Cold Brew Concentrate & Dilution Calculator
How much coffee and water for cold brew concentrate — and exactly how to dilute it to a drinkable strength.
Calculator
Your cold brew recipe
Steep 100 g coffee in 600 g water for 16 hours. You'll get about 400 g of 1:6 concentrate. To serve, add 400 g of water or milk per part → 1:12 ready-to-drink (83.3 g/L).
About this calculator
Cold brew is usually made strong and then cut with water or milk to serve. This calculator does both halves: it sizes the steep (coffee + water for a concentrate at the ratio you pick), tells you how much liquid concentrate you actually get after the grounds soak up their share, and then works out exactly how much water to add to land on a drinkable ready-to-drink strength.
How to read your results
Concentrate ratios run roughly 1:4 (very strong) to 1:6 (1:6 ≈ 167 g of coffee per litre). Steep cold for 12–24 hours, strain, then dilute. "Dilution 1:1" means one part water (or milk) per part concentrate — a 1:6 concentrate diluted 1:1 finishes at 1:12, a typical ready-to-drink strength. The grounds keep about 2 g of water per gram of coffee, so the concentrate you pour off is less than the water you added.
How it's calculated
Steep water = coffee × concentrate ratio. Concentrate strength (g/L) = 1000 ÷ ratio. Concentrate yield = steep water − about 2 g of water retained per gram of grounds. The ready-to-drink ratio = concentrate ratio × (1 + dilution parts), and the water to add = concentrate yield × dilution parts.
Worked example
100 g of coffee at a 1:6 concentrate ratio, steeped 16 hours, then diluted 1:1.
Steep with 600 g of water. After the grounds soak up ~200 g, you get ~400 g of 1:6 concentrate (167 g/L). Add 400 g of water to serve → 1:12 ready-to-drink.
Frequently asked questions
Concentrate or ready-to-drink?
Concentrate (around 1:4–1:6) keeps better, takes less fridge space, and lets each person dilute to taste. Brew ready-to-drink (around 1:8) only if you will finish it quickly. Either way, taste and adjust.
How long should I steep?
12–24 hours in the fridge is the usual range; longer and colder is more forgiving than hot brewing. Past ~24 hours you gain little and risk over-extraction and woodiness.
What grind for cold brew?
Coarse — like sea salt or coarser. Cold water extracts slowly, so a coarse grind over a long steep avoids muddy, over-extracted flavours and makes straining easier.
Why is my concentrate less than the water I added?
The spent grounds retain roughly twice their weight in water. Add 600 g of water to 100 g of coffee and the grounds keep ~200 g, leaving ~400 g of concentrate.
Sources
- www.moustachecoffeeclub.com/how-to-make-cold-brew-coffee
- podiumcoffeeclub.com/blogs/blog/cold-brew-ratio
Reviewed by the YouCalc Team · Last reviewed
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