Best ground coffee for cold brew reddit

My bf has been spending upwards of $100 on cold brew coffee every month. It comes in a fancy can and he can just take i on the go.

I convinced him to make his own but now the argument of what is cold brew has come into play. I said, 'cold brew' coffee is just the way it is brewed and you can make it with regular coffee grounds. However, he is convinced that since he has seen cold brew coffee beans/grounds in the store that that's the only way to make cold brew coffee.

Am I wrong, or can you make cold brew coffee with regular coffee?

I need prepared iced coffee or cold brew (iced coffee preferred) recommendations.

Ok, please don’t burn me for this, all you coffee snobs (just kidding, really, I know most of you are very serious about coffee and I respect that). I used to frequently drink the Starbucks VIA iced coffee but they seem to not be made anymore. Now they have these little cups of cold brew concentrate which I find disgusting. I tried a few others iced coffee/cold brews but haven’t found one I love. I much prefer iced coffee but a decent cold brew will do too. And I am not really interested in making my own at home but am considering it if I can’t find a ready-made product.

How big of batches do you make?

My Toddy recipe uses about 8oz of grounds. One thing I did before I had a grinder was go to grocery stores that sold whole beans in hopper bins. I could measure out the coffee I needed and grind it using their grinder, so it'd be an even grind, then make the batch of cold brew right away using the fresh ground beans. We also have a 2nd wave roaster in town that sells fresh(ish) roasted beans and will grind them for you if you buy the whole bean version.

For whatever reason, I trust the bins at stores more than random bs from Amazon.

In terms of "tasting the best" the best beans I've found are from some of the artisan roasters who sell single origin beans they roast in relatively small batches. You might be able to find these locally, but sometimes these need to bought via their websites and delivered. But then you're talking $15+ for 12oz or so delivered. There's some craft roasters in my region that sell in local health food stores and small local markets and farmers markets. The key here is they list the "roasted on" dates on the bag, so you know you're getting fresh stuff.

Peets is also a brand in stores that lists their roasted-on date, though it's not as high quality as the single origin stuff.

In terms of tasting reasonably ok locally available beans, Costco brand, World Market brand, and Aldi Barrisimo whole beans are whole beans that are a reasonable step above Folgers without paying a huge premium price.

What ground coffee is best for cold brew?

Can I use store bought ground coffee for cold brew?

Do you need special ground coffee for cold brew?

Does grind size for cold brew matter?