Cold Brew Batch Calculator: Coffee, Water, Concentrate and Dilution

Commercial cold brew planning has two related formulas: brewing the concentrate and diluting the recovered concentrate into a finished beverage. Write both by weight where practical and measure actual recovery instead of assuming all brew water reaches the package.

Define the brew ratio clearly

A ratio such as 1:5 can mean one part coffee to five parts water by weight, but teams sometimes reverse the order or use volume. State the convention, units, coffee mass, brew-water mass, grind, contact time, temperature, filtration method, and approved coffee specification.

If 4 kilograms of coffee use 20 kilograms of brew water, the input ratio is 1:5 coffee to water. The recovered concentrate will be lower than 20 kilograms because grounds retain water and filtration or transfer creates loss.

concentrate recovery % = recovered concentrate / brew water input × 100

Track coffee-lot and process variation. Grind, roast, equipment, agitation, time, temperature, filtration, and bed drainage can change both sensory result and yield.

Calculate finished dilution

For a simple mass-balance planning calculation using measured concentration:

concentrate amount × concentrate strength = finished amount × target strength

Then:

water to add = target finished amount - concentrate amount

The selected measurement method must be appropriate for the product. Coffee refractometer readings, total dissolved solids, added milk or sweetener, and other ingredients require a controlled procedure; a calculator cannot validate quality, safety, shelf life, or label declarations.

Convert the batch into packages

Subtract representative transfer and fill loss, then divide by verified package fill. Add retained samples and quality checks explicitly. Reconcile concentrate used, dilution water, other ingredients, good units, rejects, samples, and remaining product.

Use the free coffee and cold-brew batch calculator to plan beans, brew water, recovered concentrate, dilution, and servings. Use the batch-yield calculator to test packaging loss and case quantities.

Batch Scale can retain the approved formula revision, ingredient lots, work order, actual yield, package configuration, quality readings, and finished lot as connected records.

Commercial safety boundary

Ready-to-drink cold brew can present food-safety and shelf-life questions affected by formulation, processing, sanitation, packaging, refrigeration, and distribution. Obtain product- and process-specific guidance and validation from qualified professionals before commercial sale. Ratio and yield arithmetic do not establish a safe process.