When I was in college I worked at a few different coffeehouses, way before Starbucks was really in the picture in Southern California. One of our most popular drinks was the cold brew coffee we served. And now, with the onset of early summer and the hot weather that will soon follow switching over to iced coffee as my drink of choice is starting to sound delicious. Cold brew coffee is not only easy to make, but the flavor is more smooth, less acidic, and not watery. With the addition of house-made vanilla sweet cream, you not only have a drink that you would easily spend $4.50 on at the local Starbucks, but you don’t have to leave the house to make it.
The best thing about cold brew coffee is that one batch will last up to two weeks and can be served cold with ice or hot but it will still be a smoother, less acidic flavor that hot brewed coffee. In the coffee house, we use to use a toddy maker to make our coffee. It’s basically a container with a stopper that you let your grinds sit in overnight and then filter out in the morning. While this is still a very good method, cold brew is easy to make without all of the fancy tools and just use items that you already have in your kitchen.
Grind 1 cup of coffee beans very coarsely in your home grinder or commercial coffee grinder – empty into container for steeping.
Add 4 cups cold filtered water to container. Give it a quick stir.
Cover with cheesecloth so nothing drops into it. Let steep for 12-24 hours. The longer you steep, the stronger it will taste. I steeped mine for about 16 hours. I also doubled my recipe to 2 cups beans and 8 cups filtered water.
After the time is up, using the same cheesecloth that you used to cover the container, and a fine mesh strainer to filter the coffee into a new container. That’s it. Your cold brew coffee is done. You can stop there if you like your coffee black, if so, you might want to add more water to this stronger brew to your liking. I actually prefer a mix of 2/3 coffee to 1/3 water. You can also kick it up a notch, especially if you like a little sweetness to your coffee, make the vanilla sweet cream below and sit back and savor a creamy delicious summer drink.
This recipe is just easy and so so good. Mix 1 cup cream with one 16 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk and one tablespoon of vanilla. Mix it really good with a whisk. You’re done. Easy as that.
If you want a lower fat version, use 1% or 2% milk, low-fat sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Tastes just as good and creamy. I made both to compare and didn’t’ notice much of a difference.
Enjoy your coffee friends. And here’s the to beginning of summer!
Starbucks Copycat Cold Brew Coffee with Sweet Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup coursely ground coffee beans
- 4 cups filtered water
- cheesecloth
Sweet Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 16 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
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Grind coffee beans coarsely and place in container.
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Mix water in with beans. Cover loosely with cheesecloth. Let steep 12-24 hours.
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In separate container mix cream, condensed milk and vanilla. Wisk thoroughly until blended.
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Both coffee and cream will stay fresh in refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Such a coffee addict; so naturally I love this!
I didn’t realize it was that easy! I’ll be set for these warm months 🙂
It’s so easy! And the best part, one batch will last up to 2 weeks and can be drunk warmed up and hot, or over Ice!
I love cold brew coffee. So much better than regular coffee. Will have to give this a try.
I love cold brew coffee. I will have to give this a try.
Think you can drain with just a coffee filter?
Yes, I’m sure you could! I would just pour a little slower and have some back up filters in case the first one gets backed up.
Yes but it will take for ever and you will go through quite a few filters
If you’re adding the sweet cream do you still add water?
Yes, the water is used to cold brew the coffee and the sweet cream is used as the sweetner when you are ready to drink it. You would add that to taste.
Sorry I wasn’t clear. I meant do you dilute it with more water when you go to drink it if you are using the cream? Or do you use it full strength?
It definetly is a taste issue. If you want to dilute it so it is not as strong, I usually dilute it 1:1, but depending on the grinds I use I might even use more water. I will add that to the instructions, thanks for pointing it out!
Just tried this – amazing! I am in love with the Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew and this is nearly identical! I didn’t have any vanilla extract and sometimes like to switch up flavors, so I just added some Torani Vanilla syrup to my cup after adding the “sweet cream” mixture. So glad to save some of my hard earned $$$ and still have a great morning pick–me-up. Thank you for sharing!
So happy that you enjoyed it!