As a former barista, this is my favourite way to make cold brew coffee at home

Rain or shine, I like my coffee cold. Whilst an ice coffee can be refreshing on a really sunny day, the way that it’s brewed can make it a little bit acidic and a lot less sweet, so, last year, I set out to find the perfect way to make cold brew coffee. The answer is very simple: with the OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker.

Even though this is one of the best coffee makers I’ve tested, the OXO isn’t what you’ll expect. You don’t need a plug, or a kettle, or any electricity at all to make a delicious cold coffee in here. Instead, what you'll be making is cold brew coffee.

If you’ve stumbled on this review and you’re not quite sure what cold brew coffee is, everything will make a lot more sense with an explainer. Cold brew coffee is made using a different extraction process. Rather than use high pressure and temperature to extract oils from your grounds, they steep in room temperature water (or in the fridge) for at least 16 hours. This process is a lot more gentle, which means that you don’t get an acidic note to your coffee. Instead, it’ll be a lot smoother and sweeter. It’s actually the way lots of non-coffee drinkers end up jumping into coffee, because it’s a really palatable way to consume your caffeine. Dangerous, right?

I’ll talk you through how to make a cold brew coffee in the OXO Good Grips so that you can work out whether it’s the right coffee maker for you. I won’t give the game away, but if you’re looking for a way to enjoy naturally sweeter, cold coffee, you’ve come to the right person.

OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker Specifications

Unboxing the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker

OXO sends their Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker in a simple, cardboard box. It will feel like it’s far too light to have anything capable of making coffee inside, but it does. Lots of parts of the Good Grips are crafted from plastic, but it still feels really premium.

The whole set is made up of a BPA-free plastic stand, brewing container, rainhead, and filter. Then, you'll also get a delicate glass jar which comes with an airtight stopper. I thought I might end up smashing this, but it's been nearly two years and I still have mine in perfect condition.

The only downside of this whole unboxing experience is that OXO used some soft plastic for their packaging. It’s not unusual for a cheaper product to come with this kind of catch and you can recycle soft plastics, so it’s not a total disaster, but I have to note it down.

Who would the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker suit?

The OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker is ideal for anyone ready to commit to making cold brew in generous batches. If you're brewing for a household rather than just yourself, this model delivers, producing enough concentrate for around 40 cups of coffee in one go, which easily lasted my family half a week. There’s a more compact version available if you're sipping solo, but this one really shines when serving multiple people. Just be aware that it requires some counter or fridge space, as the coffee needs to steep for at least 16–18 hours.

Because of that long brewing time, the OXO is best suited to more dedicated cold brew drinkers, especially those happy to plan ahead. While you only need to prep once for a week's worth of coffee, it does require a bit of foresight. If you're more spontaneous or short on time, you might prefer a model like those in De’Longhi’s range, which can deliver cold brew in as little as five minutes.

That said, the OXO Good Grips is a smart, beginner-friendly way to explore cold brew without spending a fortune. I actually like how it looks on the counter, and the price is reasonable compared to many coffee machines. You could use a cafetière as a cheaper alternative, but if it’s in demand elsewhere in the house, having a dedicated brewer like this is a great backup.

What is the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker like to use?

Getting the OXO Good Grips brewing is really straightforward. Start by aligning the brewing container and stand with the filter cap, making sure it’s in the closed position. This part is crucial, or you’ll end up with coffee all over your counter. (Trust me, I’ve made that mistake so you don’t have to.)

OXO recommends a 1:4 coffee-to-water ratio, which I followed. Scoop your coffee (a coarse grind works best) into the base, then pour water over the top using the built-in rainmaker. I suggest pouring in slow, circular motions to help saturate the grounds evenly; this encourages a smoother, sweeter flavour. The rainmaker is designed to distribute water across the bed of coffee, and it does a great job, but a little manual help doesn’t hurt.

One of the clever design touches is that the carafe has volume markers, so you can use it to measure water directly from the tap which means no extra measuring jug needed, and one less thing to wash up.

The water filtered through the grounds faster than I expected, and I had the lid on and the brewer set aside within just over three minutes of filling the carafe. From there, it’s all about patience. Leave the brewer to sit for 12–24 hours while the coffee develops its flavour.

After 20 hours, I placed the brewing container on the stand, positioned the carafe underneath, and let the concentrate filter through. This can take over five minutes, depending on how fine your coffee or filter is, so it’s a good time to get a chore done. It may be slow, but it’s absolutely worth it. Unlike less effective cold brew systems that let stray grounds sneak into your cup, the OXO’s filtering is flawless.

Within five minutes, my cold brew concentrate had finished dripping into the glass carafe. It didn’t look like a large amount at first glance, but since cold brew concentrate is meant to be diluted (typically at a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio) it was more than enough for three servings. I also tested a larger batch, filling the carafe to serve 14 people, and that took 18 minutes and 34 seconds to fully filter through.

Cleaning the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker

All the parts of the OXO are dishwasher safe and the filters can go in the green bin, which makes cleaning up after yourself really easy. I washed mine by hand, because the different components feel quite fragile. It is still quite an inexpensive model and I couldn’t see smashing and cracking happening really easily.

You won’t need to do this often, as the container that you brew into comes with a stopper, which means that you can keep it in the fridge without needing to worry about finding another container to decant your coffee into.

When everything's dry, you can stack all the components inside the stand, which means it takes up a lot less space in the cupboard or on the counter when it's not in use.

How does the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker compare?

I am a big cold brew fan. Last year, I tested all of the best cold brew coffee makers for our sister brand and this is the one that came out on top. I like the smaller OXO for singles, but this was my favourite overall. If you don’t go for this, you should just make it in a cafetière.

The only reason I wouldn’t buy the OXO is if you’re looking to make a larger investment in a bigger bean to cup coffee machine. Lots of De’Longhi’s models can make you cold brew in under five minutes, which is significantly quicker than your 16 hour wait with OXO. I actually have ended up using the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch to make mine. It has all the smooth flavours of cold brew down to a tee, but I don’t need to have prepared my drink massively in advance. Of course, there’s a jump in price, but I love my coffee, so I’m happy to splurge on a lovely machine.

Should you buy the OXO Good Grips Coffee Maker?

If you want a simple, dedicated way to steep cold brew, this is perfect, the OXO comes in at a reasonable price, it looks great, and it’s easy to use too. What’s not to love?

How we test

As a former barista, I head up all of our coffee tests at woman&home. Cold brew coffee is really straightforward because I’m only ever making one drink. Nonetheless, I make notes on how stood the guidance on offer is, whether the coffee actually tastes good, and how it looks on the counter. I have really high standards and none of my reviews are sponsored, so anything you read is coming straight from the barista’s cup.

If you want to find out more about how we test coffee machines at woman&home, you can visit our dedicated page.