For years, brew time has been the major bottleneck for cold brew production. Traditional methods can take at least eight hours (up to 24 or more in some cases), and for many coffee shops, this kind of time is a luxury they simply don’t have.

In recent years, as the cold brew coffee market has exploded in popularity, some fast cold brew coffee makers have emerged to keep up with these surges in demand. They also address two of the most significant challenges inherent to commercial cold brew production: time and microbiological safety. 

State-of-the-art equipment, like the Hardtank 20, is helping more businesses prepare higher-quality cold brew faster. It offers lower production times per batch, helping coffee shops and brands make fresher cold brew on demand and lowering the risk of microbial contamination.

We spoke to Luke Waite, Owner and Principal Consultant at The Lev Co and Pomelo Coffee Consulting, and Adam Holliefield, Procurement Manager at Merit Coffee, to learn more about faster cold brew production. 

How has cold brew technology changed over time?

Most cold brew methods revolve around a simple immersion technique – ground coffee is added to cold or room-temperature water, mixed, and stored.

In coffee shops, most cold brew is extracted in room-temperature conditions, like the backrooms of their outlets, risking contamination from other food or non-food items. Ideally, well-executed cold brewing should be done under refrigerated conditions.

“Cold brew has drastically changed over just the past few years, but the majority of people are still using the traditional full immersion method […] it is unique in the industry as there are multiple ways to produce the end result,” Adam says. “With brew methods ranging from 15 minutes to 24 hours, it’s hard to categorise and label what exactly makes cold coffee considered cold brew.” 

A 2021 market study found that the average cold brew extraction time was 24 hours and observed that decreased extraction time may improve cold brew quality, primarily by reducing the risk of microbial contamination. 

However, in recent years, newer fast cold brew coffee makers have emerged. These have several significant benefits, such as allowing businesses to be more responsive to changes in demand. 

For example, if footfall suddenly surges due to a spike in temperatures, you can prepare a batch of cold brew in under an hour rather than anticipating 24 hours ahead and potentially wasting any unused cold brew. This also helps to keep customers safer, as it means you don’t have to store freshly made cold brew in a container, where its shelf life is likely to be a few days at the absolute maximum if well refrigerated.

“With shorter total brew times, coffee shops will never run out of cold brew,” Adam says. “This has always been a problem with full immersion brewing as there is no way to speed up the process faster than 12 hours. If a shop runs out, they’re out until the next day.” 

One such product is the Baby Hardtank. Perfect for coffee shops, the Baby Hardtank fast cold brew coffee maker has a compact, counter-friendly footprint and produces up to 4 litres of cold brew in just 45 minutes. Staff involvement is minimal for batch setup, meaning your baristas can focus on what really matters – giving your customers excellent customer service.

“A reduction in brewing labour helps the overall labour percentage of the company, allowing for additional time for guest/account care, [which] allows the person responsible for brewing cold brew to support the rest of their team better,” says Adam. 

“Cold brew is no longer just something folks are brewing in their roasteries, damp basements, and kitchens, with five-gallon buckets and upcycled beer brewing equipment,” says Luke. “Today, setups are made specifically for in-cafe brewing, and large-scale equipment is specifically manufactured to extract the best cold brew.”

How have brew times changed for cold coffee over the years?

Cold brew is the sum of numerous variables – coffee flavour profile, grind size, extraction method, water quality, steeping time – and a subtle change to any will affect the end product. 

For Adam, however, the most significant improvement in cold brew coffee technology has been the reduction in the brewing time required for proper extraction via fast cold brew coffee makers. 

“Setup times are similar, but brew times have dropped from 12 to 24 hours, down to 15 to 45 minutes for the same batch size, and extraction yield has drastically increased,” he says. “When I started in coffee, most of the cold brew out there took 12 to 18 hours just to brew – folks would prepare a batch in the afternoon and set it aside to brew right before they quit for the day,” adds Luke.

Time savings are just one factor – businesses that invest in newer, fast cold brew coffee makers also reduce their staff costs.

“The following day, [staff] would spend the first few hours pulling the extract from their brewing vessel and diluting it down to their desired RTD strength, then they’d be ready to bottle/can/keg and serve or deliver to their accounts,” Luke says. 

“Now, there are folks out there who have developed equipment that can produce an RTD cold brew in under an hour.”

How does fast cold brew coffee maker technology work?

Modern cold brew technologies use a variety of methods to enhance and speed up extraction times and improve quality. 

Research published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that alternative processes, including recirculation, agitation, ultrasonication, and stirring, significantly increased the total soluble solids, improving the overall result. 

Continuous or frequent agitation and recirculation have also been found to enhance various phytochemicals and help to express more natural coffee compounds. 

Hardtank’s patented accelerated extraction technology revolves around recirculation – water is constantly circulated and pushed through the infusion ingredients; coffee, but also tea, cascara, or even spirits, increasing the frequency of contact and speeding up the extraction period. 

“New cold brew methods have dramatically decreased brewing and preparation times, but most importantly, have increased extraction yield and improved taste profiles,” Adam says. “In almost every scenario, new fast cold brew coffee makers have an advantage above and beyond traditional full immersion brewing.”

Moreover, the precision of automated processes, such as those used in Hardtank’s fast cold brew coffee makers, mitigates human error, allowing staff to focus on other business areas.

“At a roaster that I used to work for, we had one person who essentially looked after all the cold brew that we produced every day,” Luke recalls. “At another company I worked for, our cold brew department was a handful of people whose job was essentially to babysit the cold brew they were making at every step in the process. The real issue was a lack of automation.” 

Choose a fast cold brew coffee maker for your business

At Hardtank, we have over twenty years of experience in specialty coffee and are now applying this learning and expertise to cold brew coffee technology and production.

We know how critical low MOQs, faster lead times and the highest safety standards are to your success and peace of mind. Our best-in-class technology and products are designed specifically to boost your confidence and get to market faster. 

Visit our website or contact us directly to learn more about our patented technology and award-winning fast cold brew coffee makers, such as Hardtank 20 and Baby Hardtank. 

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Fast cold brew coffee maker