How To Double Brew Coffee For A Kick Ass Cuppa Joe!

Last updated on March 3rd, 2024 at 11:31

There are only a couple of reasons for wanting to know how to double brew coffee. The first is for a serious caffeine boost and the other, perhaps one for coffee lovers, is to get a more intense and bold coffee.

Most people simply want to double brew to get a better tasting cup of coffee. You can double brew using any coffee brewing method, including the French press method, drip brewing, pour over and cold brew coffee.

Grab a chair, keep reading and let’s dig down and let’s talk more about double brewed coffee.

What Is Double Brewed Coffee?

There is no hiding what double brewed coffee is as the clue is in its name. It is coffee that has gone through a double-brewing process and been brewed twice. It is double brewed coffee by brewing coffee with coffee instead of water for the second brew.

There is nothing at all complicated about the process.

You will often hear people mentioning that it is brewing coffee with double the amount of coffee grounds. Personally, I don’t refer to this as double brewing coffee as you are not brewing it twice or going through any double brew process. It is single brewed coffee with 2x the amount of grounds – in other words, it is double strength coffee that is single brewed.

When you do it well, you end up with a bold, full-flavored coffee with a good intense flavor as you are extracting more of the coffee oils and flavor compounds from your ground coffee and into your cup of coffee.

Some people like to mix and match brewing techniques, such as brewing using a drip machine first and making drip coffee and then a Chemex or French Press coffee maker. Some simply suggest using the same grounds twice.

In my own opinion, it works best when you stick with one brewing technique and use fresh coffee grounds each time to get a top quality strong, fresh, double-brewed coffee that simply tastes amazing, fresh grounds each time is the key to success here.

Read: How long to grind coffee beans

How To Double Brew Coffee – Two Unique Techniques And Methods

As I already touched on, there are two main ways of elaborating a double brewed coffee, but only one way of making the best tasting double brewed coffee.

Let’s talk about those two methods in more detail.

Brewing Coffee Grounds Twice For Maximum Flavor – Double Brew French Press Technique

This method is what I prefer to use and consider the best way for getting the most flavor and the true way of making a double brewed coffee.

Step 1: Boil Your Water

For good extraction of the compounds and oils, use a temperature of 94C (200F).

Step 2: Weigh Your Beans

Weigh coffee beans whole before grinding them. The weight is the same as the mass does not change. Grinding your beans as late as possible prior to brewing helps to keep them as fresh as possible with the result being a better tasting cup of coffee.

Weigh 30 grams (1 ounce) for every 12 ounce (360 ml) cup of coffee that you want to make.

Step 3: Grind Your Beans

Grind your beans using a coarse grind size. The last number or biggest grind is what you are looking for here. Use 30 grams of beans for a 360 ml (12 ounce) cup of coffee.

Step 4: Add Your Grounds

Add your grounds to your French press. Give your French press a light shake to ensure even distribution of your grounds.

Step 5: Bloom Your Grounds

Add a small amount of water to your grounds. Enough to wet them and slightly cover them. Wait 20 to 30 seconds to allow your fresh grounds to bloom. You will notice they expand a little and even bubble a little. This is simply the degassing process caused by the carbon dioxide.

Step 6: Add Your Water

Add the rest of your water slowly to your French press and push down on the plunger until it is just below the water line.

Wait 4 to 5 minutes for extraction depending on your taste preference and how strong you want your coffee.

Step 7: Take The Plunge!

Once your coffee has been extracted, press down on the plunger of your French press slowly and evenly until it gets to the bottom.

At this point, you would normally be ready to pour your cup of regular coffee. Since you are not making a regular coffee here, you are double brewing it.

Step 8: Decant And Clean

Decant your freshly brewed coffee and clean your equipment and repeat steps 1 to 7. With the exemption of “Boil Your Water” (Step 1). Simply reheat your freshly brewed coffee to 94C (200F) to ensure you have it at the correct temperature.

Through the rest of the steps you are using fresh grounds and instead of pouring hot water, you are using your brewed coffee from the first round of brewing to create coffee double brewed to perfection using a French press.

Step 9: Pour And Enjoy!

This part is the best part. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and enjoy your freshly French press coffee. You will notice it is a strong coffee both in terms of flavor and caffeine as French press is one of the methods that is known to extract a lot of caffeine from coffee beans.

Use Twice As Much Coffee Grounds

This method can also be used for any brewing method. It is not strictly speaking double brewing coffee as you are not taking already brewed coffee and brewing it for a second time.

With this method I will explain it with the same French press method as above.

Step 1: Boil Your Water

For maximum extraction, use water that is at 200F (94C). This is straight in the middle of the 92C to 96C (195F to 205F).

Step 2: Weight Your Grounds

This time, instead of using 30 grams (1 ounce) of coffee per 12 ounces (360 ml) cup of coffee you are going to use double the amount of coffee and use 30 grams (2 ounces) per 12 ounce (360 ml) cup of coffee.

The alert amongst you will have noticed the coffee to water ratio is now 1:6

Step 3: Get Grinding!

Grind your coffee beans to a coarse grind. As per the first technique above, grind them to a coarse grind and as large a grind as your grinder permits.

Step 4: Add Your Grounds

Add your grounds to your French press and give it a very light shake. The goal of shaking is to get a nice flat, even distribution of your grounds.

Step 5: Bloom Your Grounds

Add enough water to cover your grounds and a touch more. Blooming is skill, a knack that you will develop like second nature. Blooming for too long and for too short a time period is not good, approximately 20 to 25 seconds.

Step 6: Add Your Hot Water And Brew

Slowly pour the rest of your water into your French press and push down on the plunger until it is just below the water level.

Wait 4 to 5 minutes for your coffee to extract and brew. Be careful not to over extract and over brew. You will end up with an overtly bitter flavor.

Step 7: Plunge It!

Slowly lower your plunger with a steady even pressure until it hits the bottom then decant and enjoy your coffee.  Do not leave your coffee in your French press as it will continue to brew and slowly become bitter.

Unless, of course, you are one of the few bitter coffee lovers that exist…

What Are The Benefits Of Double Brewing Your Coffee?

There are two main benefits for double brewing your coffee. These are:

• 1. A greater caffeine kick.
• 2. A more focused and concentrated flavor profile.

Most coffee lovers and enthusiasts, will say the second reason they want a double brewed coffee is for a more full bodied flavor.

Double Brew Drip Coffee

Double Brewed drip coffee is quick, effortless and easy to make. To get the most out of your drip coffee machine and the resulting cup of coffee, use a metal filter or cotton cloth filter.

You will end up with a better, more full, deep tasting coffee as a metal filter does not filter out any of the coffee oils that give coffee its flavor. A cotton cloth filter will only remove some coffee oils while a paper filter removes them all.

Which to me, there is no point in double brewing drip coffee and removing the coffee oils in the process.

Here is how you make a double brewed coffee with an automatic drip machine.

Step 1: Get Your Water Ready

Get your water ready by using the best possible water that you can. Filtered water is better than tap water both in terms of taste and for your machine. Fill your machine with 900 ml (30 Ounces)of water.

Step 2: Grind Your Beans

Weigh and measure your coffee beans. Weight 60 grams (2 ounces) of whole beans. Then grind them to a medium coarse grind size.

Here with this double brewed drip coffee you are going to use a coffee to water ratio of 1:15 for a great tasting coffee.

For maximum freshness, grind your beans as late as possible. I like to switch my automatic drip coffee machine on and wait until it is dripping hot water before I grind and add my grounds. Just remember to quickly switch it off and pour out any water in the coffee pot below.

Step 3: Put Your Grounds In The Filter

As easy as it sounds. Put your coffee grounds in to the filter basket and switch your drip coffee maker on and let it drip away until it is ready.

Step 4: Clean Your Machine

Clean your machine, remove your coffee pot and repeat the above steps using fresh coffee grounds. Switch out the 30 oz of water and fill your drip coffee maker with the coffee that you have just brewed.

Your coffee will now drip out of your machine instead of water and over your new grounds. The result of which is a lovely double brewed drip coffee.

Double Brew Cold Brew Coffee

Double brewed cold brew coffee is quite a delight and takes a long time to make. Have patience and make extra. This technique is one which will pull out all the high and low temperature flavors from your coffee beans.

Which have already revealed a good part of why this is a particularly great tasting cup of cold brew coffee.

Step 1: Boil Your Water

During this first round of brewing we are going to extract the high temperature flavor compounds. Heat your water at least 32 ounces (950ml) of it to 200F (94C).

Step 2: Weigh Your Beans

Weigh your coffee beans before grinding them to a coarse grind size. The ideal size you are looking for is as large as your coffee grinder permits. Only grind them when you are about to use them, not before.

For 32 ounces of water (950ml) use 4 ounces (120 grams) of coffee grounds. This is a good 1:8 coffee to water ratio.

Step 3: Put Your Grounds In Your Container

Place your grounds in a glass container large enough to hold your cold brew coffee. Make sure it has an airtight lid. A mason jar is ideal.

Step 4: Add Your Water

Add your hot water to the mason jar with your ground coffee beans and let it brew. The ideal place to keep it is in your fridge to ensure it gets as cold as possible for the second round of brewing.

Leave your cold brew in the fridge for 12 to 16 hours to extract and brew away. Initially, it will extract all the hot flavor compounds. Be sure to check on your brew after 8 hours and then every 3 to 4 hours to check its strength and quality.

Step 5: Decant Your Cold Brew

Strain out your coffee grounds with a cheesecloth or sieve (best) and into a new airtight container. Clean out your mason jar and repeat the above steps. This time for the second round of brewing, use your cold brewed coffee with a second batch of fresh grounds and again let it brew away in your fridge overnight.

Follow the same rule of test it after 8 hours and then every 3 to 4 hours until you get the taste and strength that you desire.

Step 6: Filter Your Grounds

As you did in step 55, filter out your coffee grounds. If you forget or skip over this process, your cold brew will continue to brew and extract and eventually become overtly bitter. It is this second brew that is drawing out all the cold flavor compounds.

Filter it out and store your cold brew in an airtight glass container.

Step 7: Pour And Enjoy!

Enough said – serve and enjoy your double brewed cold brew coffee.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Double Brew Coffee

Is It Okay To Double Brew Coffee?

Yes, you brew coffee twice by double brewing using fresh coffee grounds each time. If you are double brewing a pot coffee using the drip brewing coffee methods, you are using fresh grounds each time and emptying the pot of coffee from the first cycle of brewing into the water reservoir and brewing with coffee for the second round of double brewing.

What you can’t do is use your coffee grounds for a second time to get a second cup or pot of coffee as you will end up with a weak and water coffee that is slightly sour.

If you are able to get a second cup of coffee from your coffee grounds, it is a sign that there is something wrong with your brewing process. You should get all the flavor into your first (and only!) time of using them.

What Happens If You Brew Coffee Twice?

If you brew your coffee twice using the same coffee grounds, you will end up with a watery and astringent tasting brew.

However, if you brew coffee twice, like making a double brewed coffee, you will end up with a coffee that is stronger, bolder and more caffeinated. Each brewing cycle you must use fresh coffee grounds.

Can You Steep Cold Brew Twice?

No, it should not be possible for you to steep the same coffee grounds twice for cold brew as you should probably be extracting the coffee flavor from the during the first cycle of brewing.

What Is A Coffee With 2 Shots Of Espresso Called?

A doppio, it’s an Italian word meaning double, in the world of coffee it refers to a double espresso.

How Do You Double Strength Coffee?

 One of the easiest and most natural ways of enjoying a double strength coffee is to double brew it using the percolator brewing method. A percolator naturally double brews coffee and more as it cycles the water over the coffee grounds multiple times.

Which Coffee Method Is Strongest?

The strongest and most potent brewing method for coffee is espresso. The strongest and most caffeinated drink on a per-ounce basis is a ristretto. A ristretto is a very focused shot of espresso with a coffee to water ratio of 1:1.

The amount of affine in a shot of ristretto is 65 mg, while a regular espresso has 75 mg. A ristretto is only 20 ml (2/3 Oz) while an espresso is 30 ml (1 Oz)  The amount of caffeine per ounce is 97.5 mg compared to 75 mg per ounce.

Frappé-Ing It All Up – How To Double Brew Coffee

Double brewed coffee is great, and it’s something I enjoy from time to time in those cold winter mornings when I just don’t want to get out of bed! That extra taste boost and caffeine kick does it for me.

I hope you have read this far and not just scrolled down because if you did you know exactly how to double brew coffee the best way to get a perfect, intense tasting coffee!

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