Double Brewed Coffee: What Is It? How Do You Make It? What Are the Benefits?

If you’re tired of weak coffee, watered down iced coffee, or need that extra caffeine kick, then we have the answer for you.

Double brewed coffee.

Quick tangent: I’m a sucker for Internet Easter eggs, by which I mean little corners of the web that are unexpectedly amazing.

One such Internet Easter egg is the review section for Death Wish Coffee’s Amazon page.

Death Wish makes what they claim is “the world’s strongest coffee.” I’ve had Death Wish. They may be right.

Death Wish customers have taken to the company’s Amazon listing to post hilarious reviews of the product.

It’s gotten to the point where honest reviews are impossible to find.

This is one such gem:

1st cup – Hmm, this aint bad. Tastes pretty good. I like it.
2nd cup – Dang, I’m feeling groovy. Let’s get some work done.
3rd cup – Didyaknowscientiststhinkthereareparalleluniversesandlikeyoucouldbe- livinganinfiniteamountoflivesindifferentrealities?
4th cup – OH. MY. GOD. THERE ARE ANTS CRAWLING UNDER MY SKIN, DUDE!

What does Death Wish Coffee’s community of loyal reviewers have to do with double brewed coffee?

Double brewed coffee (yes, the mere concept) elicits similarly cult-like reactions.

What is double brewed coffee, how do you make it and why do people love it so much?

The Coffee Maven explains.

What is Double Brewed Coffee?

Double brewed coffee is the catch-all name for any preparation of coffee intended to make it stronger (both in flavor and caffeine).

How Do You Make Double Brewed Coffee?

There are two different ways of making double brewed coffee.

Method 1: Brew once but double the coffee-to-water ratio

The steps:

1. Boil you water: We’re going for high extraction, so use water around 200ºF.
2. Add your coffee: Typically it’s recommended you use 1-2 tablespoons for 6 oz of water. Since we’re making double brewed coffee with the one-brew method, double that to 2-4 tablespoons for 6 oz of water.
3. Add your water: Combine your water and coffee grounds using your coffee maker of choice. Allow 1-4 minutes for extraction depending on the fineness of your grind. (Finer grinds need less extraction time.)
4. Enjoy!

This method is best for people who use automatic drip coffee makers. These types of coffee machines are designed for water (generally filtered) to be the only thing which passes through the inner workings. By running already prepared coffee through your machine, you risk damaging it.

Method 2: Brew twice with the standard coffee-to-water ratio each time

The steps:

1. Boil you water: Like above we’re going for high extraction, so use water around 200ºF.
2. Add your coffee: Use 1-2 tablespoons for 6 oz of water. With this method we aren’t changing up the ratio.
3. Add your water: Combine your water and coffee grounds using your coffee maker of choice. Allow 1-4 minutes for extraction depending on the fineness of your grind.
4. Check your coffee’s temperature: Combining hot water with room temp coffee grounds will decrease the temperature of your coffee. If it falls to below 190ºF it may be worth reheating on the stovetop. Note this step isn’t required.
5. Clean out your coffee maker: We want it back to square one.
6. Add coffee grounds again: Stick with the same 1-2 tablespoon ratio.
7. Add your coffee: This time we’re using the already-brewed coffee instead of hot water. Again, allow 1-4 minutes depending on the fineness of your grind
8. Enjoy!

This method is best for people who use AeroPress, French Press, pour-over or similar versions of manual brewing. (Basically, no drip machine involved.) You may also want to use this method if your coffee maker doesn’t have the physical capacity for double the amount of coffee grounds. However, Method 2 is more involved than Method 1 above, so if you strive for simplicity this method may not be for you.

Related: Best Pour Over Coffee Maker: The Ultimate Guide

What Are the Benefits of Double Brewed Coffee?

Double brewed coffee is like your typical coffee but stronger. This has two major benefits.

Benefit 1: More caffeine (ahem, energy) per cup

If you aren’t a morning person or need some extra energy for a late-night study session or night shift, double brewed coffee has your back.

Benefit 2: More concentrated flavor, which makes it perfect for iced coffee and specialty beverages

I almost never buy coffee at the coffee shop…except maybe iced coffee.

Face it — making great iced coffee at home isn’t always easy. Basically, you have four options:

1. Make coffee ahead of time and refrigerate it
2. Make cold brewed coffee concentrate, which takes 12-24 hours
3. Make espresso or espresso-like concentrate (think AeroPress)
4. Make double brewed coffee

Related: AeroPress vs French Press: The Ultimate Showdown

Far too many times have I watered down a perfectly good cup of coffee by adding iced cubes and maybe a splash of milk.

Double brewed coffee makes a fantastic base for a flavorful cup of iced coffee if you didn’t plan ahead (options 1 or 2 above) or if you don’t have an espresso machine or AeroPress (option 3 above).

For a great iced coffee, Traci at Petite Chef has a tried-and-true iced coffee recipe.

Do you drink double brewed coffee? Have a particular roast or grind that you like? Use these methods above to enjoy the amazing benefits double brewed coffee has!