Toddy Cold Brew System

The Toddy is the original home cold brew system: a plastic brewing container with a felt filter and a silicone stopper in its base, and a glass decanter to drain into. You steep a big batch of coarse coffee in cold water for half a day or more, pull the stopper, and a strong concentrate drains through the felt into the decanter, ready to dilute. Toddy says its original method dates from 1964. Here’s Toddy’s own recipe and how to use it.

The short version

• A brewing container with a felt filter and a stopper, and a decanter below.
• Toddy’s recipe: 12 oz (340 g) of coarse coffee to 7 cups (1.65 L) of water.
• Steep 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.
• Pull the stopper and let the concentrate drain.
• Dilute about 1 to 3 with water or milk; keep it in the fridge.

How does the Toddy work?

The Toddy is an immersion brewer, like a big cold brew jar with a built-in filter. The coffee steeps in cold water for many hours, then, when you pull the stopper, the concentrate drains through the felt filter in the base into the decanter. Toddy’s guide also describes a dual-filtration method, with a paper filter bag over the felt, which makes cleaning up easier. With the bag you can stir the grounds; with the felt alone, Toddy says not to, as stirring can clog the filter.

How much coffee and water should I use?

Toddy’s brewing guide:

	Amount
Coffee	12 oz (340 g), coarse
Water	7 cups (56 fl oz, 1.65 L), cold
Ratio	About 1:5
Steep	12 to 24 hours, room temperature
To serve	About 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water or milk

It’s a strong ratio by design: you’re making concentrate, not a ready-to-drink coffee. Toddy says a batch gives about 38 oz (about 1.1 litres) of concentrate. For a full pound (16 oz, 450 g) of coffee, it uses 9 cups (2.13 L) of water, and for 8 oz (230 g), 4.5 cups (1.07 L).

What grind size should I use?

Coarse. Toddy says to use the coarsest setting on your grinder, or ask a coffee shop to grind it for a French press. Finer coffee can clog the felt filter so it drains slowly or stops.

How do you use a Toddy, step by step?

These are the steps from Toddy’s guide for the classic felt-filter method:

1. Fit the stopper into the base from outside, pressing gently and giving it a quarter turn, then dampen and press the felt filter in from inside.
2. Add 1 cup (235 ml) of water and 6 oz (170 g) of coffee, then slowly pour 3 more cups (710 ml) over the grounds in a circle.
3. Wait 5 minutes, add the other 6 oz (170 g) of coffee, then slowly add the last 3 cups (710 ml).
4. Don’t stir, as it can clog the filter. Lightly press the top grounds with the back of a spoon so they’re all wet.
5. Steep 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.
6. Pull the stopper over the decanter and let it drain.
7. Dilute about 1 to 3 to serve, over ice. For hot coffee, Toddy suggests 1 part concentrate to 3 parts steaming hot water.

How long should it steep?

Toddy’s guide says 12 to 24 hours at room temperature. Seattle Coffee Gear notes that longer steeps (18 to 24 hours) give a stronger, more robust concentrate, and suggests 12 hours if yours comes out too strong. Pick a time and stick with it, so you can adjust the grind or dilution next time.

How do you store Toddy concentrate?

Keep it in the decanter with its lid, or another sealed container, in the fridge. Toddy says it stays fresh for up to 2 weeks. Dilute each glass as you go rather than the whole batch.

Toddy vs other cold brew methods

	Toddy	Cold brew in a jar	Kyoto drip
How it brews	Steep, then drain	Steep, then strain	Slow drip
Filter	Felt, plus optional paper	Cloth, paper or sieve	Paper, metal or ceramic
Batch	Large	Any size	Small to medium
Time	12 to 24 hours	12 to 24 hours	3 to 12 hours

Who invented the Toddy?

Toddy’s own guide calls the felt-filter method “our original tried-and-true method developed in 1964”. Retailers’ product copy, such as Sheldrake Coffee Roasting’s, credits Todd Simpson, a chemical engineering graduate of Cornell, with developing and patenting it. Toddy, which says the system is made in Loveland, Colorado, still sells it today.

How do you clean the Toddy?

Throw the grounds away (and the paper bag, if you used one), then take the felt filter out by hand, not with a knife from underneath. Toddy’s care instructions:

• Rinse the felt filter with water only, no soap.
• Store it damp in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer between brews.
• Replace it after up to 10 uses, or after 3 months.
• The other parts are dishwasher safe, but Toddy recommends washing them by hand for a longer life.

General guidance only. Keep cold brew concentrate in the fridge in a clean, sealed container, and throw it away if it smells or tastes off.

Toddy vs other methods

• Cold brew: the full guide to cold brew in a jar.
• Cold brew bottle: a one-bottle cold brewer for the fridge.
• Kyoto drip: cold water dripped through coffee, drop by drop.
• Japanese iced coffee: brewed hot, straight onto ice.

Explore every cold method in the cold chapter.