Cold brew has become a super popular go-to for coffee lovers in recent years, sparking interest in learning the best ways to make the delicious drink at home. Of course you can always get it from the your favorite coffee shop, and you can even buy ready-made cold brew online, there’s nothing quite like making your own. So let’s look at the best coffee grinder for cold brew so you can get results you’ll be happy with.
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Best Coffee Grinder For Cold Brew
For cold brew, you want to use a coarse grind. This is because you want it to take longer for the coffee to seep through the grounds. The coarser grind and longer time that the process takes translates into richer flavor. In other words, the maximum amount of flavor is extracted from coarsely ground coffee due to the extended period of time involved in the cold brew process.
The coffee and the water are in contact for longer, allowing the water a lot more time to grab every bit of flavor out of the ground coffee. It’s fascinating if you’re a coffee nerd like I am. Anyway let’s look at the best tool for you to achieve the grind you want.
What you’re looking for is a burr grinder. With a burr grinder, you’re using two abrasive surfaces instead of blades. The surfaces are called burrs, and they produce a large coarse grind by grinding just a few beans at a time.
Burr grinders are available in manual or electric versions. As you would expect, the manual grinders are less expensive and take a little bit of work on your part. Electric ones cost more but make the process easier since they only require you to push a button.
First we’ll look at two of the best manual burr grinders that you can use for cold brew.
Manual Coffee Grinder, Hand Coffee Grinder Mill with Ceramic Burrs, Two Clear Glass Jars 5.5 oz Each, Stainless Steel Handle, Suitable for Camping and Home Use
- FINE OR COARSE GROUND COFFEE SETTING---With adjustable grind control, the manual coffee grinder can help you to get fine or coarse coffee powder, so that you can easily enjoy Espresso ,French Press,Pour Over, Drip, French Press, Cold Brew, Percolator, Turkish.
- TWO 5.5 oz CLEAR GLASS JARS---The manual coffee grinder comes with two 5.5 oz clear glass jars, which can hold fresh ground coffee or beans during traveling or camping, convenient to carry, also act well as decorating containers
- CONSISTENT GRINDS---- Fresh grinds should be consistent in texture and uniform in size for the specific brew method.With lengthening handle, the manual coffee grinder can save you effort when grinding beans. Blade grinders indiscriminately chops beans versus our manual coffee grinder with conical burr will consistently grind beans to the desired coarseness.
- ORIGINAL COFFEE FLAVOR MAINTAINED---Durable ceramic burr will not add heat during grinding, and will not damage the original flavor of coffee, better to grind beans before you brew coffee, best choice for coffee lovers
- EASY TO CLEAN---The coffee mill, removable handle and lid disassembles easily, all parts of the manual coffee grinder are washable, easy to clean thoroughly to make coffee of better scent
Last update on 2025-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What I like about this one is that is is pretty inexpensive, so if you’re wanting to try out the whole cold-brew-at-home thing it won’t cost you much to get into it and see how you like it.
If you become a regular cold brew drinker you can always decide to upgrade to an electric one later on, or you can just get used to the manual process — I kind of like manual better anyway. This unit is nice because the way the crank is designed makes it easier. I also like that it comes with two glass jars for storing extra coffee in bean or ground form.
JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder with Adjustable Setting – Conical Burr Mill & Brushed Stainless Steel
- ENJOY THE PERFECT CUP OF FRESH COFFEE ― The Manual Coffee Grinder by JavaPresse Coffee Company has a built-in adjustable ceramic burr with over 18 manual grind settings to ensure you have 100% precision & control over the coarseness of your grind. This hand coffee grinder is great for all brewing methods to enjoy the perfect cup of fresh coffee and espresso in the morning, and it's designed for use with single-serve or drip coffee makers.
- CONVENIENT, PORTABLE, AND EASY-TO-USE ESPRESSO GRINDER ― The hand crank grinder eliminates 90% of electric grinder noise. JavaPresse's patented manual ceramic burr assembly needs no batteries or cords, making it perfect for fresh coffee at home or on the go. It's the ultimate camping coffee grinder and pairs perfectly with your coffee maker, offering a noise-free grinding experience.
- THE BEST WAY TO START YOUR DAY ― This manual coffee bean grinder is equipped with a professional grade ceramic conical burr for an incredibly consistent coffee grind that heightens flavors of the most exquisite beans in the world. Smell the fresh aroma of fresh ground coffee as you brew them on your espresso machine, drip coffee, French Press, or pour over coffee maker!
- TREAT YOURSELF TO THE HIGHEST QUALITY MANUAL COFFEE GRINDER THAT IS BUILT TO LAST ― Crafted with the same essence as traditional Japanese cookware, our patented ceramic handheld coffee grinder burr is tested through three quality inspections to last 5 times longer than comparable stainless steel coffee burrs. Combined with an impeccable frame and convenient size, this is the pinnacle travel coffee grinder that is a great gift for Father's Day or travel enthusiasts.
- ENHANCE YOUR MORNING WHILE MAKING AN IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD ― Your deliciously crafted cup of coffee from our manual coffee grinder is helping empower coffee farmers to chase a brighter future. A portion of our profits go towards positively impacting our partner’s coffee supply chain and their local communities. Our mission hinges on one fundamental idea: when we care, happiness flows and everyone wins. Including you with this hand coffee bean grinder by JavaPresse.
Last update on 2025-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
With this burr grinder, you’ll have 18 coarseness settings so you can use this grinder for other kind of coffee brewing besides cold brew, if desired. It will take you 2 to 5 minutes to brew enough coffee for 1 to 2 cups of coffee with this grinder, so for brewing a batch of cold brew you can expect it to be longer than that, but it’s still a pretty efficient unit overall. I also like the slim design this unit has, which makes it easier to find space for in a drawer or cabinet.
Now lets check out two of the best automatic grinders for cold brew.
Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder, Black
- PRECISION GRINDING: Commercial-grade, solid steel conical burrs with advanced cutting design
- WIDE GRINDING RANGE: From ultrafine Turkish to French Press coarse and everything in between
- PRESERVES AROMA: Gear reduction motor grinds slow with reduced noise and little static build-up
- LARGE CAPACITY: 8.8 ounce bean container and 4 ounce ground coffee container.Watts/Volts/Hertz: 100W/120V/60Hz
- EASY TO CLEAN: Removable upper burr allows access for easy cleaning
Last update on 2025-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
This is a reasonably-priced automatic grinder with plenty of specific settings for any kind of coffee grind you could possibly need. It holds almost 9 ounces of beans and it has a timer you can set to grind for 5 seconds up to 60 seconds.
It has a low grinding speed which preserves coffee flavor and aroma because of the reduced amount of friction and heat generated. This unit is a good budget model that will get the job done for you.
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder with Digital Timer Display
- SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION AWARD WINNING GRINDERS - Baratza grinders are preferred by coffee professionals and backed by Baratza’s world class support.
- DIGITAL TIMER and BACKLIT GROUNDS BIN - a 40-second digital timer, adjustable to a tenth of a second, and an LED backlit grounds bin to dose ground coffee accurately and consistently.
- 40 GRIND SETTINGS - With enhanced commercial-grade conical burrs to help you explore an extensive range of brew methods (espresso, Aeropress, Hario V60, Chemex, French Press, and automatic brewers).
- STYLISH - A sculptured metal top and base give the Virtuoso+ a modern image that highlights your coffee corner.
- WARRANTY/QUALITY PARTS - Engineered with 40mm hardened alloy steel burrs manufactured in Liechtenstein, Europe, plus a powerful DC motor. This combination creates a consistent grind and durability ensuring the longevity users have come to expect from the Baratza brand. The Virtuoso+ is backed by Baratza’s world class support and a 1 year warranty.
Last update on 2025-01-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Baratza is a popular and highly-rated automatic burr grinder to use for making cold brew at home. It has 40 grind settings and commercial-grade burrs, plus it comes with a one-year warranty. Like the Capresso, this unit has a timer you can set, making the process that much simpler.
It’s obviously more of an investment than the Capresso but in all honesty this is a situation where the extra money makes a difference. It has a nice, sturdy build quality and produces an overall more consistent, even grind for your cold brew (and any other type of coffee grind you will ever need).
Cold Brew Back Story
Cold brew coffee, known in Japan as Kyoto coffee, has been enjoyed there for at least two hundred years. It is thought that ships plying the trade routes from the East Indies imported the idea of cold brew into Japan.
No doubt, the coffee loving Javanese sailors wanted to take their favorite brew with them on their long voyages, so it could even be called the very first ‘instant coffee’. Cold brew coffee is made from coffee grounds steeped in cold or room temperature water.
Cold water is used because it does not draw out the bitter, acidic compounds that hot water does. This gives the brew a sweeter, nuttier flavor and enhances the subtle aromas and piquancy that can be found in different coffees.
Cold brew coffee is very easy to make and can be stored in the fridge for several days, but only if you can resist drinking it! Simply place 120 to 180 grams of coffee in the bottom of a jar or jug. I like to measure in cups (measuring cups not coffee cups!) not grams so I use about 1 1/2 to 2 cups.
Coarse ground, single origin is best for this purpose. Cover the grounds with about 4 1/2 cups of water, make sure the jar is airtight, and then put it in the fridge or on the kitchen bench for about 16 hours.
While it is brewing agitate it a few times to move the coffee grounds around. When it is finished brewing, filter the liquid through paper filters until all the coffee grounds are removed; it will probably need to be filtered more than once.
After filtering, you will have what is nearly a coffee essence. Because it is very high in caffeine, it is a good idea to dilute it for drinks. When mixed fifty-fifty with water and poured over ice, it is an excellent summer pick-me-up.
This is an especially good drink for weight watchers, as it is low in calories and very easy to drink without sugar. Cold brew can also be used in its concentrated form, in the same way espresso or instant is used, to make a delicious coffee shake or ice coffee.
Cold brew is a first-rate ingredient when making coffee cake, and it is also a great improvement on normal coffee essence for cake icing, frosting and filling. If you have an ice cream maker, it makes a luscious coffee ice cream. It is heavenly in cocktails and an undiluted dash is superb in both rum and cola or Kahlua and milk.
As it is chemical free, unlike commercial instant coffee, it is a much healthier alternative and sweeter than hot brew coffee. With so many uses there is not much to dislike about cold brew coffee.