A good iced coffee starts with coffee you enjoy drinking. If Cinnamon Roll or Pumpkin Crème Brûlée is already your favorite hot cup, try giving that flavor a cold-brew routine.
You can make flavored cold brew at home with coffee, water, a covered container and a filter. Our recipe makes a concentrate: dilute it before serving, then adjust the strength to suit your taste.
Cold brew or iced coffee: which are you making?
Cold brew steeps ground coffee in cool water for hours. Iced coffee starts with hot-brewed coffee that is cooled and served over ice. Both work with flavored coffee; cold brew is useful when you want to prepare tomorrow's cup ahead of time.
Want coffee sooner? Brew your usual flavored coffee, cool it promptly, refrigerate it, and serve over ice. Coffee ice cubes made from the same brew can help prevent a watery finish.
Firehouse Coffee cold brew concentrate recipe
Our cold brew recipe uses 1 lb of coffee to 1 gallon of water, steeped for 8 hours. This makes a concentrate that you dilute before drinking.
- Coffee: 1 lb of coarsely ground coffee.
- Water: 1 US gallon of water.
- Equipment: a clean container large enough for the water and coffee, a lid, and a coffee filter or cold-brew filter bag.
- Steeping time: 8 hours.
- Combine. Add the coffee and water to your container. Stir gently until all the grounds are wet.
- Cover and steep. Let the coffee steep for 8 hours.
- Filter. Remove the grounds and filter the coffee. The filtered coffee is your cold brew concentrate.
- Dilute and serve. Mix equal parts concentrate and water, or dilute to taste. For example, combine 4 oz of concentrate with 4 oz of water, then serve over ice. Add more water for a lighter cup or less for a stronger cup.
Keep the finished concentrate covered and refrigerated. Add milk, cream or other extras to individual servings when you're ready to drink.
Two Firehouse flavors to try over ice
Cinnamon Roll cold brew
Cinnamon Roll Flavored Coffee brings warm cinnamon, brown sugar, buttery pastry and vanilla icing flavors to your cup. Use it in the recipe above for a bakery-inspired cold brew. Dilute the concentrate first, taste it black, then try a splash of milk or oat milk. The coffee supplies the flavor; add sweetener only if you want a sweeter drink.
Prefer decaf? Try Cinnamon Roll Flavored Decaf Coffee with the same starting ratio.
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée cold brew
Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Coffee adds a fall-inspired option with creamy pumpkin and vanilla custard flavors. Make the concentrate, dilute it to taste, serve it over ice, and try a little cream if you enjoy a dessert-style coffee. You can enjoy those autumn flavors in a chilled glass, too.
For a lower-caffeine option, choose Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Decaf Coffee. Decaf still contains some caffeine.
Can you use regular ground coffee?
You can experiment with pre-ground coffee, but a finer grind may leave more sediment and can change extraction. For the most control, select whole bean and grind it coarse yourself. After the 8-hour steep, filter the concentrate and start with equal parts concentrate and water. Adjust the dilution to find the strength you enjoy.
Does flavored cold brew need syrup?
No syrup is required to make the recipe. Flavored coffee supplies the flavor direction; milk, cream and sweetener are optional additions. Taste first, then build the drink you enjoy. Flavored coffee should not be assumed to taste as sweet as a café drink made with syrup.
Keep your favorite coffee coming
Once you find a combination you like, save the coffee weight, water amount and steeping time so you can repeat it. Explore our flavored coffee collection or flavored decaf coffees for your next batch.
For a regular refill, our coffee subscriptions offer eligible coffees every 14 or 30 days with 10% off, or every 60 days with 5% off. Choose the product options and schedule that fit your routine.
For more ideas for your next cup, explore our coffee brewing tips.
