I’ll admit something embarrassing. For about a year I was making “cold brew” by just… brewing regular coffee and sticking it in the fridge. We know. I KNOW. My coworker finally caught me doing it and basically staged an intervention.
So I went on a buying spree. Four cold brew makers over two years. And here’s what I learned โ the price tag doesn’t tell you much, but the design tells you everything.
The Takeya: Where Most People Should Start
Takeya Patented Deluxe Cold Brew Coffee Maker โ check current price on Amazon
This thing costs like $22. And honestly? For most people thats the end of the article. Go buy it. You’re done.
It’s a pitcher with a fine mesh filter. You dump grounds in, fill with water, stick it in the fridge for 12-24 hours, pull the filter out, done. The airtight lid means it doesn’t absorb weird fridge smells โ which, if you’ve ever had garlic-flavored coffee, you know matters.
We used mine almost daily for about 8 months before I started wondering if I was missing something. The coffee was smooth, way less acidic than my old drip-and-chill method, and the cleanup was genuinely easy. Like, rinse-the-filter easy.
The catch: It makes cold brew, not concentrate. So you’re drinking it straight, which means you go through it fast. I was making a new batch every 2-3 days for just myself.
The OXO: My Actual Favorite
OXO Good Grips 32 Ounce Cold Brew Coffee Maker โ see it on Amazon
OK so this is the one I actually use now. Paid around $50 for it, which felt steep for what’s essentially a plastic container sitting on top of a glass carafe. But the design difference matters more than I expected.
The rainmaker lid distributes water evenly across the grounds. Sounds like marketing BS, right? That’s what I thought too. But the coffee tastes noticeably smoother than what I was getting from the Takeya. James Hoffman did a whole thing on YouTube about even saturation and I was skeptical until I tasted the differance myself.
The switch mechanism on the bottom โ you just flip it and the concentrate drains into the glass carafe below. No pouring, no mess, no grounds escaping. The Takeya sometimes had fine sediment at the bottom of my glass. The OXO basically never does.
What bugs me: The glass carafe is delicate. I haven’t broken it yet but it’s only a matter of time honestly. And it doesn’t fit great in my fridge door โ too wide.
It makes concentrate, not ready-to-drink coffee. So you mix it about 1:1 with water or milk. A single batch lasts me over a week, which is a huge improvement over the Takeya’s every-few-days cycle.
The Toddy: The Coffee Shop Standard
Toddy Cold Brew System โ grab one here
This is the one every coffee shop and their mother uses. It’s been around since like the 1960s. And I gotta be honest โ it makes phenomenal concentrate. Possibly the cleanest, smoothest cold brew I’ve had from any home system.
But.
The design is from the 1960s too. It’s a bucket with a felt filter and a rubber stopper. You brew in the bucket, pull the stopper, and it drains into a glass carafe through the felt pad. It works great. It just feels like you’re doing a science experiment in your kitchen every time.
The felt filters need replacing every few months. They’re not expensive โ maybe $2-3 each โ but it’s another thing to remember. I forgot once, used a filter that was probably 2 months past its prime, and the coffee tasted muddy. Not great.
Consumer Reports actually rated the Toddy pretty high and I get why. The coffee quality is legit. Serious Eats called it out too. But for everyday use? I got tired of the fussiness. Some people love the ritual of it. I’m not one of those people.
Best for: People who care deeply about the actual coffee quality and dont mind a bit of a process. Coffee nerds, basically.
The KitchenAid: Pretty But Overpriced
KitchenAid 38 oz Cold Brew Coffee Maker โ current pricing
This one hurts to write about because it’s gorgeous. The brushed stainless steel, the glass carafe, the little tap on the front โ it looks incredible sitting on my counter. My wife actually complimented a kitchen appliance for the first time in our marriage.
And the coffee is… fine? It’s good. But its not $120+ good. The stainless steel filter basket doesn’t filter as finely as the OXO or Toddy, so you get a slightly grittier result. Business Insider’s testers noticed the same thing โ said it was “inconsistent” compared to the Toddy.
The tap is genuinely nice though. Just pour a glass without pulling anything out of the fridge. If you keep it on the counter (which the stainless steel insulation sort of allows, though I wouldn’t push it past a day), it’s super convenient.
The real problem: It’s a premium price for mid-tier filtration. You’re paying for the look, not the brew. And the replacement steeper baskets aren’t cheap either.
So Which One Should You Actually Buy?
Tight budget or just starting out: Takeya. No question. Twenty bucks and you’ll have better cold brew than 90% of what coffee shops charge $6 for. I still recommend it to everyone who asks.
Best overall (and what I personally use): OXO Good Grips. The concentrate system saves time, the rainmaker lid actually makes a difference, and it’s clean and easy. Fifty bucks well spent.
Coffee purist: Toddy. Accept the ritual, embrace the felt filters, enjoy the best-tasting cold brew you can make at home. Every coffee person We know who’s tried it agrees.
Skip it: KitchenAid. Unless you really want something pretty on your counter and money isn’t a concern. The coffee doesn’t justify the price when the OXO exists.
One last thing โ whatever you buy, use coarsly ground coffee. Not the pre-ground stuff from the grocery store. Get a cheap burr grinder or ask your local shop to grind it coarse. It makes a bigger difference than which maker you pick, honestly. I learned that the hard way after my first batch with the Takeya tasted like bitter mud because We used fine espresso grind.
Rookie mistake. Don’t be me.
