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The first proper warmth of May has a way of changing what you reach for in the morning. A long flat white still has its place, but somewhere between the sunshine through the kitchen window and the longer evenings, your coffee ritual quietly begins to evolve. With the Spring Bank Holiday weekend on the horizon, this is the moment to slow things down even further — and let your coffee take its time.
Enter cold brew. Not iced coffee made with hot espresso poured over ice. Not a hurried jug in the fridge. Properly slow-steeped, single-origin, made-at-home cold brew — the kind that rewards patience with a cup so smooth and chocolatey it tastes like it was designed for May afternoons in the garden.
This year, cold coffee has officially shed its summer-only label. Industry data shows non-espresso specialty drinks like cold brew grew by more than 40% between 2020 and 2025, and the trend isn't slowing. But while cafés are pouring more cold brew than ever, the real story for 2026 is what's happening at home — brewers are choosing single origins, paying attention to grind, and treating the long steep as a weekend ritual rather than a chore.
The onset of spring is the perfect excuse to start.
Why Cold Brew, Why Now
Cold brew is the slowest fast drink you'll ever make. You put coarse coffee in cold water on Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday morning your fridge has gifted you something extraordinary — naturally sweet, lower in acidity than hot coffee, and somehow softer on the palate without losing depth.
Three things make 2026 the year to take it seriously at home:
- Lighter, fruitier roasts have become the standard for cold brew. Gone is the era of bitter, over-extracted concentrate. Today's brewers select beans for clarity and character.
- Cold brew keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks. One slow Saturday brew can quietly fuel an entire week of mornings.
- It's deeply customisable. Straight, with milk, with tonic, with a splash of citrus — no espresso machine required.
What You'll Need
You don't need expensive kit. Here's the minimum:
- A 1-litre jar with a lid (a Kilner jar is ideal)
- A fine-mesh sieve, a muslin cloth, or a simple cold brew filter bag
- 100g of coarsely ground specialty coffee
- 1 litre of filtered cold water
- Patience (12 to 18 hours of it)
A 1:10 ratio of coffee to water is the home brewer's sweet spot. It produces a balanced cup you can drink straight, or you can pull a stronger 1:8 brew and dilute to taste.
Choosing the Right Bean
This is where the magic actually lives. Cold brewing softens a lot of the brightness you'd get from a pour-over, so you want a bean with character and structure to begin with.
Our Rwanda Kigali is a beautiful match. Its notes of vanilla, berry and rhubarb hold up gorgeously through a long steep — the cold method softens its acidity into something jammy, almost wine-like. It's the kind of cold brew that reminds you why you got into specialty coffee in the first place.
If you'd rather lean into something cosier, a Brazilian or Colombian single origin will give you walnut, brown sugar and toffee in cold form — closer to a classic milkshake-style profile that works beautifully with oat milk over ice.
Either way: ask us for a coarse grind at checkout, or grind at home as coarse as sea salt. Anything finer and you'll over-extract.
The Slow Method
- Weigh out 100g of coarsely ground coffee.
- Add it to your jar.
- Pour in 1 litre of cold filtered water, slowly, making sure all the grounds are saturated.
- Stir gently with a long spoon to dislodge any dry pockets.
- Seal the jar and place it in the fridge (or a cool dark cupboard) for 12 to 18 hours. Twelve hours gives a brighter, more delicate cup; eighteen leans richer and more chocolatey.
- Strain through your sieve lined with muslin, or through your filter bag, into a clean jar or carafe.
- Don't squeeze the grounds — let it drip naturally for the cleanest cup.
That's it. You've made cold brew.
Four Ways to Serve It
Cold brew is a wonderful canvas. Some of our favourite ways to drink it:
- Pure — over a single large ice cube, in a heavy tumbler. Lets the bean do all the talking.
- Cold brew tonic — half cold brew, half good tonic water, plenty of ice, a twist of orange peel. Try this on a sunny afternoon and thank us later.
- Iced oat latte — equal parts cold brew and cold oat milk over ice. No syrup needed; the coffee's natural sweetness carries it.
- Espresso martini shortcut — cold brew, vodka, coffee liqueur, shaken hard. Saves you the trouble of pulling shots when guests arrive.
Store leftover cold brew in a sealed bottle in the fridge for up to two weeks. The flavour actually settles and improves over the first 24 hours.
