The Best Coffee Concentrates

If you know a thing or two about coffee, you might find the other brands recommended here too lowbrow. But can you out-taste a coffee sommelier? Kloo's coffee concentrates are curated by such tasters, also known as “Q Graders,” and I couldn't stop saying “Wow” out loud while I tested the brand's offerings. From the upscale, frosted packaging and shiny metal stopper to the included measuring jigger, I was impressed upon first glance. And once I mixed in a shot full of the extract-consistency liquid, the taste was somehow more impressive. Think nuanced, fruity flavors in the Ethiopia blend or nutty, berry notes in the Colombia blend.

I am not a coffee snob—I do test pod coffee makers, after all—and even I could taste the difference here. This is not necessarily the most economical of options—one $33 bottle of concentrate makes 12 cups of coffee. Another note is that this has a shorter shelf life than some others we tested. But if you're a true coffee lover, this single-origin stuff is up your alley.

Cold brew is a notoriously tricky thing to make. It's not so much difficult as it is time-consuming. Once your grounds are wet, you need to let them steep for at least 24 hours. In a blind taste test, I don't think I could tell homemade cold brew from the kind made with Pop & Bottle Concentrate. It nails the mellow, smooth, slightly sweet flavor of true cold brew, and it takes seconds to make. It's a little less concentrated than other kinds I tried—one bottle gets you up to 16 cups of coffee—but it truly tastes like cold brew specifically and not just a coffee-flavored beverage. I found it tasted best diluted slightly more than the packaging calls for. I didn't care much for the beverage hot—it still reminded me too much of cold brew—but your mileage may vary there.

This concentrated Starbucks cold brew tastes exactly like what you'd buy in its stores. That is, delicious. You can finally be your own barista. The flavored varieties aren't too heavy-handed—I like the earthy notes in the Madagascar Vanilla and the creamy quality of the Caramel Dolce—and I like that this is readily available in most grocery stores. It isn't super-concentrated, so you might want to start with slightly less water than is called for, and the bottle is pretty big in my fridge. But if you know what you like and you like it, this is smarter than going to the Siren for a simple cup of coffee.

Are you running a circus pie car? Do you have a family full of caffeine addicts? Do you drink the stuff all day? This giant jug of cold brew concentrate is the jug for you. It can make 32 cups of coffee! You can make it in a big batch or just dilute it as needed. The coffee is tasty, especially once you get the dilution dialed in right (like most other concentrates, I like mine slightly less diluted). There are notes of chocolate and a toasty nuttiness that go well black or with creamer.

Cometeer's flash-frozen coffee pods (8/10, WIRED Recommends) are featured in our list of the best coffee subscriptions. Cometeer starts with beans from quality roasters like Intelligentsia or Counter Culture. It brews the coffee, then flash-freezes it into a little pod. You'll get the frozen pods and pop them in the freezer, where they'll keep fresh for months. To make it, just melt it and then mix with hot or cold water or milk. The aluminum capsules are recyclable. The coffee tastes excellent, with all of the guesswork taken out. You don't have to buy a bag of beans and go through the rigamarole of figuring out the perfect grind and extraction temperature—you literally just have to melt, dump, and stir. If you want good coffee but don't want to deal with a single bit of thinking to get it, this is a very safe bet.