Espresso Cold Brew: Easy Recipe That You Should Try in 2025

I’ve got a fantastic recipe for you to try. Think of the intense flavors of cold brew coffee in combination with espresso. Doesn’t that sound amazing to you?

I can tell you that this cold brew version is the best I’ve ever tasted. And I think you’ll love it as much as I do.

In this article, I’ll be answering all the questions you might have regarding the espresso cold brew. For example, what are the best coffee beans to use, what is the correct grind size, and what is the best way to filter this coffee?

Down below, I’ll start by explaining what this coffee is and move on from there. Are you ready to learn all about this recipe? Let’s get into it:

What is espresso cold brew?

Espresso cold brew is just as it sounds like, a cold version of espresso. However, this coffee is made by steeping ground coffee in cold water for 12 hours. So it is quite a different brewing method from a regular espresso.

When the cold brew coffee is finished steeping for 12 hours, it is sieved and can be diluted with some additional water, milk, or milk alternative. It is served on ice cubes to make it icy.

Espresso cold brew is super easy to make as there are not many things you need to make this recipe. I’ll talk about everything you need to make this recipe a bit further down.

Can espresso be cold brewed?

Espresso works excellent to be cold brewed. When using the espresso’s finer grind setting, the cold brew coffee tastes close to espresso, but you can enjoy it on more occasions like sitting out in the sun — slowly sipping on your homemade cold brew espresso.

But for espresso cold brew, we’re going to leave the coffee to steep for 12 hours which is far more time than half a minute that you’ll need to make a regular espresso.

What do I need for this recipe?

Because you’re going to be brewing Your Dream Coffee at home, you’ll want to use the very best coffee beans you can find. Of course, coffee beans are essential to brewing great coffee, but you’re also going to need the following items:

• Container or large mug for the cold brew to steep
• Coffee filter or cheesecloth
• Coffee grinder

That’s it; this is everything you need to brew this cold brew coffee. For this recipe, you’re going to store your cold brew coffee in a container or large mug so the coffee can steep in there.

You can also use a French press to steep the cold brew coffee, my go-to for any cold brew coffee. Let me tell you a bit more about the best way to filter the cold brew coffee after it has steeped long enough:

Best way to filter espresso cold brew

After you’ve let the coffee steep for 12 hours, it’s time to filter the cold brew coffee. The coffee grind size is very fine compared to regular cold brew coffee, resulting in an espresso-like tasting cup of cold brew coffee.

When using a finer coffee grind, the coffee particles will not want to get out of your cold brew coffee that easily, which is where a coffee filter comes in.

The extra coffee filter will help you get all those tiny coffee particles out of your cold brew coffee, resulting in a very clean tasting coffee.

I suggest preparing the coffee filter by rinsing some water through it before pouring your cold brew coffee through there. The paper filter taste will disappear from the hot water, leaving you with a better-tasting cup of joe in the end.

I like to use a Chemex filter for this. The Chemex filter is very thick, which is great for filtering out the coffee particles. You can also use other coffee filters you have lying around like, filters of the Hario V60 or clever dripper.

When filtering your cold brew coffee, you can stick the coffee filter into the coffee brewer that it’s made for. For me, this was a Chemex, and its filter:

Then, just pour the liquid through the coffee filter and let it do its thing because the Chemex has so much space in the bottom compartment; it’s great to catch all that delicious coffee.

Optionally, you can use a rubber band to hold the coffee filter in place when you want to pour the cold brew concentrate into a large container or mug to store. It will look something like this:

As you can see from the picture above, this method works great. It’s incredible because you can use any mug or container to catch the liquid, just pop the rubber band along the edges and start pouring that amazing liquid in there.

The filtering process will be a bit time-consuming. It took me 14 minutes in total to filter all the coffee. However, it is definitely worth taking these extra steps to filter the coffee, resulting in an amazing clean cold brew.

Best coffee beans to use for this recipe

The best coffee for this recipe will be either a dark roast or medium roast of coffee. These coffee roasts pack the most flavors and will extract that amazing tasting espresso taste.

And yes, you can also use decaf coffee for this cold brew recipe!

I’m using medium roasted coffee beans from Costa Rica for this recipe and they look like this:

When using a lightly roasted coffee bean, you risk under-extracting the coffee beans, leaving you with a flat-tasting cold brew coffee that isn’t really enjoyable.

If you want to learn more about the differences between coffee roasts and their caffeine content, you can check out this article.

This recipe is all about making a cold brew coffee that tastes similar to espresso but a cold version of it. You’ll be surprised by the flavor explosion that this cold brew coffee will deliver!

Here’s the recipe card on how to make cold brew espresso:

Best coffee grind size for espresso cold brew

The best coffee grind size for espresso cold brew is a fine/ medium grind size. This grind size comes close to the grind size of espresso but slightly coarser. The somewhat coarser grind size will get you a better extraction of the coffee.

The perfect coffee grind size for the espresso cold brew coffee looks like this:

As you can see from the photo above, the grind size looks quite similar to the grind size you’d use to make an espresso, which is exactly what you’re going for in this recipe.

Aim for a grind size between an espresso grind and a coffee grind used to brew AeroPress coffee. When I grind coffee for this recipe, I turn the coffee grinder knob three times to a coarser grind size — starting from the espresso grind size.

I can describe the grind size as fine sea salt but with a bit more texture to it. Once you try grinding this coffee for yourself and feel the ground coffee yourself, you’ll know what I mean.

What makes this cold brew special?

The medium/ fine coffee grind size used to make the espresso cold brew sets it apart from the regular cold brew coffee.

Regular cold brew coffee uses a coarse coffee grind size, which will result in a strong flavor, but nothing compared to the taste of this cold brew version. Let me explain:

The finer your coffee grind size is, the faster the water will take all the flavors from the coffee beans, and your water is flavored — creating cold brew coffee. You can see a picture of the grind size below before I poured the water on top:

Using a finer grind size than regular cold brew coffee, almost as fine as the grind size you’d use in making an espresso, you’re creating a cold brew that is just as strong as espresso coffee.

But now you have a cold brew version of that; sounds amazing, right? This is the perfect coffee to make in preparation for those warmer days ahead.

You can even make a bigger batch and store it in the fridge for up to five days, so you have enough coffee to go around!

Conclusion

This was such a fun article to write. You can enjoy the espresso cold brew on those hot days or when you need the caffeine. By making a batch of this cold brew coffee and storing it in the fridge, you can serve it in a matter of minutes.

I’ve listed a few more recipes down below for you to check out. These coffee recipes are great to make on that Sunday morning, so you can check them out if you feel like it.

And forget to check out my complete cold brew guide here, which will go over all the methods to make cold brew at home.

I hope to see you back on my blog soon as there are even more recipes that I’d love to share with you.

Will you be trying this recipe yourself? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!

More coffee recipes

• Café Con Miel Recipe: Make Spanish Coffee With Honey at Home
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe – Using Fresh Pumpkin
• Proffee (Protein Coffee): What Is It & How to Make It (2025)