Cold brew coffee, if made right, is simply divine. It’s the smoothest, loveliest summer refreshment I've ever had. Sadly, it always tastes better at the coffee shop or from a bottle. I've found that homebrew can be incredibly tricky to get just right.
So many guides and products seem to have a wide variety of advice on how best to go about it. They’ll recommend different makers, different methods, different coffee grounds, different water ratios, different brew times, and different temperatures for your water. After filling my fridge to test 16 different cold brew makers, I still haven't made what I'd consider my perfect cup of cold brew coffee, but I’m a lot closer to cold brew nirvana than I was a few months ago.
Below are the best cold brew coffee makers I’ve tested so far. I've tried pot immersion (tea style) pots, big immersion buckets, slow drip makers, French presses, mason jars, and even a couple automated brewers. In them I've tested more than half a dozen different cold brew friendly coffee blends to try and find a combination I could recommend to our readers.
1. The Best Overall
Coffee Gator (with Scoop and Funnel)[1]
Coffee Gator
There’s nothing insanely unique about Coffee Gator’s 47 fl oz glass immersion cold brew coffee pot. It’s similar to many others you’ll find from other brands, but Gator made almost all the right design decisions. After steeping for 24 hours, coffee came out smooth and flavorful without too much bitterness (though you won’t need to add a lot of water) and the filter is fine enough that there was very little sediment left at all, which can ruin a good cold brew by adding a gritty mouthfeel and aftertaste.
Filling...