent job of filtering, leaving the finished product delicious and clear. — Melanie Yates
YATES, Melanie

This appliance has a very modest footprint on a fridge shelf or door at just 11 inches tall and 4 inches wide, but its height may restrict where you may put it. Melanie Yates, one of our testers, says, “Even though this cold-brew coffee maker can feel a little top-heavy when it’s full, it looks so lovely and produces a lot of delicious coffee. Its filter basket does a thorough job of filtering even when I’ve tested it with a finer coffee grind so that the end product is still tasty and not murky.

5 Cuisinart Cold Brew Coffee Maker Automatic

PROS
creates cold brew in less than one hour.
maximum capacity
CONS
Pricey

Contains 56 ounces.

A large-capacity gadget is an excellent idea if you share a house with other cold-brew enthusiasts. Additionally, getting one that brews immediately as opposed to overnight is a better choice. The Cuisinart Automatic Cold Brew Coffee Maker is a plug-in appliance that occupies roughly the same amount of space as a typical drip coffee maker. It brews a fresh, cold, or room-temperature batch in between 25 and 45 minutes, and you can even select how strong you’d want it to be.

This is a two-part gadget that brews in one portion and delivers the coffee into another, much like the OXO Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker. But when it’s turned on to brew, this machine starts rotating its brew unit, integrating the coffee into the water much more quickly than if you just let it steep naturally. Although there is some noise made during this agitation, it is not loud or bothersome. When it’s finished, you can pour your coffee into the carafe whenever you’re ready thanks to the device’s blinking lights.

To achieve the best flavor from each batch, we advise using medium-coarse coffee grounds for brewing, although tester David Monk had no problems utilizing what he had on hand. “The cold brew was great,” he remarks. I didn’t use as coarse of coffee as I would have wanted, but the results were still good.

After brewing, you can serve the coffee over ice or put the glass carafe in the refrigerator for up to two weeks to keep it fresh.