Iced coffee is on every coffee shop menu, but over the past decade or so, we’ve seen “cold brew creep” take over. Many coffee drinkers, including myself, might have initially balked at the higher price tag of cold brew versus iced coffee, but by now, anyone who has experienced the difference knows that, well, there’s a difference. Cold brew offers a smoother, richer drinking experience than watered-down iced coffee. It can sometimes also have less-acidic effects on your digestion. So for all of the cold coffee connoisseurs who like to control every aspect of their cup or folks who just want to batch out a pitcher of concentrate to enjoy on their way out the door, these are the cold brew coffee makers that topped our testing.
Our Top Picks
- Best Cold Brew Maker Overall: Oxo Compact Cold Brew Maker
- The only fast way to get good cold brew: Cumulus Cold Coffee Machine
- A convenient brew and serve cold brew maker: KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker
New in this update: I tested a pitcher system from MaestriHouse, a dispenser-style brewer from KitchenAid, and a glass carafe from Ohom. I also dipped a toe into the world of battery-powered, rapid cold brew makers. Expert commentary provides more explanation of the cold brew process and reasons behind it. And our top picks were expanded to three categories.
The best cold brew coffee maker: Oxo Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker
Pros and cons
Pros
- Convenient, space-saving design
- Rainmaker shower head provides good water distribution
Cons
- Many pieces to keep track of
Specs
Size: 5.2" x 5.3" x 8.6"
Capacity: 24 oz.
Materials: Borosilicate glass carafe, cork and silicone stopper, plastic brewing container and rainmaker showerhead, stainless steel mesh filter
Oxo had already impressed us with their larger cold brew system, so when this one with a much smaller footprint arrived in 2019, we were thrilled to find out it offered the same robust cold brew concentrate in a more space-saving and apartment-friendly size.
What we love: If you don’t want to go to the trouble of weighing or measuring your coffee and water (you probably should, but we get it), setting up the brewing process is easy, thanks to handy guide marks for how much coffee and water you should add. Using the Oxo's “Rainmaker” drip system, water gradually saturates the grounds from above. After 12 to 24 hours on the countertop or 20 to 24 hours in the fridge (we think it works best at room temperature than in the refrigerator), brewing is finished. Set the reservoir on top of the carafe and it opens a valve and drains out, allowing you to store just a small flask of concentrate (stopper included), ready to dilute to your taste, though a 1:2 or 1:3 coffee-to-water ratio is recommended.
As mentioned, we also like the size of this cold brew coffee maker, especially compared to its bigger cousin, the Oxo Good Grips Cold Brew Maker (see below), not just because of its overall footprint, but with a 24-ounce carafe, we think it’s the better option for making batches of coffee concentrate for just one or two people, i.e. the normal number of people you’re likely making cold brew for. You can get proprietary paper filters, but the built-in mesh did an impressive enough job keeping coffee grounds out that we don’t think you need them. Finally, when it’s time to put it away, all of the parts stack inside the reservoir, meaning this cold brew maker takes up very little space when not in use.
What we'd leave: There are more than a few pieces to keep track of, from lids for both the reservoir and carafe, to the three-part filtration system. But the instructions outline everything well, so we never felt confused by all of the parts involved. We also wish more of the apparatus was dishwasher safe — only the glass carafe is. (We get that organic materials make things seem more rustic, but the cork stopper could be made of something dishwasher-friendly.) Finally, the flask-style carafe could benefit from a pour spout.
The only fast way to get good cold brew: Cumulus
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fast
- Clean
Cons
- Expensive
Specs
Size: 19” x 6” x 16”
Capacity: Single serve
What we love: I’ll start by noting that the Cumulus isn’t really a cold brew coffee maker. It’s a capsule machine that exclusively makes cold coffee. But that said, the beverage that comes out the spout of a Cumulus is effectively cold brew. It’s also delicious and, compared to actually extracting your own, lightning fast. The capsules themselves contain sort of an extra-concentrated cold brew (unlike K-Cups or Nespresso pods, Cumulus’ are liquid inside). A compressor chills water and a proprietary pressurized extraction come incredibly close to matching the flavor profiles of well done immersion cold brew in less than two minutes and with no mess left behind, thanks to the self cleaning the machine does after every brew.
The machine has three brewing options: still, espresso and nitro; this last one gives the creamy results of nitrogen-infused coffee through another proprietary process (we asked them to explain, but alas) using ambient air.
In terms of choice, Cumulus has expanded its range of coffees quite a bit since we first tested it—they’re now up to nine different options from the original three.
If you like cold brew and you like convenience, the Cumulus is probably the only home option, beyond buying a jug of concentrate, that offers both.
What we’d leave: This thing’s expensive. The machine costs $700 and capsules cost somewhere between $2.50-$2.90 a piece. If you figure a cold brew from the coffee shop costs about $5.50, the Cumulus will pay for itself, but it will take a while, even for a daily cold brew drinker. It’s also really heavy, at more than 30 pounds.
Finally, while the coffee options have widened (and may well continue to grow), they’re only available via the Cumulus website or Williams Sonoma, which is a pretty limited set of options.
A convenient brew and serve cold brew maker: KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker
In a field of leaky immersion pitchers and awkwardly tall gravity brewers, KitchenAid offers something a bit different: A cold brew concentrate brewer and dispenser. This compact cube is large enough to coffee-prep for one or two people for a whole week or brew a batch and host a summer brunch party. Yet it’s small enough to fit under the shelves or in the corner of even the smallest apartment refrigerator.
What we love: Unlike most pitchers, which don’t pour water over the grounds at any point, KitchenAid’s system has a large, perforated stainless steel basket that gets filled with (a ton of) grounds, then soaked with water in two phases—32 ounces to saturate, then another 8 ounces once that’s settled. Press the grounds down with a spoon to ensure maximum exposure and extraction, pop on the lid, and then put the whole thing in the fridge for 24 hours. The next day, you pull the basket out and let it drain into the glass chamber before discarding the grounds. Now, with just a twist of the built-in dispenser spout, you’re pouring as much or as little cold brew concentrate as you want.
There is a bit of “magic” math involved, in that you add 40 ounces of water to produce about 28 ounces of concentrate, the rest of that liquid getting trapped in and thrown out with the grounds. But with the recommended serving size of two ounces, that’s still more than a dozen cups of coffee per batch. Speaking of servings, the recommended ratio is that aforementioned two-ounce pour of concentrate with a further six ounces of water or milk. I found that a bit too weak, so adjust as you taste.
The stainless steel filter let through coffee sediment, but the dimpled textured bottom of the glass chamber caught most of it before it could land in my cup.
Nearly every part that touches your coffee is removable and washable — the nut that tightens the seal between the chamber and the dispenser even doubles as a wrench to remove the pour spout. Between deep cleans you can always run fresh water through the whole system to flush it out.
There are no extra parts or pieces to keep track of (with the exception that, once you pull the filtration basket out, you’ll need to keep it somewhere until your next brew) and a folding handle stays out of the way until you need to move it to and from your fridge or wherever you need it to go.
What we’d leave: My fridge couldn’t accommodate the pour spout sitting over the edge of the shelf in a ready-to-pour position (the door wouldn’t close), though your mileage on that may vary. I also wish the circular portion of the lid had some kind of seal, but it just sits on top. If it gets knocked askew in the fridge, that could create an issue for flavor contamination or debris accidentally dropping in.
This thing almost begs to be left on your countertop (and it would be great for serving cold brew or iced tea at parties), but you don’t want to brew at room temperature. My results were more acidic and the flavor less pronounced than my chilled brewing attempts. Time and low temps are your friend.
Let me reiterate: This cold brew maker makes lovely, smooth cold brew. However, to achieve that, it uses a lot of coffee—a full 250 grams per batch. And because cold brew requires a super coarse grind, you’re likely grinding the beans yourself. If you don’t have a reliable and large-capacity coffee grinder, well… you’ll wish you did.
What is cold brew coffee (and how is it different from iced coffee)?
Cold brew uses room-temperature or cold water (the latter will take longer) throughout the entire process, and extracts the coffee much more slowly, sometimes up to two days. The result is a richer, smoother, and less-diluted coffee concentrate that can be watered down or mixed with milk, while preserving the flavor of that coffee you paid good money for. “Iced coffee, on the other hand, is brewed hot and then cooled, or brewed directly over ice,” Megan Biolsi, Manager of Coffee Education and Training at Sightglass Coffee, told me. “Because it uses hot water, it retains more brightness and acidity, resulting in a more vibrant and aromatic cup that is closer in profile to hot coffee.”
Why does cold brew take so long to make?
“Cold brew is essentially a long, gentle immersion brew,” Biolsi explained. “Similar to a French press, the coffee grounds remain in contact with water throughout the entire process. Because of the lower extraction energy from colder temperatures, the contact time is extended to achieve proper extraction.”
Brewing coffee low and slow isn’t pointless, in fact it’s the whole point. “At these lower temperatures, the extraction of flavor, caffeine, and oils happens more slowly,” Biolsi said. “However, this extended steep time results in a smoother, sweeter, and lower acidity coffee, since many of the more acidic compounds are less soluble in cold water and remain behind.”
That’s why we balk a bit at the machines that promises rapid, quick, or instant cold brew. As Major Cohen, an author and coffee educator at Cumulus Coffee, explained when I asked him to outline the difference he sees comparing the Cumulus process to some of the vacuum cold brew contraptions I'll mention below, “Most of these countertop machines are not creating cold brew. Rather they are brewing traditionally and then chilling the result, which is a different product flavor-wise.”
“The faster brew time allows more acidic compounds to be extracted compared to true cold brew, so the result won’t have the same smooth, sweet, and balanced profile,” Biolsi “However, it may still be more full bodied than standard iced coffee.” Hence, we’ve included some of these quick cold brew machines in our reviews below.
How to make cold brew
A simple immersion brewing method is similar to making iced tea: Coarse coffee grounds sit in cold water for a long period of time—you could even just do this in a French press if you wanted. But a few brewers, including our winner, use gravity to gradually expose the water to the coffee grounds before filtering. We tend to prefer this style of cold brewer because most of the “steeping” methods rely on mesh or perforated metal filters that leave some unpleasant silt in your cup at best and, at worst, produce weak or bitter coffee.
Frequently the directions that come with these cold brew makers produce cold brew concentrate (like for our winning Oxo pick), which can be watered down or mixed with milk to your preferred strength and liking. You’ll want to experiment with your own ratios, but for concentrate, a coffee-to-water ratio of around 1:4 is a good place to start.
“Using consistent brew ratios, fresh coffee, and controlled extraction times will yield the best results,” Biolsi stressed, noting that precision is the name of the game. “Measure your coffee and grind it right before brewing whenever possible. Pre-ground coffee oxidizes more quickly due to increased surface area exposure. For grind size, use a coarse grind (similar to sea salt) to limit over extraction. If your brew tastes bitter (a dry sensation on the palate), adjust to a slightly coarser grind. If it tastes sour (a puckering or tingling sensation), adjust to a slightly finer grind.”
How we tested cold brew coffee makers
Using the same whole beans and filtered water, I followed the brewing instructions, grind recommendation, and measurements for each individual coffee maker. Unless otherwise noted in the instructions, I brewed each system in the refrigerator for a full 24 hours. For a second round of testing, we brewed every system on the countertop at room temp for 18 hours. For “rapid” cold brew makers that utilize battery-powered vacuum pumps, we brewed at any and all available extraction time settings. Testers tasted all of the resulting cold brew black and diluted with milk.
What we looked for in cold brew coffee makers
Ease of use
This refers to multiple factors, like setup, brewing instructions, cleaning, and how generally fiddly all the pieces are to put together and take apart. We also noted whether the recommended ratios and measurements produced good coffee, or whether we had to tinker with the formula, something we didn’t think beginners should have to worry about.
Coffee taste
The point of cold brew is to achieve a rich, smooth coffee. We noted anything bitter or otherwise unpleasant.
Durability
Not only should the cold brew system feel sturdy, it should also stand up to repeat washings and, ideally, avoid small, easily breakable components.
Looks
Does the pitcher or system look attractive, or is it more utilitarian? How much counter or cabinet space does it take up?
Other cold brew coffee makers we tested and liked
This cold brew system is the larger cousin to our top pick, and its sheer size is its only real drawback. In addition to its footprint, it’s not the most attractive thing to keep around on your counter, looking more like a classroom science experiment than cool tech. We also wish the “Rainmaker” reservoir had a top on it to keep stuff out of the water. But it makes good coffee. If you’re consistently making cold brew for a bunch of people (or you need a bunch of cold brew to get through your day—we’re not judging), this larger capacity, 32-oz. coffee maker will fit the bill.
It doesn’t do a great job with concentrate, but this model is a good option for iced coffee people who want a simple and, dare we say, attractive way to make cold coffee at home. The mesh filter system consistently gave us balanced and creamy cold brew, if a little on the weaker side, but we found it was best enjoyed black or with milk. Given its decent performance and sleek and lightweight design, combined with the fact that it closes up tight with a silicone seal to avoid leaks and drips (you could probably even travel with it), it’s a great option for people who might not love the intensity of cold brew, but still like having a pitcher of iced coffee in their fridge.
Using Maestri House’s brewer is straightforward: Pack the filter to the brim with grounds, fill the pitcher with water, then snap on the leakproof lid and give it a shake. How leakproof is it? The instructions actually recommend brewing in the fridge overnight with the pitcher laying on one of its sides for maximum submersion. The design doesn’t really make it possible to brew cold brew concentrate though, and the resulting ready-to-drink coffee is on the weak side (you’ll definitely notice if you take milk in your coffee, which will dilute the taste even more). But if you don’t like your coffee too strong, you’ll find its 40 ounces of cold-brew satisfying, easy to make, with easy cleanup as both the top and bottom of the filter cylinder unscrew. Also worth mentioning: I had no yucky coffee grounds in my cup. None at all.
Unlike the larger Oxo, Cold Bruer’s fancy, hourglass-shaped system looks like the kind of science experiment we’d be proud to display on our kitchen counter. Frankly, its drip-style brewing is almost meditative. But while it is an exceptional cold brew maker, we’d say it is better suited for the coffee gear geek who enjoys poring over instructions and doesn’t care about price as long as they’re getting the best cup of coffee possible. Whether that’s worth the higher price tag than the Oxo is up to you.
Despite its vague instructions and slight bit of sediment left in our coffee, Kaffé’s KF9020 is a decent pitcher-style cold brew coffee system. It uses a metal mesh insert for infusion and features a leakproof lid, shatter resistant borosilicate glass carafe with 44-ounce capacity, and dishwasher-safe components, all for under $30.
Like the Kaffé above, Coffee Gator offers a simple to use, infusion cold brew system that comes in a handy, leak-free pitcher. It even looks a bit sleeker to our eyes, and costs less, too. It comes with some extra components, like a stainless steel coffee scoop and a collapsible funnel for ensuring your grounds get into the filter and not all over your counter. But as for the resulting cold brew itself, it was just OK.
Filtron is an OG in the cold brew space that’s been recommended by baristas for years, and for good reason. With room temperature water, the cold brew from this system was smooth and balanced. But it has more parts than the oxo and is a bit more complicated to use. But with a price tag that’s a few dollars less and similar capacity to the big Oxo, you won't be disappointed, either.
Cold brew coffee makers we don’t recommend
If you want truly great cold brew, it takes time and patience (or the very expensive technology of the Cumulus). In the Mueller we have a single-serve “cold brew” maker that tries to buck the time factor in favor of convenience. This machine uses a vacuum pump attached to a filter that contains, in separate compartments, ice and a small amount of grounds. That is inserted into a carafe which you fill with enough water to make about one serving (about 7-10 ounces). Running a brew cycle lowers the pressure in the carafe chamber, bringing the water in contact with the ice and grounds. There are three preset brewing times—10, 30, and 45 minutes—as well as the ability to customize the brew time between 1-99 minutes. Oddly, I found the 10-minute and 45-minute cycles both made stronger coffee than the 30 minute cycle.
It’s pretty quiet, with a low hum that wouldn’t wake anyone up if you were brewing for your morning commute. The touch button is a bit sensitive, as I accidentally turned it off while moving it to the back of my counter and then accidentally turned it on while cleaning it. But the rechargeable battery can run 20 cycles and comes with a handy magnetic cable. Of the two rapid brewers I tested, this is the better one, but the coffee just doesn’t compare with standard immersion cold brew.
As explained by our experts above, any “cold brew” maker promising fast results is probably not going to please true coffee connoisseurs out there. Mr. Coffee’s “Express” setup falls into that category. It makes a ready-to-drink iced coffee that’s too watered down to have the flavor profile of good cold brew. The machine consists of a vacuum motor cap on top of a filter apparatus with two sections: One for grounds and one for ice. The setup is similar to the Müeller RapidBrew, with the filter inserted into a carafe filled with enough water for about one serving. The motor creates a vacuum that pulls water up through the grounds and ice over the course of ten minutes. Compared to the Müeller, Mr. Coffee was louder, about the same noise level as running a vacuum sealer, but produced similarly “cold brew lite” results. Unlike the Müeller, it doesn’t allow any brew time customization other than water level. I won’t recommend this for cold brew, but there may be someone out there who appreciates the mellow iced coffee it makes.
The concept — essentially an infusion-style cold brewer that looks like a wine bottle — is attractive. But in practice, this carafe is too prone to leaking from its silicone top which just isn’t as functional for daily pouring as we’d want. It made decent cold brew and was easily cleanable in the dishwasher, but the rest of the features were, unfortunately, lacking.
While this brand is a darling of many baristas, we found a few issues, namely that the models we ordered from Amazon didn’t come with English instructions, only Japanese (which is fine if you speak Japanese, but we won’t assume anyone is bilingual). The English directions we did find online (and only for the 1000 ml, but not the 600 ml) recommended just eight hours of refrigerated brewing, which produced a weak coffee to our taste. They also recommended a medium grind, rather than the usual coarse grounds used to make cold brew. As might be expected, this left more coffee sediment in our cups than we’d like, even with the fine mesh filter. If you’re willing to tinker with brew time, temperature, and coffee grounds texture to find the sweet spot on this maker, it will serve you well. For right-out-of-the-box user-friendliness, it’s not a quick pickup.
We wish the coffee we tasted out of this infusion cold brew pitcher had been better, because there’s a lot to like about the design of this system. Not only does it come in a few cute colors, it features a filter with a removable bottom for emptying grounds and thorough cleaning, as well as a leakproof lid with slots for easy twist-to-pour functionality, ergonomic handle, and heat-tolerant borosilicate glass carafe safely encased in plastic. Ultimately, we just didn’t love the cold brew that came out of it when compared to other systems.
Despite its positive Amazon reviews, we found this mason jar-style carafe with perforated metal filter to produce lackluster cold brew, even if it is capable of making a lot of it (64 ounces) at a time. For the price, we think you can do better with the Oxo or another pitcher system.
While it’s admirable to want to help busy coffee drinkers make cold brew fast (which you can do with this pod system), the centrifugal infusion action and 25- to 45-minute runtime on this countertop machine just didn’t live up to expectations. Freshly ground beans lost their nuance in the process, and the setup required too many pieces and too much cleaning to make us want to set it up again for the next batch.
While akin to the Filtron and Oxo systems above, we found we definitely needed an additional paper filter to get this cold brew to our liking. The Toddy system also has a bunch of parts to keep track of, including a reusable flannel filter which online reviews say can get mildewy if not cleaned thoroughly (or it can be stored in the freezer between uses). That, plus the fact that we could already see possible signs of staining in the white plastic reservoir made us prefer the Filtron and Oxo above.
Another hourglass-shaped system, BOD by BodyBrew is essentially an upside-down infusion pitcher that you flip over when it's done brewing. And as an infusion pitcher, it does a good job of making inoffensive cold brew concentrate. But we found cleanup finicky and few issues with leaking, ultimately bumping it down on our list.
While its flask-like shape might appeal to folks with a science lab aesthetic, this relatively simplistic system relies on a perforated stainless steel filter and a stopper that doesn’t fit quite as tightly as we’d want it to for longterm fridge storage.
This is a beautiful smoky borosilicate glass carafe-style brewing system, and it is capable of brewing decent cold brew. But to do so you shouldn’t follow the instructions included which, aside from being a little confusing and some of the math not mathing, used too few grounds in my experience. In both the 24- and 18-hour tests, the cold brew, which I would describe as pre-diluted, was weaker than other brewers. With these cartridge-style filters, sufficient soaking of the grounds is tougher to do, as you insert the dry grounds into the water (versus pouring water over the top). That causes the grounds to float up the filter and reduces exposure and, in the case of this pitcher which doesn’t have a fully sealed cap, shaking it up to mix it isn’t an option. The perforations in the filter itself let too much silt through and some if it created a ring around the glass that would get drawn into any pour. It’s also tall, and required reorienting my refrigerator shelves to get it in. Visually, it’s very impressive. Functionally, not so much.
Other tools for making cold brew coffee at home
Cold brew, like any coffee, is only as good as the the coffee beans you use to make it, so grab a quality bag before you brew. A coffee grinder is non-negotiable here. You need very coarsely ground coffee for cold brew and you won’t get that from pre-ground coffee unless you ask specifically for it from the roaster. The cooler water will extract flavor better from coarser coffee and there will be less sediment in your cup at the end. Also a kitchen scale or coffee scale is helpful for precise measurements of both grounds and water.
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