There’s a reason everyone’s obsessed with salted caramel cold brew — it’s indulgent, refreshing, and surprisingly easy to make. This recipe walks you through the steps to create a café-worthy drink that’ll impress friends and upgrade your morning ritual.”
Salted Caramel Cold Brew Recipe
Everything starts with a rich, smooth cold brew concentrate, then gets a sweet and salty twist from caramel and a frothy salted cream. How you handle each step definitely affects the final taste and texture.
Equipment
You really don’t need much to get started. Most folks already have the essentials lying around.
For brewing, grab a French press, a cold brew pitcher, or even just a mason jar and a fine mesh strainer. A milk frother or a whisk comes in handy for the foam.
If you’re into precision, a digital scale is helpful for coffee measurements. Glasses, a long spoon, and plenty of ice are all you need to finish things off. A measuring cup makes mixing easier, but honestly, you can eyeball it if you’re feeling brave.
- French press / Jar – Used for steeping and filtering coffee
- Milk frother – Creates and mixes cold foam
- Digital scale – Ensures accurate coffee measurement
- Mesh strainer – Filters out coffee grounds
- Measuring cup – Helps with mixing and pouring ingredients
- Glasses & spoon – For serving and stirring
Ingredients
Honestly, using good coffee beans makes a difference here. Filtered water helps too, if you have it.
- Coarse ground coffee: 80 grams (about 1 cup)
- Cold filtered water: 4 cups
- Caramel syrup: 2 tablespoons
- Heavy cream: 1/3 cup
- Whole milk: 2 tablespoons
- Sea salt: 1/8 teaspoon
- Granulated sugar: 1 teaspoon
- Ice cubes: As needed
Caramel syrup made for drinks works best. Salt really depends on your taste, but fine sea salt mixes in evenly and doesn’t leave weird chunks.
Instructions
First, make your cold brew. Then, prep the salted caramel cream and put it all together.
- Dump the ground coffee into your French press or jar.
- Add the 4 cups of filtered water.
- Stir it up so all the grounds get wet, then cover.
- Let it steep in the fridge for 12–18 hours. (Longer if you like it strong.)
- Strain out the coffee grounds.
- Fill a glass with ice.
- Pour in 2 tablespoons caramel syrup.
- Add 1 cup of cold brew over the syrup and ice.
- In a small bowl, whisk or froth 1/3 cup cream, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon sea salt until it’s thick and foamy.
- Spoon the cold foam on top.
You can stir it gently to blend, or just leave the layers for that dramatic coffeehouse look. Up to you.
Tasting Notes
The cold brew gives you a smooth, robust base. Caramel syrup brings in that sweet, buttery richness. Salted cream on top? It’s velvety, with a subtle salty finish that just works.
With every sip, you get cool coffee, caramel sweetness, and creamy foam. The salt really does make the caramel pop and brightens up the whole thing. It’s not like your average sugary iced coffee—there’s more going on here.
You get a gentle caffeine boost, and it’s sweet but not over the top. It’s all pretty balanced—nothing complicated, just good.
Quick Pro Tips
Coarse coffee grounds work best—fine ones can turn things bitter fast. Always give your cold brew a taste before you start mixing; if it’s a bit intense, just splash in some water to mellow it out.
Froth up your cream right before you pour. Cold cream really does make the foam sit pretty on top. If you’ve got a milk frother, now’s the time to use it.
Swap out caramel syrups now and then for a little surprise. Salt’s not just for show here—don’t skip it, but tweak the amount until it hits that sweet spot for you.
Sometimes you’ll want to stir after adding the foam for a smooth flavor, but honestly, letting the layers hang out looks pretty cool, too.
