Make Refreshing, Ice-Cold Coffee at Home With the Best Cold-Brew Makers

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Attention coffee shop mavens and Starbucks regulars: You can make rich, strong cold-brew coffee at home for fractions of the price.

Rather than simple drip coffee poured over ice, cold-brew coffee is made by steeping more coffee grounds in cold water for a long period of time—typically at least 24 hours—creating a very strong cup (or, in some cases, a concentrate) that you can mix with water or milk. The cold water and longer steep create a naturally sweeter, richer, and more chocolatey flavor compared to coffee brewed with hot water.

You can achieve this with a simple jar and a fine sieve, but cold-brew coffee makers are a worthwhile investment if you want to brew large, predictably strong batches without spattering dark sludge all over your countertop. We rounded up the best, including several that’ll look nice on your counter or in your fridge.

Wake up with a fresh cup with our picks for the best coffee grinders, coffee makers, and pour-over coffee makers.

Best Cold Brew Coffee Makers

• Best Overall: OXO Good Grips Immersion Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

• Best Budget: Mueller Home Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

• Best for Professionals: Toddy Cold-Brew System

• Best for Travel: Takeya Portable Deluxe Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

• Best for Nitro Cold-Brew: GrowlerWerks uKeg Nitro Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

What to Consider

Methods

Cold-brew is generally made in two different ways: immersion and slow drip. With immersion, you soak coarse grounds in cold water for about 12 to 15 hours and then strain it. Slow drip closely resembles the process of traditional drip coffee, but takes several hours. You'll often hear that immersion results in a more full-bodied flavor.

Nitro cold-brew is a way to spruce up regular cold-brew using nitrogen. Cold-brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas creates frothy-like microbubbles for a smooth pour. This is achieved by charging cold-brew with nitro cartridges after brewing the coffee with either method above.

Capacity

Are you making cold brew coffee for yourself every week, or will you share your bean water with multiple people on a camping trip? The sizes of crew-brew makers vary significantly, from 16 to 96 ounces. Consider brewing batches to stockpile cold brew in your fridge, where it'll stay fresh from 7 to 10 days, and reach for a larger container to prevent having to brew often. Keep in mind, cold brew requires roughly 12 hours to make, so the less waiting between drinks, the better.

How We Selected

The original author of this guide, Elizabeth Briskin, is a trained chef, food writer, recipe developer, and self-described coffee obsessive. She drinks cold brew in the summer, and used her expertise to select the best cold-brew coffee makers. We also considered the top-performing products from tried-and-true home appliance brands, using critical and consumer reviews, product descriptions, and personal experience to find a range of products that suit various needs at various price points. Our recommendations include only reliable cold-brew coffee makers from companies we’ve grown to trust, and there’s one for every size household, budget, and coffee personality.

Good Grips Immersion Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

This Oxo cold-brew coffee maker ticks all the boxes: it’s reasonably priced, makes rich and robust coffee, and is easy to use. The 32-ounce capacity machine features a “rainmaker” mesh filter top that evenly distributes water over coffee grounds. Let the mixture steep for 12 to 24 hours, and when it’s ready, a switch drains its tank for you to mix with ice and water.

It takes up a relatively modest amount of fridge space, too. While its carafe is glass, the brew tank is plastic for a tough main build. The mesh filter easily pops out, and because it’s dishwasher-safe, it’s even easier to clean (just one of the reasons our staff loves Oxo products).

Customers and critics love this cold-brew machine for its ease of use and flavor. Some, however, dislike that it brews 10 ounces of coffee instead of 16, as other options on this list can brew more at once.

Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

This inexpensive Mueller pot is an excellent value. The large two-quart cold-brew maker comes with a washable and reusable mesh filter. Though the pitcher is made from plastic, not glass, it does have a great seal and an excellent filter that prevents grounds from finding their way into your glass. That also makes it shatterproof and prevents leaks when you store it in your fridge.

You can brew up to eight cups of coffee at once, which is great for a work week of busy mornings, and you can remove the grounds and use the carafe to store the coffee after brewing. We love the large size of the brew tank, but some customers wish its filter could hold more coffee grounds.

Cold-Brew System

The Toddy Cold Brew pioneered home cold-brewing in 1964, and it’s been the go-to brand for professionals since. The brew tank is fairly small, only big enough for a few cups of coffee, but its 48-ounce decanter can double up your brew if you add water.

The Toddy uses paper or thick felt filters—the latter results in faster extraction and smoother brewing and requires rinsing before reuse. Both filters, however, are the only ones you can use with a Toddy, which might be a drawback for some.

Customers love that it doesn’t require a plug-in but are less enamored by the Toddy-made filters that cost $1 a pop or $12 for a two-pack of felt.

Portable Deluxe Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

This Takeya cold-brew coffee maker comes in 32- and 64-ounce capacity sizes and is ideal for cold-brew enthusiasts who need a portable, stowable option. The infuser fits 14 to 16 tablespoons of ground coffee, and Takeya recommends shaking the grounds around, then storing it in the fridge for 12 to 36 hours. The result makes one quart of cold-brew.

The cold-brew maker uses a reusable fine-mesh coffee filter to keep grounds out of your coffee. The pitcher—which fits in the door of most fridges—features an airtight lid and non-slip silicone handle.

This large-capacity brewer is perfect for easy brews and bringing coffee on the go, especially with the carry handle, but some users say that its silicone and plastic parts feel flimsy.

uKeg Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The 12-cup capacity uKeg Nitro creates nitro cold-brew at home. The all-in-one system cold-brews the coffee while infusing it with nitro gas, giving it a creamy mouthfeel.

It’s made with hardy, double-walled stainless steel, which keeps the coffee cold for an entire day. It also doesn’t require electricity.

Customers love the quality of this nitro cold-brew, which costs a fraction of the price compared to buying a nitro cold-brew at a cafe. However, you’ll have to buy new nitro gas canisters separately.

Black Cold-Brew Coffee Maker

This sleek carafe-style cold-brew coffee maker uses a superfine stainless steel filter to produce hot coffee, cold brew, or loose-leaf tea. Once your water filters down to the carafe after your desired brewing time, it lands in an insulated mug that keeps cold-brew fresh for several weeks and hot coffee warm for up to 12 hours.

The carafe comes with a tight-fitting leak-proof lid to take on the go. This is an excellent choice for travel and home use, as it requires minimal room in your fridge or carry-on.

Express Cold-Brew Electric Coffee Maker

This Vinci maker delivers cold-brew fast. The rapid electric cold-brew system just needs five minutes (and an electrical outlet) to make over a liter of coffee. Once made, the cold-brew lasts for up to 10 days in the fridge and can be stored in and served from the brewing carafe.

With this automatic machine, there’s no forgetting to set up your brew the night before or settling for a weaker pour due to time restraints. In fact, you can choose from four brew styles that take anywhere from five to 25 minutes to complete.

Expert Elizabeth Briskin on Making the Perfect Cold-Brew

PM: Can you make cold-brew with a regular coffee maker?

EB: If your regular coffee maker is a french press, then yes, this will work for cold-brew. Simply use cold water and let it brew overnight in the fridge before plunging and straining. A drip-style or pour-over coffee maker will not work for cold-brew as the beans need to steep in the cold water for hours to produce the flavor you’re looking for.

PM: What’s the difference between cold-brew and iced coffee?

EB: Cold-brew coffee is brewed by steeping ground beans in cold or room temperature water for up to 24 hours. Iced coffee, on the other hand, is brewed using hot water in just a few minutes, then cooled and served over ice.

PM: Does cold-brew have more caffeine than regular coffee?

EB: Cold-brew actually contains less caffeine than coffee brewed with hot water. The hot water extracts more caffeine from the beans than cold or room-temperature water. The strength of the flavor of your coffee will depend on how long it’s brewed, as well as the kind of beans and the grind you use.

*Editor's Note: Journalist Kathleen Willcox contributed to this article.

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