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Cold Brew Coffee Bean Recommendations: A Comprehensive Guide to Making Cold Brew Coffee at Home

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). Generally speaking, cold brew coffee is best enjoyed pure to fully appreciate its mellow richness and the unique characteristics of the coffee beans themselves. However, adding other ingredients to create different taste profiles offers another wonderful experience.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, follow our official WeChat account: FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

Cold brew coffee is made by steeping ground coffee beans in cold water for generally at least 8 hours, then extracting and filtering through professional equipment. With the arrival of summer, cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular. FrontStreet Coffee has discovered that today's cold brew coffee can not only be enjoyed pure but can also incorporate other ingredients during extraction, allowing cold brew to maintain its original coffee flavors while also creating the flavors you want to experience. FrontStreet Coffee currently offers ice-drip coffee, which typically sells out by 3-4 PM, making it extremely popular.

How FrontStreet Coffee Makes Cold Brew Coffee

10 grams of coffee grounds, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10

A 300ml cup or sharing pot

Place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours

Filter the coffee grounds

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned before that cold brew coffee can faithfully present the flavors of coffee beans, so most people drink it pure. For relatively concentrated water-drip or ice-drip coffee, ice cubes are typically added for pure consumption, both to maintain low temperature and to experience different flavor layers as dilution occurs. Because fermented flavors are more pronounced, they become stronger as the temperature rises, so drinking it cold tastes better.

More Intense Coffee with Added Bubbles

FrontStreet Coffee has tried making cold brew coffee with sparkling water and found the concentration becomes higher, which is due to the bubbles in the sparkling water. Before placing it in the refrigerator, the coffee grounds for sparkling water cold brew float on top. Through the rising bubbles "impacting" the coffee grounds, after 13 hours when taken from the refrigerator, the coffee grounds have already sunk to the bottom of the bottle. During the steeping process, the coffee grounds experience movement from top to bottom, making it easier to extract substances from the grounds.

However, when FrontStreet Coffee makes cold brew Yirgacheffe with sparkling water, it smells more intensely of berries. Although no bubbles are visible in the coffee liquid, drinking it creates a sensation of bubbles colliding in the mouth.

Special Flavors Harmonized with Milk

Generally, people choose light roast beans to experience floral and fruity aromas as well as sweet and sour notes, so they are mostly consumed pure. For dark roast beans, the flavor is heavier, so these more intense cold brew coffees can be balanced with milk to create a fragrant and smooth texture. However, different dairy products create different textures, which can be divided into two categories: one is fresh milk, and the other is creamer (cream-based). Fresh milk contains more moisture, so when used for balancing, the texture is relatively refreshing with a thinner body. If balanced with creamer, which contains less moisture, the overall texture is richer with a thicker body.

When FrontStreet Coffee makes cold brew coffee and adds milk without sugar, it becomes a cold brew latte. Drinking it reveals natural sweetness and pleasant aftertaste.

Mature Flavors with Added Fermented Agricultural Products (Alcohol)

FrontStreet Coffee believes that adding a little Irish whiskey (grain-based) or brandy (fruit-based) can also create a unique flavor experience.

FrontStreet Coffee thinks you can add any type of alcohol you want, but Irish whiskey is grain-based, unlike most Scottish whiskies which are made from barley. Of course, if you want to enjoy an alcoholic flavor without actual alcohol, you can try FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry, which is processed using whiskey barrel fermentation and has rich whiskey cream and vanilla flavors, making it especially suitable for customers who want the taste of alcoholic coffee.

Cold Brew Coffee Recommendations

1. FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry

Country: Honduras
Region: Marcala
Estate: Mocabe Estate
Altitude: 1500-1700m
Varieties: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas
Processing: Fine washed with whiskey sherry barrel fermentation
Flavors: Fermented wine aroma, cream, vanilla

2. FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Lychee Lan

Region: Marcala
Estate: Mocabe Estate
Altitude: 1500-1700m
Varieties: Caturra and Catuai
Processing: Fine washed with brandy barrel treatment
Flavors: Lychee, brandy, dark chocolate, cream

3. FrontStreet Coffee Washed Yirgacheffe

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1800-2000 meters
Processing: Washed processing
Varieties: Local heirloom
Flavors: Berries, citrus, lemon

4. FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Processing Station: Ardent
Altitude: 2300 meters
Varieties: Local heirloom
Processing: Natural processing
Flavors: Berries, lemon, strawberry, fermented wine aroma

5. FrontStreet Coffee Natural Horse Gua

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Guji Hambela
Altitude: 2030 meters
Processing: Natural Process
Varieties: Ethiopian Heirloom
Flavors: Tropical fruits, cream, citrus

6. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Flower Butterfly

Region: Panama Boquete
Varieties: Geisha, Caturra, Catuai
Altitude: 1600-1650
Processing: Natural processing
Flavors: Classic Geisha flavors, tea-like notes, citrus

7. FrontStreet Coffee Panama Elida Estate

Region: Panama Boquete Special Region
Estate: Elida Estate
Altitude: 1850 meters
Varieties: Catuai
Processing: Natural
Flavors: Smooth, orange, peach, juicy texture