Best Cold Brew Coffee Maker Reviews (Dummies Buyer’s Guide)

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Love cold brew? Check out our cold brew coffee maker reviews and grab the best cold brew coffee maker to quench your thirst this summers.

Best Cold Brew Coffee Maker for Daily Users

Yama Glass Cold Drip Maker:  The Yama Drip maker a top of the line model, handcrafted by premium Taiwanese manufacturer Yama, with an eye-catching black wood and glass contemporary design. It uses a slow drip cold extraction system that together with some quality coffee grounds will produce a delicious cold coffee concentrate that’s low in acidity and heavy on the caffeine. In other words, the coffee addicts dream cold brewer.

Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee Maker:  This is a low-priced cold brew coffee maker from Coffee Gator and is our top budget pick. While lowly priced, it does an excellent job of brewing a delicious beverage without the bitter, acidic taste of hot-brewed coffee. The unit comes with a reusable stainless steel filter, a measuring scoop, a collapsible loading funnel, and has a mesh filter with an airtight seal made from BPA-free borosilicate glass.

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In this roundup, we look around and pick seven of the best available cold brew coffee makers available on the market right now. Cold brew coffee is not the same iced-coffee. It’s a way of producing great quality coffee concentrate through a steeping technique that usually takes hours in your refrigerator and that you can mix with hot water or milk to make a rich, great tasting cup of joe.

Not all of the cold brew units on the roundup work the same way, although most use the cold steeping method. By not heating the grounds and water mixture the cold brewers bring out the natural floral and fruity odors and taste of the coffee bean. You also reduce the acid and the stale bitter taste you get from hot brewed coffee or when you ice hot coffee.

So, read on ahead where we select the best coffee makers and the recommendation for if you’re on a tight budget. Enjoy reading the roundup and enjoy your coffee.

Best Cold Brew Coffee Maker

Our #1 Pick
Yama Glass 6-8 Cup Cold Drip Maker
Innovative Yama Glass 6-8 Cup Cold Drip Maker features a premium drip cold brew system with adjustable drip speed for a preferred full-flavored, non-acidic brew in a sculptural design.

  • Faster 3 to 4 Hour Brew Time
  • Ice Water Slow Drip System
  • Hand Blown Borosilicate Glass
KitchenAid KCM4212SX Cold Brew Coffee Maker
Sleek KitchenAid KCM4212SX Cold Brew Coffee Maker steeps your favorite brew in a concentrated form, with handy carrying handle and tap for easy portability and serving.

  • Smaller Footprint
  • Up to 28 oz Coffee Concentrate
  • Built-in Stainless Steel Dispenser Tap
Value for Money Pick
Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker
Voted "Best Overall" by Wired for cold brew coffee makers, the Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker offers a sleek design with ultra fine mesh for optimum brewing and an airtight lid to keep contents fresh for weeks.

  • 12 to 48 Hour Brew Time
  • Easy-Clean Filter Cap
  • Scoop & Funnel Included
Cuisinart DCB-10 Automatic Cold Brew Coffeemaker
Classic Cuisinart DCB-10 Automatic Cold Brew Coffeemaker simplifies the cold brew process with a shortened brew time in a more traditional coffeemaker design with removable water tank and filter basket for easy filling and cleaning.

  • 25 to 45 Minute Brew Time
  • Strength Selector
  • 7 Cup Carafe
Ovalware RJ3 Cold Brew Coffee Maker & Tea Infuser
Designed to fit perfectly in your fridge, the Ovalware RJ3 Cold Brew Coffee Maker & Tea Infuser features medical grade, rust-free stainless steel mesh filter, silicone airtight seal for freshness, and all parts are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup.

  • Extra-Thick Borosilicate Glass
  • Use Iced or Hot
  • Stainless Steel Filter & Airtight Lid

In-Depth Cold Brew Coffee Maker Reviews

#1 Pick: Yama Glass 6-8 Cup Cold Drip Maker 

This Yama cold coffee maker is the top pick from all the brewers we’ve looked at. It’s a fine quality top of the line model, handcrafted by a premium Taiwanese manufacturer with an eye-catching black wood and glass contemporary design. It uses a slow drip cold extraction system that together with quality coffee grounds will produce delicious cold coffee that’s low in acidity and has more caffeine.Yama Glass 6-8 Cup Cold Drip Maker

The Yama cold brew tower, as it’s also called, makes an elegant centerpiece for any coffee enthusiast, adding atmosphere to your environment. Its slow drip reduces acid by as much as 69% when compared to standard-brewed coffee and retains a lot more of the antioxidants inherent in coffee. It also makes excellent cold brew tea with your favorite tea blend.

Each one of these units is made from heat-resistant hand-blown borosilicate glass and is completely microwave and dishwasher safe. To use it you just put coffee grounds or tea leaves into the medium glass beaker, pour some water on the top beaker, then some ice water, and finally set the desired drip time on the brass fitting. A recommended drip cycle would be 3-4 hours to fill up the full 32-ounce bottom beaker.

The unit uses small replaceable paper filters that you put on top of the coffee grounds. They’re inexpensive and readily available online at Amazon and other retailers, and you can even make your own easily. It’s recommended that you use medium ground coffee beans to prepare your brews, but you can play around with coarser or finer grinds until you get it to your liking. You can also experiment a bit with the drip speed by opening or closing up the spigot.

The result of the coffee brewing process is a concentrated liquid that you can mix up with water, milk or ice in the proportion that best suits your taste. You can prepare your mix as soon as the dripping is done or leave the concentrate in the fridge and it will stay fresh and ready to mix for a couple of weeks.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 9 x 12 x 25.4 in.
  • Weight: 9.8 lb.
  • Material Type: Glass
  • Capacity: 32 oz. (6-8 cups)

#2 Pick: KitchenAid KCM4212SX Cold Brew Coffee Maker

This KitchenAid coffee maker is an immersion style cold brewing unit that does its thing by using a perforated pullout metal filter inside a small brew jar that has a spigot attached for pouring out a rich coffee concentrate. It’s a good mid-range priced coffee maker that’s strong and sturdy and will provide a smooth, full-bodied, tasty brew.KitchenAid KCM4212SX Cold Brew Coffee Maker

KitchenAid manufactures coffee makers of all types and for all kinds of tastes and is well known for its elegant industrial design, convenience, and long-lasting products.

This unit has a relatively small footprint and is made from a strong brushed stainless steel body and tap with a tough glass brew jar. It uses a finely perforated metal screen filtration system that removes coffee ground particles from the finished liquid.

To prepare the ultimate cold coffee concentrate, KitchenAid recommends that you add 1.25 liters (about 42 fl. oz.) of cold water to 250 grams (9 ounces) of coffee grounds. You start out by adding 1 liter (34 fl. oz.) to the grounds, let them “bloom” for a while, and then add the remaining 8 fl. oz. of water to the mixture.

You can let it sit in your fridge or at room temperature for 12-24 hours before it’s ready to go, and then remove the coffee grounds. The longer you let it steep the stronger and more bitter it will taste.

The reusable stainless steel steeper/strainer lets you prepare coffee or tea. It has labels with fill level indicators that will guide you along so you don’t have to guess about optimum mixes for your brews. You can prepare up to 14 servings (depending on coffee or tea variety) by mixing up two ounces of coffee concentrate with six ounces of liquid (water, ice or milk). You can keep the finished concentrate in the fridge and it’ll stay fresh for up to two weeks.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 8 x 7 x 6.9 in.
  • Weight: 5.5 lb.
  • Material Type: Brushed stainless steel and glass
  • Capacity: 28 oz.

#3 Pick: Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker  (Value for Money pick)

This low-priced cold brew coffee and tea maker from Coffee Gator is our budget pick. It’s the lowest-priced unit in the roundup and it does a bang-up job of brewing a delicious beverage without the bitter, acidic taste of hot-brewed coffee. The unit comes with a reusable stainless steel filter, a measuring scoop, a collapsible loading funnel, and has a mesh filter with an airtight seal made from BPA-free borosilicate glass.Coffee Gator Cold Brew Coffee and Tea Maker

According to Coffee Gator, this cold brew coffee unit produces up to 67% less acid when you compare it to coffee made with other brewing methods. Their motto is “more happiness per cup,” and the less acidic coffee means that you don’t need to put a lot a sugar in your brew to make it taste sweet. This unit makes up to 40 ounces of strong coffee concentrate coffee overnight.

You should try to use a medium to coarse fresh-ground coffee with the Gator, but recently-ground store coffee will also give good results. Filtered cold tap water, below 45-degrees F, should also be used when brewing.

The amount of coffee grounds to use is in the proportion of 75 grams per 1,100 ml of water (2.65 oz. per 3.38 fl. oz.), or about 4 cups of water per 4.5 scoops of ground coffee. Once you fill up the canister with water, screw down the filter and put the grounds in the filter, and slowly pour some more water (about 2 cups) through the coffee grounds in the filter.

Since no heat is involved in the brewing process, brewing times are 12-48 hours. Take out the grounds and the coffee concentrate stays fresh in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can a part of your concentrate with cold water, ice or milk at any time and drink the rich flavored beverage straight up without the need for sugar as there won’t be much acid bitterness.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.5 x 6.5 in.
  • Weight: 1.75 lb.
  • Material Type: Glass
  • Capacity: 47 oz

#4 Pick: Cuisinart DCB-10 Automatic Cold Brew Coffeemaker

Cuisinart’s DCB-10 is a mid-range cold brew coffee maker that looks good and performs even better. It’s a great pick if you don’t want to wait for hours to have your cold-brew coffee like you’d have to do with other brands. The automatic features of this unit mean that you’ll get a delicious cup of coffee in as little as 25 minutes. It has a large seven cup capacity glass carafe and controls that let you customize the strength of your flavor. The coffee stays fresh and flavorful in your fridge for up to two weeks.Cuisinart DCB-10 Automatic Cold Brew Coffeemaker

To make a cold brew with the DCB-10, you start out by adding 1 ½ scoops of fresh coffee grounds to the filter basket for every cup of cool water which you then pour into the water tank.

Cuisinart recommends that you use medium-to-coarse ground coffee. Then you select your preferred coffee strength using the push-button selector on the bottom of the unit, selecting from one of the three options: mild, medium, and bold, and press the ‘brew’ button to begin the cycle.

You’ll see how the coffee filter basket keeps on gently spinning and pausing as it brews your coffee. The unit shuts off when the cycle is done (25 minutes for mild, 35 for medium, and 45 for bold), and you just have to slide a lever to the release position so that the coffee flows into the carafe at the bottom, ready for you to drink.

The coffee maker is made up of two removable glass chambers that are dishwasher safe, a brewing chamber and a carafe. The stainless steel filter lid is also removable and reusable as is the coffee filter basket, which makes it really easy to both fill and get it cleaned up. The coffee release lever also has a convenient indicator light.

Other interesting aspects of the unit are its three filters that contribute to making a smooth cold brew by eliminating sediment and the high capacity carafe with up to seven cups of ready to drink coffee (you don’t have to water it down from concentrate).

Cuisinart is a premium maker of small appliances and coffee makers and stands behind this cold brewer with an unusually long three-year warranty.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 15.28 x 11.65 x 8.9 in.
  • Weight: 6 lb.
  • Material Type: Glass and stainless steel
  • Capacity: 7 cups
  • Warranty: Manufacturer’s limited 3-year warranty

#5 Pick: Ovalware RJ3 Cold Brew Coffee Maker & Tea Infuser

The Ovalware RJ3 cold brewer makes a smooth low-acidic content coffee concentrate that can be stored in your fridge for up to two weeks and will taste fresh when mixed with water, ice or milk. It’s a perfectly engineered piece of equipment with an airtight seal that locks in flavor and a convenient handle which doesn’t take up a lot of room on your refrigerator shelf. The unit is also great for making both iced and hot tea, whether you brew it cold or hot.Ovalware RJ3 Cold Brew Coffee Maker & Tea Infuser

Medical-grade stainless steel on the superfine dual-mesh filter and cap results in an ultra smooth, practically sediment-free coffee concentrate. The jar is made from dishwasher-safe extra thick borosilicate glass and can be used for heating up your coffee on a stove top directly the BPA-free silicon lid holds an airtight seal and keeps the coffee concentrate fresh for up to two weeks, keeping out fridge odors.

To use the brewer, you start out by adding to your filter about 1 ⅛ cups of fresh coarse to medium roasted coffee beans (about 85 grams or 275 ml). Pour into cool or room temperature filtered water to the max line on the jar, and stir the grounds to start brewing.

Then put the brewer in the refrigerator and let it steep for 12-24 hours according to your strength preference, and stop the brewing process by removing the filter the filter together with the coffee grounds. The result is a concentrated brew that you should mix with water or other liquids according to your taste.

It’s also great for making tea or mocha and its convenient temperature resistant glass lets you take it directly from fridge to oven top without a hitch. The sleek low-footprint carafe fits even on a fridge door.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 4.6 x 4.6 x 8 in.
  • Weight: 1 lb.
  • Material Type: Glass and stainless steel
  • Capacity: 34 oz. (1 liter)
  • Warranty: 1-year

#6 Pick: OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker

This classy mid to low-end priced cold brew coffee maker from OXO prepares flavorful, smooth, low-acid coffee concentrate. Its unique ‘Rainmaker’ top helps to distribute water evenly over your coffee ground blend and a switch lets you start the filtration process without getting your hands dirty. When you remove the carafe the filtering stops automatically and cleanly. The unit contains an ultrafine reusable and washable filter mesh that you can use over and over.OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker

The perforated rainmaker helps to optimally extract coffee flavor together with the stainless steel filter mesh. The quality borosilicate glass carafe has handy measurement markings to help you get the proportions just right, and together with the stopper, the coffee concentrate will keep fresh in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The carafe has a small footprint and takes up very little room in your fridge or range top. The unit disassembles and nests.

Making a coffee concentrate on the OXO is pretty simple and straightforward. You start out by filling the top brewing container with your favorite ground coffee, preferably coarse, then stick in the rainmaker top and pour water in a circular motion, stirring the grounds a bit more if needed.

Leave the grounds to steep inside the upper container for 12-24 hours to the desired strength. When you think it’s ready, press down on the brew-release switch and the concentrate will drain down into the glass carafe on the bottom.

When the concentrate has all drained down onto the carafe you can dilute it with as much hot or cold water, ice and/or milk, to your taste and drink away. The included stopper can be used to seal the carafe so that you can put it away in the fridge and pour out concentrate again an dilute as needed for up to two weeks. The carafe holds up to 4 cups (32 ounces) of coffee concentrate.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 9.53 x 9.53 x 14.7 in.
  • Weight: 3.97 lb
  • Material Type: Glass and plastic
  • Capacity: 32 oz

#7 Pick: Toddy Cold Brew System

The classic Toddy cold brewer has been around for many years making the delights of generations of coffee lovers. It’s a budget unit and competes for the lowest price with our budget pick, the Coffee Gator. It’s a snap to use and to make coffeehouse-style coffee without spending a fortune. It uses a patented wool fiber-based filtration system that’s easy to handle and clean. This is an excellent unit from a trustworthy manufacturer that makes excellent uncomplicated, low-acid coffee that will keep fresh for weeks.Toddy Cold Brew System

The thick wool fiber filter can be used multiple times and does double duty as a filter and grounds guard. It’s very easy to prepare a brew run and positively simple to clean. To make a coffee concentrate with the Toddy, start out by grinding your own beans to a coarse ground, or get them fresh-ground in the store if you can.

Next, you pour about three cups of water on top of the filter and ladle out about six ounces of the ground coffee on the three cups of water. Follow that up with another two ounces of water so the first layer of coffee gets moist and put in another six ounces of grounds and another two ounces of water, or enough to fill to the brim, to moisten the final coffee layer.

You don’t need to layer the coffee and water as we describe above, but if you do you’ll get a more even and tastier brew. After you mix it up this way, don’t stir or disturb the grounds and coffee mixture, though you can get the water to seep up by lightly pressing on the grounds.

Finally, let the mixture sit for 12-24 hours depending on how strong you like your coffee to taste and drain it into the carafe for a concentrate that can be mixed with water, ice or your favorite liquid when you’re ready for coffee.

The Toddy comes with a user guide and a recipe booklet, two wool felt filters and a rubber plug. You’ll eventually need to get more filters and rubber stopper, but they’re pretty cheap and readily available from Amazon and other retailers.

Specs and interesting facts:

  • Dimensions: 7.25 x 7.25 x 12.5 in.
  • Weight: 2.15 lb.
  • Material Type: Glass and plastic
  • Capacity: 12 oz
  • Warranty: 1-year

Cold Brew Coffee Makers Buying Guide

Unlike home espresso machines and other hot coffee brewers, cold brewers are very easy to use and preparation and setup is a snap. You typically just grind your coffee beans to a medium to a coarse setting (or buy them pre-ground), add some cool or room temperature water, and let the grounds seep in the water for 12-24 hours, preferably, though not necessarily, in a refrigerator.

To choose your ideal cold brew coffee maker you first need to consider your budget and then a few basic factors that will make it easier to make a decision. The units we review in our roundup offer up a wide gamut of features, prices, and convenience that should make it easy for you pick what will best fit your needs.

Brewer Size

The biggest differences between the brewers are the sizes, some being small all-in-one units with one receptacle for both steeping and storing the coffee. Other units have a mixing bowl that’s separate from the storage unit and serving carafe which will usually hold a lot more coffee than the first option.

Filter Type

Another differentiating factor is the type of filters used (or lack thereof). Reusable metal mesh filters are the most common, but other types, like paper or wool, felt, are also used. The filters get rid of sediment and any of the different types can do a good job. It’s easier to clean up the metal filters and they’re reusable, which may be an advantage.

Extraction Process

One of the major differences between hot and cold brewed coffee lies mainly in the way the coffee is extracted. Hot water makes for a faster extraction process but at the cost of heating up the natural soluble fats and essential oils in the ground beans, changing their chemical makeup for the worse, resulting in heavier acid content and a more bitter flavor.

The cold-brewing process doesn’t mess with the solubles and leaves them intact when they dissipate into the water. mixture. The result is a fuller-bodied brew with the coffee flavor intact, and with less acid and no bitterness.

Some of the cold coffee makers we review here are ridiculously simple to use while others have a little more degree of difficulty involved, but none of them require rocket science to operate them.