We’re all about hitting the snooze button, so naturally we’re obsessed with at-home cold brew. It lets us skip the trip to the coffee shop (and the line) and make our own barista-worthy brew in the comfort of our own kitchen. But you don’t have to make your own from scratch or panic in the refrigerated aisle at the store at all the options. We’ve already rounded up the best cold brew coffee options, just for you.

An aside for the newbies: What’s cold brew and how is it different from iced coffee?

Iced coffee is simply coffee that’s brewed hot, chilled and poured over ice. Cold brew, as the same implies, is brewed cold. It’s made by steeping ground coffee in cool or room temperature water for 12-plus hours. The grounds are then filtered out, and the resulting liquid is a cold brew coffee concentrate. From there, water is added—often a 50:50 mix, but you can adjust it based on your tastes—so it isn’t too intense. You can use a French press to make it at home, but serious cold brew drinks might want to consider investing in a cold brew maker.

Our criteria:

We rated each cold brew coffee on five categories:

• Value: Is it worth the money?

• Flavor: Does it taste good?

• Convenience: Is it ready to drink or does it require dilution, and if so, is the recipe easy to make when you’re half-asleep?

• Smoothness: Is it harsh and bitter or easy drinking?

• Strength: Does it taste more like jet fuel or water?

The Best Cold Brew Coffee Concentrates at a Glance:

1. Best Overall Cold Brew: Grady’s NOLA Cold Brew Concentrate

2. Best Concentrate: Jot Ultra Coffee

3. Best Grocery Store Find: Califia Farms Concentrated Cold Brew

4. Best Value: Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

5. Best Splurge: Café Grumpy Cold Brew

6. Best for Starbucks Lovers: Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

7. Best Large Format Cold Brew: Wandering Bear Extra Strong Cold Brew

8. Best Nitro Cold Brew: Rise Brewing Co. Original Black Nitro Cold Brew

9. Best Cold Brew Latte: La Colombe Triple Shot Draft Latte

10. Best Flavored Cold Brew: High Brew Cold Brew Coffee Mexican Vanilla

11. Best Cold Brew with Milk: Stumptown Original Cold Brew with Cream & Sugar

12. Best Cold Brew with Non-Dairy Milk: Intelligentsia Oat Latte

RELATED: The 10 Best Cold Brew Coffee Makers, According to Caffeine Enthusiasts

1. Grady’s NOLA Cold Brew Concentrate

Best Overall Cold Brew Coffee

• Value: 19/20

• Flavor: 20/20

• Convenience: 18/20

• Smoothness: 20/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 95/100

Grady’s cold brew is a New Orleans-style concentrate, which means it’s brewed with chicory. This gives it a natural, subtle sweet flavor—that, plus the creamy texture and chocolate and caramel notes makes it our favorite cold brew coffee overall. It’s strong but not too strong, easy to dilute with water or milk in equal parts and tastes slightly sweet without any sugar. The NYC-based brand is available to buy online, and while $60 for six 32-ounce bottles isn’t the cheapest option, it’s not the most expensive either.

Pros

• Strong but not too strong

• Equal-parts dilution

• Sweet without sugar

Cons

• More expensive than other options

Buy it ($60)

2. Jot Original Ultra Coffee

Best Cold Brew Concentrate

• Value: 17/20

• Flavor: 19/20

• Convenience: 19/20

• Smoothness: 17/20

• Strength: 20/20

• Total: 92/100

Depending on the brewing process and packaging, some cold brew is naturally concentrated and super strong, while others are already diluted and ready to drink. For a serious coffee buzz, Jot is specially brewed to extract the most flavor possible. (According to the brand, it’s 20 times more concentrated than traditional coffee.) You only need a tablespoon per eight ounces of water, and the taste is flavorful without being overly bitter.

Pros

• Smooth but not bland

• Easy to dilute

• One bottle makes 14 cups of coffee

Cons

• Not widely available

• May be too strong for some palates

Buy it ($24)

3. Califia Farms Concentrated Cold Brew

Best Grocery Store Find

• Value: 19/20

• Flavor: 17/20

• Convenience: 18/20

• Smoothness: 18/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 90/100

Admittedly, many of our all-time favorite cold brew concentrates are only easily purchased online. But Califia farms is stocked in most grocery stores nationwide, and it’s *good.* The smooth flavor works well when diluted with water, but it’s equally quaffable when mixed with milk or a non-dairy alternative.

Pros

• Smooth, balanced flavor

• Widely available

Cons

• Not as nuanced as some higher-end options

Buy it ($6)

4. Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

Best Value

• Value: 19/20

• Flavor: 17/20

• Convenience: 16/20

• Smoothness: 17/20

• Strength: 16/20

• Total: 85/100

Leave it to our boo Joe to provide an affordable-yet-tasty cold brew concentrate. We did the math and the cost per serving is just 75 cents. The concentrate is versatile too: Serve it cold or hot, use it in a coffee dessert recipe or turn it into an affogato. It’s not available online, though, and the flavor isn’t as nuanced as our other picks.

Pros

• Cost per 8-ounce serving is 75 cents

• Can be made cold or hot

• Can be used in baking

Cons

• Only in stores

• Flavor is less nuanced than other picks

$9 at Trader Joe’s

5. Café Grumpy Cold Brew

Best Splurge

• Value: 16/20

• Flavor: 19/20

• Convenience: 20/20

• Smoothness: 18/20

• Strength: 19/20

• Total: 92/100

At $3.75 for one carton, this cold brew isn’t any cheaper than heading to your local café. But with all its caramel and dark chocolate notes, we think it’s worth the splurge. It’s ready to drink without any dilution and tastes just as good black as it does with a splash of half-and-half.

Pros

• Strong and sweet with notes of caramel and dark chocolate

• Ready to drink

Cons

• Expensive

Buy it ($45)

6. Starbucks Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

Best for Starbucks Lovers

• Value: 19/20

• Flavor: 17/20

• Convenience: 17/20

• Smoothness: 16/20

• Strength: 17/20

• Total: 86/100

If you’re Starbucks-obsessed but don’t feel like getting in your car and waiting in a drive-thru line, take heart: You can buy a bottle of the chain’s cold brew concentrate and skip the fuss. The brew tastes shockingly like the cold brew at Starbucks, but is less expensive cup-for-cup (and you can add as much or as little ice and water as you want). The only drawback? It has that signature Starbucks bitterness that you either love or hate.

Pros

• Tastes like the cold brew sold at Starbucks (but is less expensive)

• Easy equal-parts formula for dilution

Cons

• Some bitter flavor notes

$29 at Amazon

7. Wandering Bear Extra Strong Cold Brew Coffee on Tap

Best Large Format Cold Brew

• Value: 18/20

• Flavor: 18/20

• Convenience: 19/20

• Smoothness: 17/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 90/100

Whether you’re a solo coffee fiend or serving a crowd, Wandering Bear’s “on tap” format (it’s like a box of wine, but coffee) makes for a convenient glass of cold brew. The ready-to-drink brew is smooth but super-strong—maybe too strong for some, so dilute as desired.

Pros

• 96-ounce container has a tap for easy pouring straight from the fridge

• Ready to drink and doesn’t require dilution

Cons

• Very strong flavor may be too intense for some cold brew drinkers

Buy it ($27)

8. RISE Brewing Co. Original Black Nitro Cold Brew

Best Nitro Cold Brew

• Value: 17/20

• Flavor: 16/20

• Convenience: 20/20

• Smoothness: 19/20

• Strength: 16/20

• Total: 88/100

Nitro cold brew is charged with nitrogen gas to give it a rich, creamy head of foam (like a draft stout beer) a smooth texture and less bitterness. That also means it’s easier to drink without a ton of added dairy or sugar. We like RISE nitro cold brew for its naturally sweet, chocolaty flavor and luxurious texture, but it’s so smooth that we sometimes wish it was stronger or had a hint of bitterness for flavor.

Pros

• Rich, creamy texture and naturally sweet flavor

• No bitterness

Cons

• Could benefit from a stronger brew for flavor

$39 at Amazon

9. La Colombe Triple Shot Draft Latte

Best Cold Brew Latte

• Value: 17/20

• Flavor: 19/20

• Convenience: 20/20

• Smoothness: 20/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 94/100

If a nitro cold brew and an iced latte had a very delicious baby, La Colombe’s draft latte would be it. It tastes like a milkshake but contains just four grams of added sugar, and the nitrous oxide makes the texture creamy and smooth. We like the balanced coffee flavor of the triple shot version, but the brand makes single and double shot cans too.

Pros

• Tastes sweet but isn’t heavily sweetened

• Creamy, smooth texture and balanced flavor

Cons

• Not friendly for non-dairy coffee drinkers

$40 at Amazon

10. High Brew Cold Brew Coffee Mexican Vanilla

Best Flavored Cold Brew

• Value: 17/20

• Flavor: 18/20

• Convenience: 19/20

• Smoothness: 17/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 89/100

We’ll preface this by saying we’re not flavored-coffee people—we’ll choose unflavored 99 percent of the time. But High Brew’s Mexican vanilla cold brew is the exception. It’s lightened sweetened and contains real vanilla (unlike many brands who use artificial flavor). The cans do contain milk, though, so they’re not non-dairy friendly.

Pros

• Contains real vanilla

• Not overly sweet

Cons

• Not friendly for non-dairy coffee drinkers

$24 at Amazon

11. Stumptown Original Cold Brew with Cream & Sugar

Best Cold Brew with Milk

• Value: 16/20

• Flavor: 19/20

• Convenience: 20/20

• Smoothness: 19/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 92/100

Yes, you could add milk to any cold brew concentrate, but we’re all about efficiency. Aside from being deliciously smooth and robust, Stumptown’s cartons are ready to drink and ultra-convenient with the milk already mixed in. But since we’re not huge fans of sugar in our coffee, we wish they offered an unsweetened variety.

Pros

• Convenient

• Smooth and robust flavor

Cons

• No unsweetened option

Buy it ($48)

Best Cold Brew with Non-Dairy Milk

Best Cold Brew with Non-Dairy Milk

• Value: 16/20

• Flavor: 17/20

• Convenience: 20/20

• Smoothness: 19/20

• Strength: 18/20

• Total: 90/100

We love cold brew and we’re suckers for Oatly oat milk, so TBH, Intelligentsia’s oat latte was an easy sell. But with notes of milk chocolate, molasses and sugar cookie, how could we say no? This cold brew has the added benefit of being shelf-stable, so you can stock your pantry with backups when the fridge is full (or hide them from your roommates). Our only complaint is that we wish it was slightly less sweet.

Pros

• Dairy-free and made with Oatly oat milk

• Shelf-stable

Cons

• Very sweet

Buy it ($48)

RELATED: Why You Shouldn’t Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach, According to a Nutritionist

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