Homemade spiced Christmas cold brew coffee is delicious and easy to make. Seasonally spiced, naturally sweet and delicious – enjoy the coffee shop experience at home.
Cold brew coffee – smooth, naturally sweet and without any bitterness – is a delicious change from more usual home hot brewing techniques such as pour over or a cafetière. I’m a big fan, and drink cold brew regularly over the summer. For something tasty and different in these colder months, though, my homemade Christmas cold brew coffee adds seasonal spices for a great tasting coffee experience.
A glass of cool, sweet cold brew, shows the natural sugars in the coffee and tastes great without any bitterness, a result of the long, slow, brewing process overnight in the fridge. But we can enjoy it at any time of year, and adjust the recipe to reflect the season, which is what we’ve done here.
This home made Christmas cold brew coffee is as straightforward to make as regular cold brew.
How do I make Christmas cold brew coffee?
Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water for about 12 hours. To make this Christmas version, we add spices to the ground coffee.
The easiest way to make this is with a cold brew pot: add coffee and spices to the mesh filter, fill with water and leave in the fridge overnight. If you don’t have a cold brew pot, simply use a cafetière and plunge in the morning. You don’t even need that – steep the coffee overnight in a jug; next morning filter out the grounds using a funnel and piece of muslin or a coffee filter.
Adjust the quantities of spice to your taste. I used cinnamon, vanilla paste, nutmeg and cloves, but you could substitute in allspice and a fresh vanilla pod. Add the spices to the ground coffee, pour over the water and place in the fridge overnight. I used 50g of coffee to 500ml of water: to that, I added one 10 cm/4″ piece of cinnamon, 2 cloves, a pinch of grated nutmeg and a drop of vanilla paste (it’s powerful stuff!).
In the morning, you can drink it as it comes, or drop in a couple of cranberries and a slice of orange for an even more Christmassy taste!
Homemade Festive Spiced Cold Brew Coffee
Ingredients
- 50 g ground coffee
- 500 ml water (cold)
- 1 stick cinnamon (10cm/4″)
- 2 cloves
- 1 pinch nutmeg (freshly grated)
Instructions
- Add coffee, spices and water to cold brew pot/cafetiere/jug.
- Leave to steep overnight in the fridge or for at least 8 hours
- After it’s brewed, remove / plunge / filter coffee grounds and spices. Enjoy the spiced cold brew coffee
Homemade spiced festive cold brew coffee would be the perfect accompaniment to our orange spice french toast for brunch.
Or, for another festive drink, make my easy Spiced Cranberry Vodka with Orange
Rachel George, Ordinary Hopes
I have never tried cold brew coffee before, yet now I feel like I am missing out! Going to share on Facebook to find out if others knew about this!
Helen
We love cold brew here. All the flavour and no bitterness.
Jolina
I love how you can use your favourite spices. I’m not a big coffee fan, I think it is the bitterness, so I think I would definitely get into this!
Helen
We adore cold brew, naturally sweeter than regularly brewed coffee.
Felesha Bell
What a cozy idea!!! Can’t wait to try this at home!!
Helen
it is perfect for the winter months!
Amy | The Cook Report
This sounds lovely, a great idea for Christmas morning!
Helen
Ideal for Christmas morning!
Dannii
I do love a festive coffee drink and this looks much cheaper and healthier than buying a Starbucks.
Helen
I do love a festive coffee but am limited as I’m not desperate about milk. This one works so well.
Annie @ Annie's Noms
I adore this recipe!! I have to have my coffee kick every morning and what could be better than a festive version! This honestly looks so fabulous, I’m definitely going to make it this Christmas!
Helen
Cold brew in the winter is a new thing for me, but I’m converted by this spiced version.
Julia
Mmm, I like it especially paired with that delicious looking French toast! :)
Helen
it would be lovely with the French toast
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
I love making gourmet coffee at home. The seasonal flavours sound fantastic. Although I do love Starbucks….saving the bucks is great too.
Helen
If you can make good coffee at home, you’re going to save so much money.
Michelle
I need to get into making cold brew. That recipe looks and sounds delicious!
Helen
So easy to make, and very delicious.
Kaz | Ickle Pickles Life and Travels
Ooooh this looks and sounds delicious. What a lovely festive treat. Kaz x
Helen
I’d never really thought of cold brew in the winter before!
Ali Rost
My grandmother turned me on to cold brew ten years ago and we always have a concentrate in the fridge. Love the taste because it’s always smooth and never bitter. We’ll have to give this flavor a try. With cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and cloves, how can anyone go wrong? x
Helen
We love cold brew here. so so delicious!
Colleen
What a pretty shot and set up! Amazing flavors in the coffee too!
Helen
A lovely warming mix for the winter months.
Denise Wright
That is my kind of coffee. I didn’t even know they made cold brew makers and I’m surprised that I don’t have one yet! That french toast looks fabulous as well.
Helen
You can simply use a cafetiere or jug.
Becca Talbot
Mmmm, this recipe sounds amazing – you’ve described it so well! It sounds (and looks) super festive too, perfect for the holiday season x
Helen
so delicious for Christmas!
Veena Azmanov
Every time I see recipes like this I feel like I’m missing out.. I don’t drink coffee. But I so love the idea of spicing it up.. would make a perfect winter weather treat
Helen
The coffee and the spice mix is a perfect combination, particularly for winter.
Tanya Brannan
I am not a massive hot coffee fan as I really dislike the bitter aftertaste, however this cold brew sounds like it could be more refined and smooth. I intend to give it a go this weekend!
Helen
I think that cold brew is an excellent way to get into coffee.
melissa major
I have never tried festive coffee before but it sounds delicious, this sounds lovely and spicy
Helen
the huge advantage is you can make it as spiced, or as subtle as you like. And it is a fraction of the price of coffee shop coffee.
Helen
This sounds so nice, I loved spiced coffees. Perfect for this time of year.
Cold brew seems to be really popular at the moment, I haven’t tried it yet. I’m just not sure how I feel about cold coffee.
Helen
cold brew is completely different from coffee that has been allowed to get cold. well worth trying!
Erin - Yorkshire Tots
That sounds great. I love coffee and spices but I’ve never thought to add them. Lovely photos too!
Helen
The flavours are perfect together.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way
I’ve never had the cold-brewed coffee. They have had Starbucks here but it’s expensive. Now, making it at home would be really nice. I’ll have to get the beans grind them myself then make the coffee with the spices. I’m looking forward to it!!
Helen
Homemade cold brew is the way to go!
H G Benn
Hi,
I’m really intrigued to try this, but what grind do I need for the coffee? I intend using a large cafetière/French press, and I have an electric grinder. Also can you still serve this warm or will it damage the flavour?
Helen
A cafeteria grind should be fine – I think you could make it hot – I often drop a cardamon pod into my coffee.