4 Tasty Coffee Recipes For Your Next Brew

Sometimes, when you want to prepare the perfect, extra strong cup of coffee, you don’t want to spend time weighing and measuring beans, fiddling with complicated devices, or counting the minutes as water trickles through filters. And if you happen to be somewhere without access to electricity (gasp!), forget about it.

Fortunately, whether you’re craving a cup of cold brew coffee that doesn’t require steeping for 12 hours or you need hot coffee concentrate stat so you can rush out the door, the new OXO Rapid Brewer offers an easy, inventive way to prepare hot coffee concentrate or cold brew fast. So whether you’re at home, the campground, your dorm room, or the office, your coffee fix is covered.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new Rapid Brewer, including how it works and how to use it, plus four delightful recipes you can create with this coffee-making marvel.

How the Rapid Brewer Works

The concept for the Rapid Brewer was born from the desire to make hot or cold brew, but faster, by using pressure to reduce the steep time required (cold brew specifically can call for soaking coarse grounds in water for 12-24 hours).

After years of trial and error, OXO designers and engineers finally cracked the code and came up with a user-friendly tool that makes the task of whipping up a quick brew stress-free, less time-intensive, and simple: the compact, portable, durable Rapid Brewer, which makes hot or iced concentrated coffee in less than five minutes.

The design is simple but effective with just a few key components, including:

• Water chamber
• Tamper to evenly distribute the coffee grounds in the coffee basket
• Built-in stainless-steel filter
• Small carafe to catch the potent brew
• Pump
  
  

The pump is arguably the most important part of the whole setup—it’s designed to introduce air into the water chamber, which creates pressure and forces the water evenly through the coffee grounds, making for stronger coffee compared to simply allowing coffee to drip through. It even works with cold water, which doesn’t typically extract flavor as quickly as hot water (that’s why cold brew usually has to steep for so long).

But the extra pressure created by the pump action of the Rapid Brewer combined with more finely ground coffee (which offers increased surface area and therefore more extraction) means you’ll get more flavor from your grounds in a shorter time.

The result: A strong, smooth, highly concentrated cold brew without the wait time, paper filters or need for electricity to power the process. This makes the Rapid Brewer an excellent option for road trips, travel, or outdoor adventure.

How to Use the Rapid Brewer

When you’re ready to get started, use finely ground coffee. Not quite as fine as an espresso grind, but not as coarse as for a pour-over.

Unscrew the pump and coffee basket from the water chamber and add finely ground coffee to the second fill line of the coffee basket for cold brew, or to the first fill line for hot concentrated coffee.

With hot water:

• (in ounces) .75 oz of finely ground coffee with 5 fluid oz hot water.
• (in grams) 20g of finely ground coffee with 160 mL of hot water.
  
  

With cold water:

• (in ounces) 1.5 oz of finely ground coffee with 5 fluid oz cold water.
• (in grams) 40g of finely ground coffee with 160 mL cold water.
  
  

Using the tamper, firmly and evenly press the coffee down into the basket. Screw the coffee basket onto the bottom of the water chamber, then place the coffee basket and water chamber on top of the carafe.

Next, add the water:

• For cold concentrate, add cold or room-temperature water to the fill line in the water chamber and let it steep for five minutes.
• For hot concentrate, add hot water to the fill line and let it steep for two minutes.
  
  

Screw the pump to the top of the water chamber. The chamber is designed to direct the water through the coffee consistently, smoothly, and without concentrating in one spot (called channeling) or requiring stirring.

When time is up, unlock the pump and press four to five times until coffee concentrate no longer drips into the carafe.

Finally, remove the bottom carafe and pour your concentrated coffee into a cup. Dilute it with a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio of coffee to water or milk. Enjoy.

Tips and Tricks

To save time, the Rapid Brewer doesn’t require you to weigh your beans or measure water thanks to the handy fill lines on the coffee basket and water chamber. But if you do want to up your coffee game, the Precision Scale and Conical Burr Coffee Grinder (on grind settings two or three) are excellent additions to your coffee setup.

Cleanup is just as easy. Thanks to the built-in stainless steel filter, there are no paper filters to fuss with. When brewing is complete, just toss the used grounds and give the basket a quick rinse.

Taking the Rapid Brewer to go? There’s room inside to store your favorite coffee beans so everything is contained in one convenient place. Bonus: Since it makes cold and hot coffee, you don’t need multiple devices to craft whatever caffeinated beverages your heart desires. Try one of the coffee recipes below to get you started.

Recipes

Americano

Known for its smooth, toned-down espresso taste, the Americano delivers rich flavor without the intensity of a full espresso shot, making it more approachable for those who prefer a less concentrated coffee. And it’s easy to customize it to your taste.

Recipe:

Dilute your hot concentrated coffee with hot water to your taste. We recommend a 1:3 ratio for an Americano-style drink. If you are looking for a milder cup, try a 1:4 ratio instead.

Vietnamese-Style Cold Brew

Vietnamese-style cold brew can make your morning pick-me-up feel more like a treat with its deep, chocolatey undertones that are nicely balanced by creamy sweetness. If you enjoy a more dessert-like coffee experience, this cold brew will be a refreshing winner.

Recipe:

2 oz cold brew concentrate
1⁄2 oz water to dilute concentrate
2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

Add sweetened condensed milk to the bottom of a glass. Top with ice and add your concentrated cold brew and water. Stir to combine all ingredients.

Cold Brew-Tini

A coffee-based nightcap can be a welcome palate cleanser after a long day. And this cold brew-tini blends the smooth, rich flavors of cold brew coffee with the velvety depth of vodka, creating a bold-yet-refined cocktail. The coffee's natural bitterness is balanced by hints of sweetness from the liqueurs and maple syrup—it’s a well-rounded, energizing twist on a classic cocktail.

Recipe:

2 oz vodka
1 oz cold brew concentrate
1 oz coffee liqueur
1⁄2 oz maple syrup

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until the shaker sides feel cold (about 20 seconds). Serve in a chilled martini glass.

Affogato

Coffee and ice cream, anyone? The affogato offers the perfect two-in-one combo by pairing the creamy sweetness of vanilla gelato with the rich, bold flavor of espresso. As the gelato melts, you’ll get a velvety, bittersweet blend that feels both sophisticated and comforting.

Recipe:

2 scoops of vanilla gelato
1⁄2 oz cold brew concentrate

Add gelato scoops to your choice of dessert glass, pour cold brew concentrate.