Simple Cold Brew Coffee Hack For Frugal Moms

Coffee.

It’s my favorite thing.

The warm, inviting smell that wafts through your senses and wraps you up in a hug. I could drink coffee all day.

Coffee is like a friend that never lets you down and you can just sit with her and be quiet, or be productive, while she cheers you on.

Coffee is important to me and to a lot of us. And yes, I do enjoy the Starbucks drinks as well, but on one income, that gets expensive quickly. I also have stomach problems, so I have to be careful how much coffee I drink, even decaf.

I have found a way to enjoy all of my coffee, in whatever form—hot, iced, gentle on my stomach, caffeine-laden or decaf—in a very frugal way.

I want to share that with you today.

If you haven’t heard of Graham Stephan, you should go look him up. I have seen a few of his videos because my kids like him. He brags about his 20 cent iced coffee that he makes at home, so I watched his video on how he makes it.

As someone who enjoys a nice, strong cup of good tasting coffee, I was a little appalled at his method.

While my iced coffee came out to about 36 cents, it is much better tasting than his (it’s got to be, anyway!). It will still cost you $5 or more at Starbucks to get what I’m making at home, so that a huge savings!

Read on and I’ll let you in on my little secret!

My Cold Brew Coffee Method

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I use a cold brew coffee for all of my coffee drinking at home. I never brew in a pot or Keurig anymore.

Cold brew coffee tends to be gentler on my stomach and I can drink it any way I like, cold or hot.

Here’s how I make my cold brew:

1 bag of favorite coffee, ground

4 qt container with lid

water

Dump the entire bag of coffee in the container. Fill with water. Let sit for 24 hours in the fridge. Strain and that’s it!

I learned this method from the Pioneer Woman. I’ve adapted it and made it my own over the years, but her basic recipe/idea is what I do.

Side note: I am using this metal bowl (see pictures) for my cold brew coffee making needs at the moment. I used to use this container for years, but it has recently broken. Until I get another one, the bowl works fine. Just use what you have.

Step One: Pour the coffee into the bowl and fill with water. Stir with a whisk.

You’ll be left with a yucky looking, muddy, coffee mess.

Step Two: At this point, it goes into the fridge for 24 hours.

Step Three: Strain your cold brew coffee.

I use a mesh wire strainer lined with a paper towel. I have tried a coffee filter and it just doesn’t work. A paper towel works nicely. Sometime you have to strain it twice.

This method will give you a coffee concentrate. It’s very strong and will need to be diluted.

In the morning, when I want a hot cup of coffee, I pour about half of my cup with the cold brew and then pour boiling water in the rest of the way. The boiling water heats up the cold brew and I have a perfect cup of hot coffee!

Here is what I use to boil my water. (Not the exact one I have, but pretty close.)

Iced Coffee

In the afternoon, especially in the summer, I like to have a glass of iced coffee.

I do the same method as with hot coffee, using Vanilla Almond Milk instead of water.

I pour about 1/3-1/2 of my glass with cold brew coffee, then fill up the cup with almond milk. Sometimes I’ll put in a spoonful of my homemade vanilla syrup or maple syrup, but its usually sweet enough with just the almond milk.

With the almond milk, this glass of iced coffee costs about 36 cents and tastes amazing!

Note: I like my coffee strong and not super sweet. Adjust your coffee to your liking.

Because this cold brew coffee is a concentrate, you can make any drink you want that uses espresso. I know it won’t be exactly the same, and if you’re a real coffee connoisseur, you’ll notice a difference.

But if you’re just a tired mom who wants good, cheap coffee, this is for you!

I also like that this is so easy and inexpensive to make. I have 3 adult children and when they are all home, we go through this pretty quickly. When I had teenagers in the house, we also went through it fast. As long as you plan ahead a bit (it has to sit for 24 hours), you can keep everyone in coffee!

So that’s it! My simple, easy frugal coffee method. I hope this was helpful!

I am so glad you’re here!