About
Explore our other sites
  • kotaku
  • quartz
  • theroot
  • theinventory
Tech

Our Readers' Favorite Cold Brew Coffee Maker Is a Mason Jar and a Nut Milk Bag

By
Shep McAllister
Image for article titled Our Readers' Favorite Cold Brew Coffee Maker Is a Mason Jar and a Nut Milk Bag
Photo: Daniel Curran

It was one of the closest races in Co-Op history, with the top three vote-getters ending up within about a percentage point of each other, but the humble mason jar and nut milk bag pulled off a venti-sized upset to take the title of our readers’ favorite method to brew cold brew coffee.

A humble mason jar, filled with water and a nut milk bag full of coarse coffee grounds, is a cheap and simple way to make cold brew. Just let it steep for 24 hours or so, then be sure to water down the concentrate when you’re ready to drink.
A humble mason jar, filled with water and a nut milk bag full of coarse coffee grounds, is a cheap and simple way to make cold brew. Just let it steep for 24 hours or so, then be sure to water down the concentrate when you’re ready to drink.
Graphic: Shep McAllister
Advertisement

A Big Mason Jar Plus a Nut Milk Bag

Advertisement

Here’s what readers had to say:

Enough cold brew for the week! I’ve tried the fancy contraptions but this consistently makes the best cold brew and the cost is very small. If you want to be extra, you can strain the cold brew through a paper filter into another large mason jar. - Carat

This is basically how we made cold brew when I worked in a juice/coffee bar. Only instead of a mason jar, we had a five gallon bucket and a very big mesh filter bag. Made a great, strong concentrate that could be used to make many many iced coffees. - Rabbity9

Advertisement
The Hario Mizudashi essentially works the same way as the mason jar method, but comes with a reusable filter basket, rather than a floating nut milk bag.
The Hario Mizudashi essentially works the same way as the mason jar method, but comes with a reusable filter basket, rather than a floating nut milk bag.
Graphic: Shep McAllister

Hario Mizudashi 

I have tried at least 5 different cold brew makers in the last couple of years. My wife and I both drink cold brew basically every day and I drink it in way too high of a quantity. No matter what I try, I just keep coming back to the Hario “Mizudashi” Cold Brew Coffee Pot. We now keep two of them and just rotate through them and start a new one brewing as soon as it is empty. It is simple and easy to use, clean and cheap. No silly filter to mess around with and stock replacements for, just pour in your grounds, and pour your water over that. There is no easier, cheaper, or more effective way to brew cold brew. - Smalltown Wizard

Advertisement
The OXO Cold Brew Coffee Maker specializes in making a lot of cold brew concentrate at once, and since the water and coffee are fully combined while brewing, your coffee comes out bolder and stronger than methods that confine the coffee to a filter basket or bag.
The OXO Cold Brew Coffee Maker specializes in making a lot of cold brew concentrate at once, and since the water and coffee are fully combined while brewing, your coffee comes out bolder and stronger than methods that confine the coffee to a filter basket or bag.
Photo: Amazon

OXO Cold Brew Coffee Maker

Advertisement

The OXO is my pick for a few different reasons.

1) It makes a ton of coffee at once.

2) The carafe looks really cool, and the lid doubles as a concentrate measuring device.

Advertisement

3) Most importantly of all, it doesn’t confine the coffee grounds to a limited space inside the container, like the winner and runner-up. Instead, the coffee grounds and water are fully combined until filtered, maximizing the amount of flavor (and caffeine) derived from them.