Cold Brew Gifts

Cold brew coffee has gained immense popularity among coffee enthusiasts, particularly during the sweltering summer months. If you’re on the hunt for the ideal gift for a coffee lover, or if you happen to be a devoted cold brew connoisseur yourself, we’ve got you covered. From innovative brewing equipment to gourmet coffee blends and accessories, we’ll explore a curated selection of gifts that will make any cold brew lover’s heart race with excitement. Whether you’re shopping for a special occasion or just want to show someone you care, our cold brew gift ideas will help you find the perfect present for the coffee enthusiast in your life.

Cold Brew Vs. Hot Coffee

Cold brew is a smooth, flavorful, and refreshing alternative to hot coffee. Making a cold brew involves steeping coffee grounds in cold water for an extended period to extract the flavors. To make a cold brew, you will need a few pieces of equipment, including a cold brew maker or a large jar, coffee grounds, and water.

Cold brew coffee offers numerous advantages compared to hot coffee. It’s celebrated for its lower acidic profile, delivering a gentler, less bitter option that is kinder to the digestive system. The gradual extraction process brings out distinct flavor notes, resulting in a smooth, mild-acid, and aromatic coffee experience. It’s especially popular during the warmer months.

Cold brew provides a smoother, less bitter flavor and a rich aroma. Preparing cold brew is uncomplicated and requires no specialized equipment like an expensive espresso machine. It can be enjoyed as is, diluted with water or milk for a milder taste, or sweetened, making it a versatile base for creating various coffee concoctions, positioning it as the favored pick among coffee enthusiasts.

Cold Brew Gift Ideas for Coffee Lovers

Cold Brew Kits: Cold brew kits can include everything needed to make a cold brew, from coffee grounds to a mason jar or brewer. These kits are great for beginners or those seeking a convenient way to get started.

Cold Brew Coffee Makers: These carafes are designed specifically for making cold brew. They often include a brew container and a filter and are easy to use. They make a great coffee gift for cold brew enthusiasts.

Cold Brew Concentrate: Gifting a set of cold brew concentrate, whether homemade or from a premium brand, allows coffee lovers to enjoy a quick and convenient cold brew at home. Concentrates can be diluted to taste.

Cold Brew Coffee Beans: High-quality good coffee beans crafting exceptional cold brew. Gift a bag of freshly roasted beans with unique flavor profiles, such as single-origin or flavored options.

Books and Guides: A coffee brewing book or a guide about cold brew can be a thoughtful gift for someone looking to perfect their cold brew technique.

Flavored Syrups: Flavored syrups like vanilla, caramel, or hazelnut can be used to customize cold brew. These syrups allow coffee lovers to create their own signature cold brew concoctions making them a great gift. 

If you need other gift ideas for the coffee lovers in your life check out these articles: Coffee Syrup Gifts Sets and Gifts for People Who Like Coffee.

Cold Brew Kits

These cold brew kits should contain everything you need to make a cold brew at home.

Cold Brew Coffee Maker Starter Kit

The best thing about this gift box set is the affordable way to get started with cold brews. This contains a cold brew maker, a coffee grinder, coffee beans, and even a recipe book. While the single components of this may not compare to the higher end components it is the cheapest and fastest way to get started. If you want the highest quality cold brew, I suggest getting a better coffee grinder, better cold brew system, and cold brew coffee beans that suit your taste, but if you want to test the cold brew waters this is a good way to go. It also makes a great gift for coffee lovers if you are trying to stay under a certain price point.

Cold Brew Coffee Makers

These cold brew coffee makers allow you to make cold brew at home. You will still need a coffee grinder and cold brew coffee beans. A coffee grinder is necessary because cold brew beans need to be ground course, and pre-ground at stores is often a finer espresso grind.

Rapid Cold Brew Makers

Rapid cold brew makers function by swirling the coffee grounds and water to agitate the coffee grounds and more quickly extract the coffee flavors. They are more expensive than overnight methods because they require electric motors to spin the water, but they are also much faster.

Presto 02937 Dorothy™ Electric Rapid Cold Brewer

The Presto Electric Rapid Cold Brewer is for those who like cold brew but don’t want to wait overnight. Whether this product is right for you depends on how discerning your taste is. The ability to make cold brew in 15 minutes is fantastic. Even though I enjoy cold brew I often opt for espresso because I forget to make cold brew ahead of time.

The convenience does have some pitfalls though since this is somewhat difficult to clean and doesn’t filter the grounds as well as some other cold brew systems. This is a simple trade off that isn’t terrible and won’t bother most people. This is also a little weaker than overnight cold brew systems, but this is easily fixed by using more coffee grounds. I like my coffee stronger so I add around 25% more coffee grounds to this compared to traditional methods. I also really enjoy watching the tornado effect with the water spinning which has a nostalgic effect of going to science museums as a child.

VINCI Express Cold Brew Patented Electric Coffee Cold Brew Maker

The Vinci Express is a great option for quick cold brew. Similar to the Electric Cold Rapid Cold Brewer, this makes cold brew much faster. This doesn’t have as pleasing of a tornado swirl as the other model, but everything else is just a little better. It is a little easier to clean, it filters the coffee grounds a little better, and it has variable strength options.

It is also more expensive. If all things are equal then the Vinci is my choice, but considering a price difference, it depends on how often you will use it and what your price tolerance is. This also uses more coffee grounds than an overnight cold brew, but you can balance this by instead selecting the automated strength method.

Overnight Cold Brew Makers

Overnight cold brew makers work by submerging course coffee grounds in water overnight to extract the coffee flavors. They differ based on filter quality, quality of materials, product durability, and how easy or difficult they are to clean.

Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee Maker is a great cold brew system that makes overnight cold brew using a traditional filter method. The reusable filter has a removable cap, allowing for easy cleaning, and the pitcher is glass for those who try to avoid plastic. This is affordably priced, especially considering the glass canister. The biggest flaw is that the glass canister is prone to breaking. Ours hasn’t broken, but it has for many people and is something to be aware of.

Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker is an excellent affordable cold brew pitcher that uses a suspended filter design. It comes in a variety of sizes and does its job well. My main complaint is that the pouring method could be designed a bit better since turning to pour isn’t a great system, and because it often drips water or coffee when it shouldn’t, making it a bit messy. The suspended filter design is a bit easier to clean than the plunger method of the Bodum, but it also makes weaker cold brew unless you compensate by shaking and allowing it to steep for longer.

Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker is my usual choice for making cold brew, even though it is the cheapest option on this list. It uses a plunger method similar to a French press for extracting the coffee flavors, which is different than the automatic or suspended methods. The plunger method is much better for making stronger coffee because you can use as much or as little coffee grounds as you want since you aren’t limited by the size of the filter.

You can also make smaller batches since you don’t have to fill to the top of the pitcher to submerge the filter. The plunger method is worse in two ways. More coffee grounds sift through the plunger than the filter, which means more coffee grounds in your coffee. And because the coffee grounds are at the bottom of the pitcher, the strongest coffee will always be towards the bottom, so you won’t get an even strength throughout the pitcher. These aren’t deal breakers for me, and I prefer the stronger concentrate as a trade off. You can filter the coffee a second time to remove the grounds, and you can pour the cold brew into a new pitcher to get a more uniform intensity throughout the pitcher.

Cold Brew Coffee Beans

Cold brew coffee beans are the best cold brew gift for people who already make coffee at home. Coffee lovers can’t ever have enough coffee beans and usually like to try new brands and styles. Be aware that they will still need to have both a coffee grinder and a cold brew maker.

Coffee Bros Cold Brew Signature Blend

The Coffee Bros Cold Brew Signature Blend is one of my favorite coffee beans. It really does have the smooth sweet taste that they advertise. I don’t personally taste any berry but it is a sweet blend with chocolate and brown sugar tasting notes. Their beans are a little more expensive than some other options, but it makes a great gift for someone that may not get it for themselves. Coffee Bros takes pride in their roasting processes so you always get a good fresh batch.

Cold Brew Coffee Box Set

This coffee box set is great for a cold brew gift set of pre ground coffee. This is course ground, which is what you want for cold brew, and has three flavor options and cold brew filters. If you have a cold brew maker you don’t need the filters, and if you have a coffee grinder then you don’t need pre ground, but this is a great option for people that don’t have those. Personally if you already have a coffee grinder that is good at course grinds I would go for the Coffee Bros.

Cold Brew Organic Coarse Ground Flavored Coffee

Cold Brew Lab only makes cold brew coffee beans. They have flavored options and are affordably priced cold brew beans. There aren’t many producers that make flavored cold brews and I really like the pumpkin and coconut flavors, but these are not strong flavors and if you really want coconut or pumpkin you may want to include a coffee syrup gift set. The biggest problem with these coffee beans is shipping and roasting. Many batches are fantastic, but some are over roasted and some packages open during shipping. This is not a common problem but is something we haven’t ever seen happen with Coffee Bros and is why there is a price difference.

Stone Street Cold Brew Coffee

Stone Street is an artisanal coffee roaster based in Brooklyn that has a lot of cold brew options. They have great cold brew coffee as well as some flavored options (try the chocolate hazelnut) and are affordably priced. They are also one of the only companies I have seen selling 5 pound bags for people that drink a lot of cold brew. This is a great choice for people that don’t have a coffee grinder.

Cold Brew Concentrate

These concentrate brews are the easiest way to have a cold brew at home. They do not require any cold brew makers, coffee beans, or preparation. You just pour over ice and serve. I definitely prefer making my own, but these are the best simple and on-the-go solutions.

Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

If you want something on the go or don’t want to be bothered with making your own cold brew then a pre-made concentrate is the way to go. This variety pack includes a standard black as well as a Madagascar vanilla. You can’t really go wrong with Starbucks and pretty much know what you are getting. It won’t be the most unique or artisanal gift, but you will get a good quality cold brew concentrate.

Javy Coffee 35X Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

If you want an excellent premade and unique cold brew concentrate then I recommend trying Javy. Some people complain about the price, but when you consider that this has 35 servings I think it is extremely affordable. I like stronger cold brew so this comes out to closer to 20 servings for me, but is still a great deal for great coffee. They also have flavored options and I recommend trying the caramel.

Cold Brew Recipe Books

These cold brew recipe and cold brew technique books will teach you how to make the perfect cold brews from home.

Cold Brew Coffee: Techniques, Recipes & Cocktails

Includes mostly recipes for cold brew cocktails. If that is your thing this is a good book for you. If you want more coffee recipes the My Takeya book may be a better choice.

My Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker Recipe Book

A great cold brew recipe book for those that like cookbooks. You can easily find recipes online, but if you still like a good old fashioned book this is a great choice.

Unique Cold Brew Gifts

The nitro cold brew coffee maker is a unique gift for the cold brew lover. Even if they already have everything to make cold brews, few people also have the ability to make nitro cold brews from home.

The Original Royal Brew Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Maker

If you know a cold brew lover, or need a coffee gift for the person that already has everything then a nitro cold brew coffee maker is a great innovative choice. This system allows you to infuse nitrogen gas into your cold brew which make it creamier, smoother, and a little sweeter. This is honestly a lot of work for an at home coffee, but for those that like these types of projects or creating unique concoctions this may be the best coffee gift they get this season that they probably wouldn’t have thought of themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cold Brew the Same as Iced Coffee?

Cold brew vs iced coffee is a question we are often asked, and we notice people using them interchangeably even though old brew coffee and iced coffee are distinct beverages. Cold brew is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in cold water for an extended period, resulting in a smooth, mild, and less acidic drink. Iced coffee is prepared using traditional hot brewing methods and then chilled, retaining the flavor characteristics of hot coffee. While both are served cold and can be customized to taste, they differ in flavor profile due to their brewing methods.

How Long Does Cold Brew Stay Good in Fridge?

Cold brew coffee can typically stay good in the fridge for about 1 to 2 weeks. The key to keeping cold brew fresh is to store it in an airtight container and refrigerate it promptly after preparation. Over time, the flavor may change, and the coffee can become less fresh, but it should remain safe to consume for up to two weeks. If you notice any off-putting odors or flavors, it’s best to discard the cold brew.

What is the Ratio of Coffee to Water for Cold Brew?

Strong Concentrate: 1:4 (1 part coffee to 4 parts water) – This will produce a strong coffee concentrate that can be diluted with water or milk when serving.

Ready-to-drink: 1:8 (1 part coffee to 8 parts water) – This is a more typical ratio for a balanced cold brew that is ready-to-drink.

Keep in mind that these ratios are guidelines, and you can adjust them to suit your taste preferences. It’s a good idea to start with the standard strength and then modify it as needed based on the flavor you desire. You can make cold brew stronger by either using more coffee grounds or letting it steep for a longer period of time.