We Tested 10 Cold Brew Makers to Find the Best One | America’s Test Kitchen
Making cold-brew coffee is traditionally a slow, mostly hands-off process that yields a smooth body and rounded taste. Hannah Crowley joins Bridget Lancaster to see which cold-brew maker is the best for your kitchen. After testing 10 different models, Hannah shares the performance of rapid electric centrifuges, basket-style infusers, and draw-down models to see which designs truly deliver a well-balanced flavor. Ultimately, the no-frills Toddy Cold Brew System stands out as the favorite because it is easy to use, features an efficient two-filter design, and consistently brews excellent coffee concentrate.
The Best Cold-Brew Coffee Makers:
Toddy Cold Brew System:
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Using beer fining powder can let you grind finer and get some really nice tasting cold brew without special gear
Get a big mason jar and a bag
Toddy is great! Just note. It makes a concentrate which then needs to be diluted.
No clue why I thought this and I know she means in relation to food… but at 01:42 my mind instantly went to "I bet she still sends letters via the Pony Express."
ATK once recommended an Espro french press because it did a great job filtering out hot brewed coffee and I tried it for cold brew. It's still my go-to.
Toddy is what Starbucks uses, knew this one would win.
I make cold brew with an old, glass, V8 bottle and I filter it through my pour over.
All it costs me is coffee, water, and a paper filter.
I have 2 cold brew makers, neither are listed here. One cost 30 bucks on amazon and makes a gallon of concentrate at a time. The cost of the grounds used for that gallon is like a couple bucks, and then that gallon becomes closer to 1.5 after you water it down so it tastes better. I don't really know where y'all are getting these numbers
heres a crazy idea.. put the plastic container over/onto the carafe before loading the coffee grounds and water. no mess.
I have used the Filtron system regularly for more than 15 years and have never knocked my carafe over. It was the brand that was available in my local shop at the time (because it was the brand they were using for their coffee bar in the first place) and I haven't found a reason to spend the money to buy a completely new setup for a shorter Toddy system that is otherwise the same as what I have.
Wish you would have told people on a budget you could just throw coffee and water in any big container and then strain it out with a normal coffee filter
I prefer the steel mesh, make a big mason jar with dark roast Trader Joe’s grounds. Literally never found a better tasting coffee
"You're awkward enough" 🤣
I'm so confused. I just let everything soak in a jar overnight, then I use my pour over thing and a regular paper filter and pout it in. Is this other way better?
I’ve had the original,of the Wii er since the 80’s. I got it at a local kitchen ware store. I used to brew coffee and freeze the ice cubes I made till ready to drink coffee. I found the price on the box and paid $29.
$2 at home is still way to much money for a cup of coffee
The criticism of the metal mesh baskets that sit inside containers is overly harsh. Yes, you may need to push and floating grounds down initially with a spoon, but water flows among the grounds fine, and if you want to agitate it, just lift the insert a few inches and put it back
As a devout Toddy owner, I'd say even though the design is great and I do use the included pitcher, the real magic is the fabric mesh filter. thats what's really doing the work. everything else is just a matter of preference. At a shop I used to work for, we would just use 2 cheesecloth bags around the grounds to make our Toddy.
I’ve used a Willow & Everett pitcher with a spigot for years. It works, it’s convenient, and it’s a lot more cupboard-friendly than your top pick
No oxo rapid brew?
I use the middle system with a fine mesh strainer. I pour my filtered water over and swirl the jar throughout the day. It helps get with extraction and all the grinds get wet. But I did bookmark the winner website. Thank you 😊
I have a friend who has used the same Toddy for probably 30 years. I know she has bought a new plug for it, and periodically replaced the filters, but that's all.
I have used a tea towel to filter out.
Please keep Hannah on as a regular in this segment.
I have that mason jar one she showed and it’s the best. No plastic except the lid and everything into the dishwasher 👍
The Charles is the Charles River that run west to east through eastern Massachusetts emptying into the Atlantic in Boston.
Cold brew has 2x the cafffine so be careful as I learn the hard way.
I just use my french press, and a old glass juice bottle for fridge storage.
I have the big OXO and just gifted my parents the small OXO version. I don't drink coffee, but my wife does, and she loves it. My parents love their small one too. The large one can accept standard paper filters on top of the mesh filter, and that's 2.3" diameter, which is the same size filter as an Aeropress filter too.
I didn't know how to make cold brew until I saw this and heard the explanation. I thought it was regular coffee that was cooled. A few times, I've bought the bottled Starbucks or something at the supermarket, mainly for the sugar and caffeine rush. And now I know for sure that I don't need a machine to make it.
Why isn't Jack hosting this?
Why coarsely ground coffee? Wouldn’t grinding it more provide kore extraction.
Just use a cheap French Press. It's the exact same thing with the exact same outcome. Just let it sit in the fridge and steep overnight. For extra filtration I just pour it through a regular coffee filter. Problem solved. Cheap and easy.
I use a 2 gallon jug, a pound of Starbucks morning joe. Wait 24 hours and pour thru a few layers of paper towels and put in jugs. I drink it high test so this last me a week to 10 days.