A Guide To The Toddy Cold Brew Method: Instructions & Recipe

Mike C
Written By Mike C

I've been writing about coffee and espresso machines for 3 years. My goal is to provide you with helpful content that you can trust based on my own personal experiences, information from manufacturers, and tips and tricks I've gathered from other coffee and espresso machine users.

I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Toddy Cold Brew Coffee And Tea Recipe And Instructions

The Toddy Cold Brew System is a super easy way to make coffee or tea concentrate. But to make a concentrate with a smooth and rich flavor, you do have to understand the right ratio of water to coffee grounds or tea leaves. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the recommended Toddy cold brew recipe for coffee or tea concentrate, as well as the instructions for the various steeping methods.

Toddy Cold Brew Recipe

Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Recipe

Coffee grinds are most often served in 8, 12 or 16 oz bags. You’ll have to use a full bag of coffee if you don’t have a kitchen scale to measure out a different amount. Depending on how much coffee you have or how much concentrate you want, use the following ratio of coffee grinds and water. It is important that the coffee grinds are coarse.

Coffee Concentrate AmountCoarse Ground CoffeeWater
3.1 cups / 25 oz8 oz (230 g)4.5 cups (36 fl. oz / 1.07 L)
4.8 cups / 38 oz12 oz (340 g)7 cups (56 fl. oz. / 1.65 L)
6.3 cups / 50 oz16 oz (450 g)9 cups (72 fl. oz. / 2.13 L)

If your grocer or coffee shops will grind the beans for you, tell them you want a french press grind. Otherwise, if grinding at home use the coarse ground setting. If your grinder does not have this setting, just grind for 75% of the time recommended for brewing the grounds hot.

When serving the cold brew, use a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 3 parts water or milk. Use cold water and pour over ice for an iced coffee. For hot coffee, mix the concentrate with steaming hot water. If the coffee tastes too strong, add more water. If it tastes too weak, add more concentrate or use less water next time.

Toddy Cold Brew Tea Recipe

Toddy recommends using 8 oz of leaves to make a tea concentrate. If that is too much for you, try cutting the recipe in half.

Tea Concentrate AmountTea LeavesWater
50 oz8 oz (230 g)9 cups (72 fl. oz./2.13 L)

When serving the cold brew, use a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 7 parts water or milk. Use cold water and pour over ice for an iced tea. For hot tea, mix the concentrate with steaming hot water. If the tea tastes too strong, add more water. If it tastes too weak, add more concentrate or use less water next time.

Toddy Cold Brew Coffee Instructions

You can use two different Toddy methods to make your cold brew coffee. One requires you to buy single use paper filter bags, but you get the benefit of easier cleanup. Alternatively, you can use the original method which only requires the felt filter which can be reused for up to 3 months or 10 uses, whichever comes first.

Method 1 (Paper Filter)Method 2 (Felt Filter)
Easier CleanupOriginal Method Developed in 1964
More ConcentrateVirtually No Sediment In Concentrate
Works With More Coffee Grind SizesNo Paper Filter Needed

Coffee Concentrate Method 1

  1. Insert the stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container. Gently press it into place and turn it a quarter of the way to seal
  2. Dampen the felt filter with clean water and insert it into the inside bottom of the container
  3. Open the top of the paper coffee filter bag and place it into the container
  4. Add the desired amount of coffee and water per the recipe options above into the bag
  5. Stir the water and grinds together with a spoon or spatula
  6. Twist the top of the filter bag tightly
  7. Steep the coffee grinds at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Most experts would say 12 to 18 hours is actually best. Don’t let it steep for more than 24 hours otherwise the concentrate will be very bitter
  8. Remove the stopper from the outside bottom of the brewing container. The coffee concentrate will start to flow into the glass decanter
  9. Throw away the paper filter bag and the coffee grinds
  10. Refrigerate the coffee concentrate for up to two weeks with the lid on the decanter
  11. Serve using a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 3 parts water or milk
  12. You can adjust this ratio to your desired taste. Use more concentrate vs water for a stronger taste. Use more water vs concentrate for a lighter tasting coffee

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Coffee Concentrate Method 2

The steps in this method assume you are making the recipe with 12 oz of coffee. If you are using 8 oz or 16 oz, you’ll have to adjust the measures.

  1. Insert stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container. Gently press it into place and turn it a quarter of the way to seal
  2. Dampen the felt filter with clean water and insert it into the inside bottom of the container
  3. Add 1 cup (235 ml) of water and 6 oz (170 g) of coarse ground coffee into the bottom of the Toddy brewing container
  4. Slowly pour an additional 3 cups of water (710 ml) over the grounds in a circular motion
  5. Wait five minutes and then add the remaining 6 oz (170 g) of coffee to the container
  6. Slowly add the remaining 3 cups of water
  7. DO NOT stir the grounds and water! Doing so may clog the filter. Instead, just lightly press down on the grounds at the top with the back of a spoon. This will ensure all grounds are wet
  8. Let the grounds steep for 12 to 18 hours, ideally, but certainly not more 24 hours
  9. Remove the stopper and let the concentrate flow into the decanter. With the lid on, this will stay fresh for up to two weeks in the fridge
  10. Serve using a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 3 parts water or milk
  11. You can adjust this ratio to your desired taste. Use more concentrate vs water for a stronger taste. Use more water vs concentrate for a lighter tasting coffee

Toddy Cold Brew Tea Instructions

You can use two different Toddy methods to make your cold brew tea concentrate. One requires you to buy single use paper filter bags, but you get the benefit of easier cleanup. Alternatively, you can use the original method which only requires the felt filter which can be reused for up to 3 months or 10 uses, whichever comes first.

Method 1Method 2
Easier CleanupOriginal Method Developed in 1964
More ConcentrateVirtually No Sediment In Concentrate
Works With Smaller Tea LeavesNo Paper Filter Needed

Tea Concentrate Method 1

  1. Insert stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container. Gently press it into place and turn it a quarter of the way to seal
  2. Dampen the felt filter with clean water and insert it into the inside bottom of the container
  3. Open the top of the paper filter bag and place it into the container
  4. Add 8 oz or 230 g of tea leaves and 9 cups or 72 fl oz of water into the filter bag
  5. Stir the water and tea leaves together with a spoon or spatula
  6. Twist the top of the filter bag tightly
  7. Steep the tea leaves at room temperature for 12 hours
  8. Remove the stopper from the outside bottom of the brewing container. The tea concentrate will start to flow into the glass decanter
  9. Throw away the paper filter bag and the tea leaves
  10. Refrigerate the tea concentrate for up to two weeks with the lid on the decanter
  11. Serve using a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 7 parts water or milk
  12. You can adjust this ratio to your desired taste. Use more tea concentrate vs water for a stronger taste. Use more water vs tea concentrate for a lighter tasting tea.

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Tea Concentrate Method 2

  1. Insert stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container. Gently press it into place and turn it a quarter of the way to seal
  2. Dampen the felt filter with clean water and insert it into the inside bottom of the container
  3. Add 1 cup (235 ml) of water and 4 oz (115 g) of tea leaves into the bottom of the Toddy brewing container
  4. Slowly pour an additional 3 cups of water (710 ml) over the leaves in a circular motion
  5. Add the remaining 4 oz (115 g) of tea leaves to the container
  6. Wait 5 minutes then slowly add the remaining 3 cups of water
  7. DO NOT stir the leaves and water! Doing so may clog the filter. Instead, just lightly press down on the leaves at the top with the back of a spoon. This will ensure all of them are wet
  8. Let the leaves steep for 12 hours
  9. Remove the stopper and let the concentrate flow into the decanter. With the lid on, this will stay fresh for up to two weeks in the fridge
  10. Serve using a ratio of 1 part concentrate and 7 parts water or milk
  11. You can adjust this ratio to your desired taste. Use more concentrate vs water for a stronger taste. Use more water vs concentrate for a lighter tasting tea

Cleaning Up Your Toddy System

When you are done steeping, you can just throw away the coffee grinds, tea leaves and paper filter bag if you used the first method. Pop the felt filter out from the bottom of the container. Give the filter a good rinse with water only, no soap. Put the damp filter into a plastic bag right away and put it in the freezer. Technically you can put other reusable parts in the dishwasher, but it is best to hand wash them.

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