Coffee that is too finely ground will over extract resulting in a bitter taste. Some methods of brewing, like the pour over, calls for finely ground beans. But in cold brew because you’re steeping them for upwards of 12 hours, you should grind the beans coarsely.

The basic formula for cold brew is one pound of ground coffee beans to one gallon of water. Unless you’re running a small cafe out of your kitchen you likely won’t need to make that much. A more home brewing-friendly ratio is a quarter-pound of beans to four cups of water. Scale down or drink up.

The standard time for steeping is 24 hours. Be aware that will result in an intensely flavored & caffeinated coffee concentrate. When you’re ready to drink, dilute it with water adding cream or milk will also cut the intensity.