Commercial Cold Brew Coffee Maker for Cafes, Sized by Volume

Cold brew is one of the easiest high-margin items a cafe can add, but the equipment decision hinges on a number that is easy to get wrong: not the tank size on the box, but how many gallons you actually need per day and how long each batch takes to steep. Get those two straight and the right system is obvious. This guide sizes commercial cold brew makers by real daily volume, separates the bulk workhorses from the craft showcase towers, and is honest about the steep cycle that limits them all.

The picks below are compared from manufacturer spec sheets and reputable listings, not hands-on tested, so confirm the current spec before you buy. No prices appear here; cold brew equipment reprices and any figure would be stale, so you will see the current price on Amazon through each link.

How to size a cold brew system by daily volume

Start with servings, not gallons. Forecast your daily cold brew cups, convert to concentrate using a dilution anchor (Toddy’s own figure is about 2.5 gallons of concentrate for roughly 108 sixteen-ounce drinks), and that concentrate target tells you the batch size you need. Then apply the constraint every immersion brewer shares: each batch steeps passively for 8 to 24 hours, so the tank capacity is what one cycle produces, not what you can make in a day. If your daily need exceeds one batch, you either buy a larger vessel, run two on a staggered schedule, or brew the next day’s supply the night before. Sizing on tank capacity alone, without accounting for the steep, is the most common way cafes end up short at 2 p.m.

The picks: immersion batch systems

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Entry-level small-cafe daily batch

Toddy 5-Gallon Commercial Cold Brew System with Lift

Batch capacity

5-gal brewer, yields up to 2.5 gal concentrate

Servings per batch

Up to ~108 sixteen-ounce drinks (Toddy dilution math)

Method

Cold-water immersion with a Lift mechanism to raise the filter bag

Certification

NSF certified

The lowest barrier to a real commercial cold brew SKU: no electricity, simple to run, and Toddy's serving math makes daily planning easy. Tradeoff: the plastic body scratches and stains and is harder to sanitize-audit than stainless, and one 5-gal vessel is a single overnight batch, so high-volume shops outgrow it.

Specs: Toddy manufacturer + WebstaurantStore listing

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Mid-to-high volume upgrade from the plastic 5-gallon

Toddy Pro Series 10-Gallon Stainless Steel Cold Brew System

Batch capacity

10-gal drum, up to 5 gal extract (~10 lb coffee)

Method

Cold-water immersion, drained via a sanitary valve

Filter

Single-use compostable filters; one-piece stainless filter platform

Material

Stainless steel

Stainless is far more durable and inspection-friendly than the plastic 5-gal, compostable filters help sustainability messaging, and the disassemblable sanitary valve is genuinely easier to clean than a typical spigot. Tradeoff: still a single overnight batch per cycle, and the larger drum needs more bench and cooler space.

Specs: Toddy Pro Series manufacturer page

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Mid-volume single-cafe workhorse

Wilbur Curtis TC-7HK 7-Gallon Cold Brew System

Batch capacity

7.0-gal tank

Method

Immersion; grounds steep in a strainer, drained via front faucet

Filter

1 reusable nylon strainer plus 50 paper filters included

Footprint

18.85"H x 15.31"W x 15.83"D, heavy-gauge stainless

A full stainless commercial build with a front-drain faucet made for busy bar service, at a capacity between the small Toddy/Filtron units and production-scale gear. Tradeoff: still a passive 12 to 16-hour steep per batch, so it is one cycle a day unless you stagger, and it takes more counter space than a bag-in-bucket Toddy.

Specs: Wilbur Curtis manufacturer spec page

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Small-to-mid batch alternative popular with independent roasters

Filtron Cold Water Coffee Concentrate Brewing System

Batch capacity

30-liter brewing bowl (~7.9 gal)

Method

Cold-water immersion, gravity drip-through a felt pad

Filter

Reusable wool felt pad plus paper liners

Material

Food-grade polyethylene

A larger single-batch yield than the base 5-gal Toddy at a similarly low-tech, no-electricity operation, and the reusable felt filter lowers per-batch consumable spend. Tradeoff: the felt pad needs regular cleaning or replacement to avoid retained oils and stale flavors, and the plastic body is harder to sanitize-audit than stainless. Filtron's marketing labor-savings claim is not independently verified.

Specs: Filtron manufacturer site

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The picks: slow-drip showcase towers

Specialty small-batch craft showcase, not a bulk solution

Yama 25-Cup Kyoto-Style Cold Brew Tower

Batch capacity

100 oz (~0.78 gal, ~25 cups) per cycle

Method

Kyoto-style slow drip, adjustable valve

Brew time

3 to 4 hours per cycle (vs 8 to 24 for immersion)

Filter

Reusable ceramic filter; glass and wood-frame tower

The 3 to 4-hour cycle is far faster than overnight immersion, so a cafe can run several batches a day, and the glass tower doubles as an in-store display that markets a craft cold-brew-of-the-day. Tradeoff: small per-batch volume, so it is a showcase item alongside a real bulk system, and glass towers are fragile on a busy bar. Yama's acidity-reduction claim is manufacturer marketing, not an independent lab result.

Specs: Yama Glass manufacturer spec sheet

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Ultra-small single-origin front-counter showpiece

Hario Slow-Drip Water Dripper

Batch capacity

780 mL (~0.2 gal, ~2 to 6 cups)

Method

Slow drip through grounds into a glass server

Filter

Reusable stainless mesh

Material

Borosilicate glass, ~17.9 inches tall

A small countertop footprint with an elegant glass design for craft presentation, precise drip control, and a reusable filter with no ongoing spend. Tradeoff: the ~0.2-gallon batch is far too small for daily service volume, so treat it purely as a front-counter showpiece next to a bulk brewer, not a supply source.

Specs: Hario USA manufacturer listing

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Matching the system to your program

Work in this order. Estimate your daily cold brew servings, convert to a concentrate target, and require a batch-and-schedule plan that clears it given the steep time; that decides your vessel size and whether you need one or two. Choose immersion for the bulk supply, and add a slow-drip tower only if you want a craft showcase, not because it will carry your volume. Weigh stainless versus plastic on sanitation and inspection, and reusable versus single-use filters on ongoing cost.

Cold brew sits inside a fuller equipping decision, so pair this with our full coffee shop equipment list and the commercial coffee brewers guide for the hot side of the menu. If you are outfitting a smaller mobile setup, see the coffee cart equipment list.