What Coffee Beans Does Starbucks Use for Cold Brew Coffee? How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Specialties?

Cold brew coffee is becoming increasingly popular. We're all busy in our daily lives, so busy that we don't even have time to grab a cup of coffee. In that case, cold brew coffee is currently the fastest way to get a cup of coffee.

The fermented aroma and refreshing sensation of cold brew provide instant comfort. Even during autumn and winter seasons, people still think of its taste. You only need to spend a few minutes preparing the ingredients, then put it in the refrigerator, and you can drink it the next day! The key point is that any leftover can be sealed and refrigerated for later consumption! What needs attention is that the longer cold brew coffee sits, the stronger its fermented taste becomes. Therefore, the flavor you experience each day will be different. FrontStreet Coffee recommends finishing it within 3-4 days.

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

Cold brew coffee is exactly what it sounds like: Cold Brew Coffee. Grind coffee beans, use professional equipment, add cold water in proportion, then refrigerate for generally 12 hours. (If you want more body, you can extend the time to 24-48 hours); after that, filter out the coffee grounds, and the liquid obtained is cold brew coffee.

Low temperature and long extraction time are the two main characteristics of cold brew coffee. Compared to hot-extracted coffee, its flavor and body will be noticeably richer, with less bitterness and a smoother mouthfeel. This coffee, which sounds quite labor-intensive, is actually much simpler to make than you might imagine. You can think of it this way: soak coffee grounds in cold water - let it steep in the refrigerator overnight - filter the coffee grounds - done. To put it more poetically: "You're not just drinking a cup of coffee, but a long period of waiting."

Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee

Because the cold brew production process occurs under low-temperature conditions, the prolonged contact between water and coffee grounds means only small molecular flavor compounds are extracted; thus, it only dissolves small molecules like fruit acids and floral aromas. Those larger molecular flavor compounds, such as smoky and roasted flavors, are difficult to extract. Therefore, cold brew coffee has lower acidity and bitterness, making it widely popular.

What Coffee Beans to Use for Cold Brew Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee recommends trying natural, washed, or specially processed beans. The reason is simple: the resulting cold brew coffee has higher recognizability and better sweetness~

African beans are characterized by intense floral aromas and captivating fruit acidity; the acidity is lively and pleasant. However, their body is often quite thin. As for flavor-balanced American beans, like coffee from Panama & Costa Rica regions, they have distinct floral and fruity aromas, superior acidity, without losing body. Especially honey-processed beans, which have more intense fermented aromas.

Tips:

The long extraction time of cold brew coffee creates distinct layers and noticeable aftertaste;

While compensating for the thinness of African beans, it also suppresses their sharp acidity at low temperatures.

FrontStreet Coffee: Yirgacheffe Guoddingding Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia

Region: Yirgacheffe

Altitude: 1850-2100m

Processing: Washed

Grade: G1

Variety: Heirloom

Flavor: White floral notes, citrus, red plum, medium acidity

FrontStreet Coffee: Honduras Sherry Coffee Beans

Country: Honduras

Region: Marcala

Estate: Moca Estate

Altitude: 1500-1700m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas

Processing: Refined washed whiskey sherry barrel fermentation

Flavor: Vanilla, whiskey aroma, honeydew melon, dark chocolate aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee: Honduras Lychee Lan Coffee Beans

Region: Marcala

Estate: Moca Estate

Altitude: 1500-1700m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai

Processing: Refined washed and brandy barrel processing

Flavor: Creamy texture, brandy fermented wine aroma, dark chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Floral Butterfly Coffee Beans

Region: Panama Boquete

Variety: 70% Geisha, Caturra, Catuai

Altitude: 1600-1650m

Processing: Natural processing

Flavor: Classic Geisha flavor, citrus, tea-like sensation

Of course, you can also try the following creative approaches:

Add Sparkling Water

FrontStreet Coffee has tried making cold brew coffee with soda water and found the concentration tends to be higher. The reason is that before putting it in the refrigerator, the soda water bubbles cause the coffee grounds to float on top. After 13 hours, when taken out of the refrigerator, the coffee grounds have already sunk to the bottom of the bottle. During the soaking process, the coffee grounds experience upward movement, making it easier for compounds to be extracted.

But FrontStreet Coffee's soda water-made [Cold Brew Yirgacheffe] has a richer berry aroma! Observing the coffee liquid, although there are no bubbles, you can feel bubbles colliding in your mouth when drinking~

Add Milk

Generally, choosing light roast beans is to enjoy floral and fruity aromas as well as sweet and sour tastes, so they are mostly consumed pure. For dark roast beans, their body is heavier, so this type of more intense cold brew coffee can be mixed with milk to create a fragrant and smooth texture. However, different dairy products for mixing result in different textures.

It can be divided into two categories: one is fresh milk, the other is creamer (fresh cream type). Because fresh milk contains more water, the texture mixed with fresh milk will be lighter and thinner in body; but if mixed with creamer from fresh cream, the overall texture will be richer and thicker in body due to less water content. When FrontStreet Coffee makes cold brew coffee and adds milk without sugar, it becomes a cold brew coffee latte. It tastes naturally sweet with a pleasant aftertaste.

Add Alcohol

FrontStreet Coffee thinks that adding a little Irish whiskey or brandy would create another special flavor. Of course, you can add any type of alcohol, but Irish whiskey is grain-based, unlike most Scotch whiskeys which are primarily barley-based. Of course, if you want non-alcoholic coffee with a wine-like flavor, you can try FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry. This one uses whiskey barrel fermentation processing and has rich whiskey cream vanilla flavors, especially suitable for customers who want wine-flavored coffee.

Conclusion

This experiment making cold brew coffee with room temperature water yielded surprisingly good results! And when it comes to choosing coffee beans, as always, just go with your own preferences and you'll be fine!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473