The Best Cold-Brew Coffee Makers

This easy-to-use model made consistently delicious and full-flavored coffee concentrate with notes of “chocolate,” “maple,” and “orange.” The coffee filters through a small ¼-inch-thick food-grade polyester disk that you insert into the bottom of the brew basket. For a second layer of filtration, we outfitted the brew basket with the paper filter the device came with. Using two filters gave the brew a clear appearance and a clean taste that was free of off-flavors, earning it top marks in our tasting. The instructions are clearly written and easy to follow, which set us up for success. As we pulled the plug to drain the coffee from the bucket where it had been steeping, we didn’t notice much spilling, to our relief. Cleanup was easy for the most part, except for the thick polyester disk; it was hard to tell whether the interior had dried enough after rinsing. However, the disk can be sterilized in the microwave after each use to eliminate bacteria growth.

This model brewed strong-tasting coffee, the result of a high coffee-to-water ratio (the instructions ask for 1 part coffee to 4 parts water, whereas most require a 1:6 or even 1:10 ratio). The coffee had a “Coca-Cola” consistency and a “sweet Hershey’s” aroma, with “nutty” and “roasted” flavors. Setup was easy. We screwed the paper filter, metal filter, and bucket container together and the device was ready for coffee grounds. Instead of gradually pouring the water over the grounds, you pour the water into a perforated bucket-shaped lid and the water gradually drips out. The perforated lid helps distribute water evenly, but it wasn’t significantly easier or more effective than simply stirring or pouring water in a circle, as in other models. Once brewing was completed, we flipped a switch at the bottom of the bucket to let the coffee drain into a glass carafe, which was a bit easier than pulling a rubber plug.

This strainer-style model made flavorful coffee rather than concentrate, which was well received by our tasters. The setup consists of a 2-quart glass jar, a stainless-steel fine-mesh filter, and a lid with a handle and spout for pouring. The wide edge of the filter allowed it to rest on the mouth of the jar, so we could wet the grounds before adding the full amount of water. All parts were then screwed together for steeping. Once brewing completes (which varies from 12 to 48 hours depending on target strength), you lift out the filter basket, leaving coffee in the jar. Based on both TDS levels and tasters’ perceptions, this coffee had a medium strength and was flavorful and easy to drink but still possessed nuanced flavors such as “chicory,” “nougat,” and “black tea.” This model was relatively easy to set up, except that the filter basket was a bit narrow, making adding the grounds a little more difficult. The basket was also long, so cleaning the used grounds out of the filter took some time.

This slim strainer-style model was relatively easy to set up. The filter basket had a wide edge, which rested on the mouth of the pitcher and allowed us to wet the grounds before adding the full amount of water for steeping. Our tasters liked the coffee it produced, which was medium-bodied with notes of “maple” and “almond.” We also noticed that this coffee was a bit tea-like. Cleaning out the coffee grounds from the filter basket was a bit annoying, as the long and narrow tube-like basket was hard to reach into. The removable bottom of the filter basket made discarding the grounds a bit easier, but it also added another tiny piece to keep track of. We had a minor complaint about the carafe lid, which doesn’t seal closed. The open gap means that the coffee is vulnerable to unwanted air and aromas when stored in the fridge, which could make it spoil faster.

This drawdown-style model made a strong, viscous, high-TDS cold-brew concentrate that can be diluted to taste. Although we preferred the cold brew from this model to that made in some others, we downgraded the model due to some design flaws. Once steeping is done, you must set the bucket full of water and coffee grounds on top of the carafe to drain. The carafe is plastic and ultralightweight, and we felt uneasy as we placed the heavy bucket filled with coffee and grounds on top of it. Every time we pulled the plug at the bottom of the bucket, it made a messy splash as the coffee gushed out. The wool disk remained yellowish after repeated washing (a cosmetic flaw), unlike the Toddy disk, which became pristine white again after rinsing.

This electric model works similarly to the strainer-style cold-brew makers, except the electric base spins the water to speed up extraction. It’s relatively easy to set up; the touch screen lets you choose the desired brewing time before hitting “start.” The user manual provides some guidance on how long it takes to brew either two or four servings (15 or 20 minutes, but you can set it for up to 30 minutes); however, it doesn’t indicate the strength of the coffee. We were disappointed that the coffee had a “muddy” and “opaque” appearance and was “gritty.” We also noticed “some harshness” to the flavor even though it was also “watery.” The manual suggests finishing steeping in the fridge for more flavor, which improved the taste, but the grittiness remained. This extra step also made the process take as long as it did with manual models. When cleaning up the brewing basket, coffee grounds got stuck in the small holes of the basket and were hard to get rid of.

This tall but compact strainer-style cold-brew maker seemed promising as it could be stored in the fridge door easily. But we soon realized its flaws. There was no good way of wetting the coffee grounds to ensure optimal extraction before dunking the basket in water for steeping; the result was underextracted, thin, and watery coffee. We were instructed to open the brewer and swirl the filter basket during brewing, but this was a pain because the basket is screwed onto the lid, which meant we had to unscrew the two parts and hold the infuser with one hand while stirring. We also found the threads on the basket hard to align—and if not perfectly aligned, they leaked.

This electric model promises cold-brew coffee in 5 minutes, the fastest we’ve seen. When it’s plugged in, the motor, which is hidden inside the lid, starts spinning the filter basket loaded with coffee grounds. The 5-minute cold-brew coffee was watery and gritty. We tried the 15-minute brew, which the user manual indicated would be the equivalent of traditional cold brew steeped for 20 hours. Even with this extra time, our experience didn’t improve much. Tasters likened the coffee to “a weakly brewed iced tea” that was “very faintly flavored.” In terms of ease of use, the filter basket was too narrow for us to load coffee grounds without spilling. Because of the basket’s narrowness, it also had trouble standing steadily on the scale for us to weigh the coffee and was a bit hard to reach into to clean.

This electric cold-brew maker makes coffee by spinning coffee grounds until the desired strength is achieved. Then, you lower the mesh-filter plunger to separate the unwanted grounds from brewed coffee, similar to a French press coffee maker. It extracted coffee by spinning the water to form a little “tornado” in the center of the carafe, where coffee grounds were added. We tracked the time using a separate timer for desired strength, which was a bit of an inconvenience as an extra thing we needed to remember. Once the coffee was done brewing, we had trouble operating the mesh filter—it frequently got stuck, and the pressure of the filter frequently led to coffee bursting out of the beaker and making a mess. The coffee had a “muddy” and “relatively pale brown” appearance and tasted like “flat root beer” and also “watered down.” The stainless-steel filter had large perforations and did not capture enough coffee grounds or oil, resulting in a gritty and oily mouthfeel.

This model claims to make flavorful cold-brew coffee in a fraction of the time of traditional cold-brew makers. It spins coffee grounds in room-temperature water for 25 minutes or longer to extract coffee. It comes with a well-written manual that got us started quickly, but that’s about all we liked about this model. The coffee consistently tasted underextracted and flavorless yet “surprisingly acidic” for such mild flavor. It had a gritty and astringent mouthfeel because the plastic filter was not fine enough. Cleaning this device was not easy, as there were seven parts to track down. Furthermore, it was noisy.