The best cold brew coffee makers come in different shapes and sizes, technological capabilities, hardware features, and volume capacities. Choosing the right machine for your business requires consideration of a few key factors.
At Hardtank, for example, we manufacture two different cold brew coffee makers. One – the Baby Hardtank – is aimed at businesses looking to produce world-class cold brew while levelling up their in-store customer experience, building out their menu, and staying well ahead of their cold brew demand.
The second, larger machine – the Hardtank 20 – is a better choice for bigger businesses looking to produce consistent cold brew coffee at scale, support multi-outlet operations, or develop their own line of RTD cold brew.
To learn more about the value of investing in the best cold brew coffee maker, we spoke to Greg Dawson, co-founder of The Egg Consultancy, to learn more.
Why you should invest in the best cold brew coffee maker
Cold brew coffee is one of the fastest-growing channels in the coffee industry. At the end of last year, Fortune Business Insights estimated that the global cold brew coffee market was valued at $3.16 billion. They forecast a further $700 million in value to be added in 2025 alone.
This growth comes from an estimated CAGR of 22.71%, expected to endure until at least 2032 and likely to continue after. The US cold brew market, the largest RTD/cold coffee market in the world, will generate in excess of $4.5 billion by 2032 alone.
The key takeaway from cold brew market statistics is that, as a modern-day coffee company, you need to take cold brew seriously. No other trend or channel, e.g. plant-based milks or specialty coffee, is growing as fast as cold brew.
This extraordinary growth means one thing for coffee shop and café owners: more cold brew orders. Despite more young shoppers seeking their caffeine fixes from other categories – supermarkets, convenience stores, e-commerce – the café and coffee shop sector remains strong, and customers will come expecting to be served cold brew if they wish.
However, preparing cold brew at a commercial level can introduce operational complexity, especially without the best cold brew coffee makers to help. The traditional method involves multiple jars and buckets, long steeping times (up to 24 hours), and features myriad opportunities for things to go wrong.
In a busy café, traditional cold brew preparation means increased labour costs, extra storage space, unpredictable stock controlling and health and safety concerns. With a cold brew coffee machine, all of these problems go away.
The best cold brew coffee makers can brew a batch of cold brew in under an hour, which lets you pivot quickly according to fluctuating demand. They feature food-grade material construction, which improves quality and safety control. Most importantly, they ensure consistency.
“A consistent and safe product ensures that customers trust a brand with both their taste buds and their health. In an industry driven by repeat business, that trust translates directly into long-term success,” says Greg.
“Tools like precision grinders, calibrated brewing systems, and detailed quality controls help businesses maintain this essential consistency.
“In the coffee business, consistency keeps customers coming back, and safety gives them peace of mind. Together, they create the foundation for sustainable growth in a competitive market.”
The best cold brew coffee maker for coffee shops
As an independent coffee shop, or a boutique chain or restaurant, the best option is the Baby Hardtank cold brew machine. The Baby Hardtank boasts all of the modern technology and capabilities available in larger units but in a compact, award-winning design that adds to your café aesthetic and your customer’s experience.
Our existing Hardtank clients enjoy the 30 cm x 30 cm footprint as it fits easily onto even the most cluttered countertops and workstations. The transparent extraction chamber allows both staff and customers to watch cold brew extraction in real time, and the elegant wood-panelled base matches most aesthetics.
The Baby Hardtank’s construction was recognised by the Specialty Coffee Association in 2021 and 2022, in the United States and Italy, respectively, by winning the Best New Product category. Then, in 2023, it won at the World Coffee Innovation Awards.
The best cold brew coffee makers don’t just look good, however. They need to transform coffee shop operations across the board. This requires state-of-the-art technology, multi-drink capabilities, and labour-reducing automation features.
The Baby Hardtank will brew a 4-litre batch of cold brew coffee in under 60 minutes and up to 250 200-ml portions of cold brew coffee per day – more than enough to make sure you never miss a sale because your traditional batch still needs a few more hours.
Plus, instead of ground coffee, you can choose to fill the extraction chamber with tea leaves and powder, cascara, or various types of alcohol. This means a far more diverse beverage offering that is suitable for different day parts. By morning, you can serve high-quality cold brew, and by night, signature cocktails.
When weighing up your cold brew coffee maker investment decisions, remember that with the Baby Hardtank, you are not just upping your cold brew performance but installing a machine capable of comprehensively overhauling your entire menu.
The Baby Hardtank costs €4,200 + VAT. Serving 20 portions of cold brew per day, at a net price of €4.00 per serving, will result in a return on your investment in less than two months.
The best cold brew coffee maker for larger businesses
The Baby Hardtank is absolutely suitable for multi-outlet operators or wholesalers, but for those with higher volume requirements, the best cold brew coffee maker is the Hardtank 20, our commercial machine.
The Hardtank 20 is capable of producing up to 1,250 200 ml portions of cold brew per day. Its manufacturing capacity is suitable for businesses looking to make cold brewing a front-and-centre, highly lucrative and scalable process.
The modular design is built from the best food-grade materials, which means the Hardtank 20 is made to last. Automated self-cleaning and sanitation cycles and automatic drainage mean your equipment is consistently well-looked after with minimal downtime and labour requirements.
Plus, the Hardtank 20 can be fitted with either one or two nitrogenated draught taps – becoming a Hardtank 1T or 2T, respectively. This all-in-one set up allows for on-demand nitro coffee dispensing, an excellent way to diversify your menu offering and serve up a beverage that is growing in demand rapidly.
The cold brew program delivers 18 litres of fresh cold brew in each 60-minute cycle. Once complete, the cold brew is automatically drained into built-in kegs for optimal storage. From the storage kegs, the operator simply pours from the nitro draught taps and voila, 90 portions of fresh nitro coffee are ready to go.
The Hardtank 20 costs €13,000 + VAT. Serving 90 portions of cold brew per day at €4.00 per serving means you will see a return on investment in just 39 days.
At Hardtank, we’ve poured almost twenty years of specialty coffee excellence into the design and manufacture of the best cold brew coffee machines on the market. With Baby Hardtank and Hardtank 20, every business, big or small, scaling or innovating, has the right equipment and technology at its fingertips.
To source your cold brew coffee machine, visit our website or get in touch with us directly.
Join our upcoming Cold Brew Safety webinar here.
Best cold brew coffee maker
