Make Nitro Cold Brew At Home Like A Pro Barista [Tutorial]

It is highly advantageous to make nitro cold brew at home since this drink is quite hard to find in your local coffee shop – only the best and most prepared of gourmet coffee places have it as it requires specialist equipment to make a lot of it on demand.

This very article will detail step by step how to make the best nitro cold brew coffee in the comfort of your home.

Keep reading as we dig down and detail this very unique coffee drink.

How To Make Nitro Cold Brew At Home Step By Step

I am a massive fan of using the Ferrari principle – also known as the chef’s principle where you use the best possible ingredients to get the best possible results.

I am also a genuine coffee lover that cares for my readers. I really want you to make the best coffee that you can and that means using the freshest possible ingredients.

Follow those two principles – fresh ingredients and the best ingredients, and you will make coffee shop quality coffee.

To make nitro cold brew at home, seek out the best possible coffee beans that are specialty coffee grade – the highest and best grade. Check the roasted on date to ensure that they are fresh.

Your beans should have been roasted no longer than 7 days ago. Ordering your coffee beans online is not an issue as there is a period of 3 days post-roasting, in which it takes your beans to reach their peak flavor.

Thus,

the best beans are enjoyed 3 days after roasting and for 7 days beyond this 3-day period. That is the peak flavor window.

Water, the same rules apply – tap water is just not going to cut it – use mineral water, or at the very minimum filtered water. Coffee, no matter what type you are brewing be it a nitro cold brew coffee, a French press coffee, moka pot coffee or a siphon coffee, 99% of it is water.

It is the main ingredient and the better your water, the better your nitro brew will be.

Read: How do you make nitro coffee?

Making A Perfect Nitro Cold Brew At Home Step 1: Grind It!

One small factor in ensuring your grinding is perfect. Unfortunately the dissipation of heat can spoil your beans slightly. The best answer to that is to use a ceramic burr grinder.

The ceramic material ensures that there is a reduction in the heat transfer from the burr to your beans.

Also, a burr grinder gives you a more consistent grind size.

For a nitro cold brew coffee, you must grind to a coarse grind size.

Pro Tip: To mitigate the problem of heat dissipation and keep your beans fresh, store them in a professional coffee canister and keep it in your fridge.

Step 2: Prep Your Cold Brew And Make A Concentrate

To make a good quality cold brew concentrate for your nitro coffee instead of using a coffee to water ratio of 1:8, we are going to use a 1:4 ratio.

A concentrate will stay fresh for longer, which is why it is preferred to regular cold brew.

Weigh 200 grams (6.75 ounces) of coarsely ground coffee beans. and add them to 800 ml (27 ounces) of ice-cold mineral water.

Use a glass container with an airtight lid. An airtight lid prevents oxygen from entering and oxidizing your brew as it is extracting.

No specialty coffee maker is needed to make cold brew coffee.

Step 3: Let Your Cold Brew Coffee Brew

This step requires very little, actually nothing on your part. Simply just leave your coffee in the fridge to extract and draw out all the low temperature flavor compounds.

A good extraction time will range from 12 to 24 hours. The variation is due to the low temperature and how cold your fridge is, the beans you are using and your own personal taste preference.

Run a taste test after 12 hours to test it out. At Latte Love Brew we encourage you to use the TAFO Principle – Taste And Find Out. If it is not ready and not hitting that spot for you test again every 3 to 4 hours.

Remember that this is not a regular cold brew coffee that you are making. It is a cold brew coffee concentrate. When you are taste testing, dilute your concentrate with an equal amount of mineral water.

Use the same mineral water as you did when brewing your coffee.

Step 4: Filter Time! Do Not Skip This Step

Alert!

If you skip over this step, only one thing will happen – you will spoil your coffee concentrate. If you forget to filter out your ground coffee, it will continue to extract and brew until you remove them – the result will be an over brewed and spoiled coffee.

Be aware of the different results produced by different types of filters.

A paper filter will filter out all the coffee oils and produce a very clean and crisp tasting coffee.

A metal filter will leave all the coffee oils in your drink and will result in a full flavored and full-bodied coffee.

A cotton cloth filter will result in a coffee that is somewhat between the two as it filters out some but not all the oils.

Since it is a nitro cold brew coffee and not a regular cold brew coffee that we are ultimately making, I prefer to use a metal filter.

Step 5: Dilute Your Concentrate

Since this is not a traditional cold brew and is a concentrate you need to dilute it using a 1:1 ratio of concentrate to water.

For the best results, use the exact same water as you did when brewing your concentrate.

Step 6: How To Infuse Nitrogen Into Coffee

This is the fun part where we turn our cold brew coffee into a nitro cold brew coffee by using nitrogen gas micro bubbles.

Pour your cold brew coffee into the main chamber of your whipped cream dispenser. Fill it to no greater than being 75% full. You need to allow some space for the nitrogen.

Charge your cold-brewed coffee with nitrogen once or twice – as per your own preference.

Shake it well for 35 to 40 seconds to allow the nitrogen and cold-brewed coffee to mix well.

Seek out a clear glass and dispense, pour your nitro cold brew coffee and admire as it cascades like a pint of Guinness as you pour it.

Cold Brew Vs Nitro

There is a difference between cold brew and nitro brew cold brew coffee.

Traditional cold brew is simply just making cold brew coffee the traditional way with great beans and cold water, letting it sit for the same amount of time while it extracts.

It is readily available at your local coffee shop.

Nitro cold brew is a very new coffee drink and has only been around since the early 2010s. It is a lot more difficult to find a coffee shop that sells cold brew. My nearest coffee shop that sells Nitro Cold Brew is some 60 miles away!

The taste is distinctively different: it’s sweeter, creamier and has a richer taste. It also has that beautiful, mesmerizing cascading effect when the creamy head settles.

Frequently Asked Questions About Nitro Cold Brew At Home

Can You Make Nitro Cold Brew At Home?

Yes, even though coffee shops make their nitro brew using a mini keg or commercial dispenser on tap, you can make nitro cold brew coffee at home using a cream whipper.

Is Nitro Cold Brew Healthier?

Yes, nitro coffee is healthier than regular coffee. The nitro gas has no sugar or calories – as does black coffee. Nitro cold brew coffee is rich, silky smooth and is sweeter than a regular cup of coffee and does not need to have milk, sugar or cream to be added – even though you can if you so want to.

How Is Nitro Cold Brew Made At Starbucks?

Starbucks nitro cold brew coffee is made using their signature cold brew which is steeped for 20 hours and then infused with nitrogen as it is poured from the tap. The nitrogen creates micro bubbles which give your coffee a frothy texture and a cascading effect.

Can You Use A Whipped Cream Dispenser To Make Nitro Coffee?

Yes, and a whipped cream dispenser produces great results – it is a little inconvenient, especially when you want to make more than one nitro coffee, but the results are every bit as good as a mini-keg in terms of flavor and texture and the amount of cream produced. Surprisingly for some they do make a perfect nitro cold brew coffee.

Why Does Nitro Cold Brew Taste Sweet?

When you brew at a low temperature and extract all the low temperature compounds, you extract less of the acidic and bitter flavors from your coffee beans, the typical flavor that you would expect from brewed coffee is not there. The result is a less astringent and smoother tasting coffee.

The nitrogen infusion further enhances the flavor of cold brew coffee. The nitrogen micro bubbles will impart a touch of sweetness and are said to draw out some of the chocolate undertones from the coffee beans used.

What Bean Does Starbucks Use For Nitro Cold Brew?

Starbucks uses their cold brew blend that they serve in their coffee shops to make their nitro cold brew coffee. It is a blend of 100% Arabica coffee beans from Latin America and Africa. The exact blend and which proportions are a trade secret.

You can buy their pitcher packs or a 72 ounce (1.8 liter) ready-to-drink box of cold brew coffee if you want to replicate Starbucks cold brew coffee to use as the base for your nitro brew.

What Do I Need To Make Nitro Cold Brew?

To make nitro cold brew coffee you need freshly roasted coarse ground coffee, iced cold water or cool tap water and a one liter whipped cream dispenser that is compatible with nitrogen cartridges. 

Can You Make Nitro Drinks At Home?

Yes, to make nitro infused drinks at home you need a whipped cream dispenser, freshly ground coffee, water and a nitrogen cartridge. Your whipped cream dispenser must be compatible with nitrogen cartridges. 

Final Thoughts – Nitro Cold Brew At Home

As you can see, nitro cold brew at home is very easy to make with very little specialist equipment needed – if you are making it only occasionally a whipped cream dispenser is all you will need. If you are going to make it a lot or frequently, it will be worth your while getting a mini Ukeg nitro coffee maker.

You can also “play around” with this drink and for an amazing nitro coffee add a topping for vanilla sweet cream cold foam with a drizzle of caramel syrup.

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Derek Marshall

Derek Marshall, a certified barista by the Specialty Coffee Association possesses over two decades of experience in specialty coffee shops. He holds professional certifications for coffee brewing and barista skills. Derek is also an author with authoritative books covering various coffee topics including specialty coffee, sustainability and coffee, coffee brewing, coffee recipes, coffee cocktails and books focusing on Brazilian coffee, Vietnamese coffee, Indonesian coffee and Malaysian coffee. As a barista for over two decades, Derek Marshall has worked in specialty coffee shops across the United Kingdom, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His expertise extends to the distinct coffee cultures, specialty beverages, and brewing techniques of each nation. Functioning as a coffee consultant, Derek charges US$50 per hour. To learn more about Derek Marshall and Latte Love Brew, visit his About Me Page. For coffee inquiries, contact him at +34-639-410-375 or Derek@LatteLoveBrew.com, mentioning your name and location