Stok Cold Brew Recipe – Bold DIY Copycat with Smooth Flavor & Variations

For the first time, I had Stok Cold Brew Coffee, and I wasn’t expecting how bold it would be. 

Most cold brews I’d tried before had that watery feel, but Stok was smooth, chocolatey, and had enough caffeine to actually keep me awake to work.

It comes in bottles, ready-to-drink, but making Stok Cold Brew Recipe at home is both cheaper and more customizable, and I personally love that.

 

How to Make Stok Cold Brew

The Stok Cold Brew is bold, smooth, and chocolatey — stronger than regular iced coffee but without the bitterness. You can easily make it at home with just coffee, water, and time.

Ingredients:

To make this Stok cold brew recipe right in your home, you will only need a few simple things:

• Coffee beans: You can take medium-dark roast with natural cocoa or caramel notes. A blend with chocolate hints will align best with Stok’s smooth, bold style. Besides this, you can also use an espresso roast if you like it darker.
• Grind size: I recommend you use coarse grind, like sea salt. Because if it’s too fine, you’ll over-extract bitterness. And if too coarse, the brew will be weak.
• Water: You will want to use filtered cold water. Because the tap water often has flavors that can ruin the brew.
• Optional add-ins: Vanilla extract, cinnamon stick, or unsweetened cocoa powder (I personally add cocoa for a mocha depth).

Note: You’ll also need something to brew and strain with — usually a mason jar or French press, and either cheesecloth or a paper filter. 

However, I’ll explain them in the step-by-step method below, not here.

Btw! If you want to keep serving simple, bottle your cold brew and serve with snacks like Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods — they will add salty-sweet crunch.

Instructions:

Here is how I make this stok drink for myself and recommend you the same:

1. Measure beans: You wanna take 1 cup (about 85 g) of coarse ground coffee.
2. Add water – Pour 4 cups (950 ml) of cold filtered water. This will make a ready-to-drink cold brew at a 1:8 ratio.
3. Stir – You want to ensure that every coffee ground is fully wet.
4. Steep – Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 12–18 hours.
   • At 12 hours: If you want a lighter and smoother taste.
   • At 18 hours: if you want a bold, chocolatey, higher caffeine.
5. Strain: You can use French press mesh, cheesecloth, or double-filter through a paper filter.
6. Bottle: You want to store them in clean, airtight bottles. It will keep up to 7 days refrigerated.

Pro Tip: For concentrate, you can use a 1:4 ratio (double the coffee). This is what makes it taste as strong as the bottled Stok version. And, you can dilute later with milk, water, or ice.

 

How to Drink Stok Cold Brew Coffee

This drink is versatile, and you have many fun ways to enjoy it. Here are some of my favorites that I’d like you to try:

• Straight black over ice: It will be bold and closest to the bottled version.
• Diluted with water: if you find the concentrate is too strong.
• With milk or cream: By doing so, you can turn your drink into a smooth latte-style drink.
• Mocha-style: You can whisk cocoa powder with a splash of milk, then pour cold brew over.
• Sweetened: You can stir in honey, maple syrup, or simple syrup for balance.
• With cold foam: top with whipped milk foam for a Starbucks-like café finish.

I recommend you pair a tall glass with Bakery Style Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins or a tray of brownies for the ultimate indulgence.

 

Custom Variations You Should Try

You don’t have to try this stok cold brew, it’s always the same. Here are some variations you can try every time:

1. Mocha Cold Brew

• You will have to add 1 tbsp cocoa powder during steeping, or whisk it in after brewing.
• Sweeten with sugar or maple syrup.
• Serve over ice with milk or cream.

This will give you a stok mocha cold brew that will feel like dessert.

2. Vanilla Cold Brew

• Simply add 1 tsp vanilla extract or syrup to the final glass.
• This will mimic stok vanilla cold brew nutrition drinks sold in stores.

3. Stok Cold Brew Latte

• You can mix equal parts concentrate + cold milk.
• Add ice, stir, and top with foam if you like.

4. Starbucks-Style Stok Copycat

• Make concentrate (1:4 ratio).
• Dilute with half milk, add a little chocolate syrup, and top with whipped cream.
• This will mirror a stok cold brew recipe starbucks copycat.

5. Espresso-Strength Cold Brew

• Use the concentrate straight in small amounts.
• It’s great for making affogato-style desserts (just pour over vanilla ice cream).

 

Nutrition & Caffeine Details

That’s an approximate value; it might fluctuate a bit, but not too much:

Calories

• Black cold brew: 0–5 calories.
• With milk: +60–100 calories per cup.
• With cream/sugar: +120–180 calories.
• With chocolate or vanilla syrup: +150+ calories depending on portion.

Caffeine

• Stok is high in caffeine. In their standard 12-oz serving, you’ll get around 150–200 mg of caffeine.
• That’s about double a regular iced coffee.

Decaf Option

• You can use decaf beans to brew the same way. Still smooth, still bold, but without the caffeine.

Vanilla Cold Brew

• If you add vanilla creamer or syrup, it will change the calories and sugar content. In 12 12-oz servings, you will get 0–5 calories black, to ~120 with flavored creamers.

You can pair lighter decaf versions with desserts like 3-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse Without Eggs.

 

Mistakes You Need to Avoid

• If it’s bitter: grind too fine or steep too long. To fix that, you should use coarse grind, steep 12–14 hrs as I’ve mentioned above.
• Not strong: Not enough coffee or steeping time. Fix: increase beans or time.
• Sour taste: Your beans are too light or under-steeped. You should try medium-dark roast, longer steep.
• Grainy texture: not filtered enough. Always double filter.
• Doesn’t store well: old beans or poor storage. You always want to refrigerate in airtight bottles.

If your first batch doesn’t taste right, don’t give up. Tiny tweaks on grind size and ratio will make a huge difference.

 

Make It for Family And Friends

If you want to brew enough for a week or a family brunch? Here are my recommended tested ratios:

• Small batch (single mug): 30 g coffee + 240 ml water.
• Medium batch (1 liter): 85 g coffee + 950 ml water.
• Large batch (2 liters): 250 g coffee + 2 L water.

For concentrate, you can double the beans. Store in multiple glass bottles — it will keep better, and you can flavor each bottle (vanilla, mocha, plain).

Serving tip: You can brew a large batch and pair it with Dark Chocolate Sweet Potato Chipotle Fudge or Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers, especially when serving guests.

 

Pairings with Stok Cold Brew

I drink coffee solo but have tried it with food. Here’s how I like pairing it:

Sweet Pairings

• Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
• Fudgy brownies
• Bakery Style Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Chocolate chip cookies

Savory Pairings

• Croissants (plain or cheese-filled)
• Spinach and feta pastries
• Cheese crackers

Healthy Pairings

• Fresh fruit platter (strawberries, bananas, raspberries)
• Homemade granola bars
• Dark chocolate almonds

 

Conclusion

This is my Stok Cold Brew Recipe. It’s strong, bold, smooth, and way more customizable than you’d get in a bottle from the store. 

You just have to learn the stok cold brew ratio, how long to steep, dilute or not, etc., then you can make it anytime for yourself.

You can also keep it black, milky, make it in mocha with cocoa powder, or flavor it with vanilla.

In all forms, you will love it.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These are some important questions and their answers about the stok cold brew.

What is the ratio for Stok Cold Brew?

For ready-to-drink cold brew, you should use a 1:8 ratio (coffee to water). 

If you’re going with concentrate (strong like the bottled Stok), I’ll recommend you go for 1:4, and later you can also dilute it with milk or water.

Do you mix Stok Cold Brew with milk?

Yes, and it’s actually one of the best ways to enjoy Stok Cold Brew. 

You’ll have to pour concentrate over ice, add milk, cream, or even frothed milk if you want a latte-style. 

I personally like to stir in a spoon of cocoa powder with the milk first — to make it a smooth mocha.

Do you drink Stok Cold Brew straight?

You can. The bottled version is brewed to be drinkable straight over ice. If you make concentrate at home, you might find it strong, so diluting with water or milk is usually better. 

But if you like bold coffee, straight is perfectly fine; you can go with that.

What kind of coffee does Stok use for cold brew?

Stok uses medium-to-dark roasted beans that are lean, chocolatey, and smooth.

However, when making it at home, you don’t have to copy the exact bean, 

But choose a roast that says cocoa, caramel, or nutty notes on the bag. That’s how you get the signature flavor.

Why does Stok Cold Brew taste so good?

It tastes good because of the method we use to make it. Long steeping (12–18 hours), coarse grind, and a bold ratio give it a smooth, chocolate-like finish without bitterness. 

At home, you can mimic it by following the 1:4 concentrate method and using fresh beans. 

And also pairing it with desserts like Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods.

Does Stok Cold Brew come in decaf?

The bottled version is known for high caffeine, but you can easily make a stok cold brew decaf version at home using decaf beans. Same recipe, same ratio, just gentler.

How many calories are in Stok Cold Brew?

Black cold brew has almost no calories (0–5 per cup).

But if you add milk, cream, or flavored syrups like vanilla or chocolate, it will increase it to anywhere between 60 and 240 calories per serving.