What Are the Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee? How to Make Cold Brew Coffee and Which Coffee Beans Yield the Best Flavor?

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The Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee

Coffee dissolves more components at higher temperatures; generally, the optimal water temperature for brewing coffee is between 90.5-96°C. However, the water temperature for cold brew coffee is much lower than this range, so to achieve a relatively similar extraction rate, we need to extend the contact time between coffee grounds and water.

Extracting coffee at low temperatures, although requiring more time, can significantly reduce acidity and bitterness, making the flavor sweeter and more mellow. Moreover, this low-temperature cold brew process creates low-acidity coffee that not only protects tooth enamel but is also gentler on the stomach.

Conversely, the less acidic characteristic of cold brew coffee is also its drawback. How so? If the bean's inherent profile tends toward acidity, cold brew coffee struggles to bring out the complete flavor profile. Furthermore, everyone has different preferences for coffee flavor—some people specifically enjoy that acidic taste. Therefore, the most common reason people dislike cold brew coffee is precisely this point—it's not acidic enough when they drink it.

Setting aside coffee acidity for a moment, at least naturally sweet and fragrant cold brew coffee is better than coffee that's both acidic and bitter, forcing you to add sugar and milk just to make it drinkable.

Additionally, compared to regular hot coffee, many people claim that cold brew coffee has lower caffeine content. This point is actually difficult to prove; in fact, many data points indicate that cold brew coffee has higher caffeine content than regular hot coffee. Yes, it's hard to understand, isn't it? The amount of caffeine has always been a hot topic. To explore this issue, we first need to know that many factors affect caffeine solubility—not just water temperature or time alone. Theoretically, cold water can extract fewer coffee oils and compounds, naturally including less caffeine, so cold brew coffee is classified as a lower-caffeine beverage. However, considering the extraction time is so long, it should naturally dissolve more caffeine. In reality, the differences between extraction time and temperature are difficult to calculate precisely. If we also consider other factors like grind size, it becomes even more challenging. Therefore, the question of caffeine content remains inconclusive.

Another benefit of cold brew coffee is its novelty, representing a new way of drinking coffee and a new experience. You can drink it however you like, with whatever you want—completely unrestricted, and no one will tell you how you should drink it.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

To make cold brew coffee, you simply need to steep ground coffee in cold water—room temperature water may work, but chilled water is better. Just find a well-sealed glass container. Place coffee grounds at the bottom of the container, then pour cold water over the coffee. The recommended coffee-to-water ratio is approximately 1:8, but you can adjust this flexibly according to your taste.

Seal the container and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. You can also place it in the refrigerator, but it will need more time to develop that intense flavor and pleasant balance.

You can directly steep coffee grounds in ice water. The simplest method is to find a lidded glass jar, pour in the coffee grounds, and then add water at home. Afterward, seal the lid and steep at room temperature for about 12-18 hours—a little longer is fine. You can also place it in the refrigerator; because of the lower temperature, the extraction time is longer, and many people recommend about 24 hours. However, differences in extraction time and temperature will result in different coffee flavors. If you're interested, you can experience it for yourself.

When the time is up, please filter out the coffee grounds from the brewed coffee. Paper or cloth filters will absorb extracted coffee oils, thus removing the oily taste of the coffee, but you can use a metal filter to preserve the aroma.

After the time is up, take it out and use a filter to remove the coffee grounds. There are many types of filters to choose from, but generally, metal filters can retain the extracted coffee oils, so the flavor will have a slightly oily quality. If you use filter paper or cloth, the coffee oils will be absorbed by the filter paper or cloth, resulting in slightly different flavors.

Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee:

– Simple preparation process

– Time-consuming (12-18 hours, some say 24 hours in the refrigerator)

– Very concentrated, thorough extraction with rich flavor

What Coffee Beans to Use for Cold Brew Coffee?

This is all based on personal preference—there are no strict requirements for specific beans, as long as you like them. However, FrontStreet Coffee suggests using some natural-processed or honey-processed beans, as this will result in cold brew coffee with higher sweetness that's more popular.

FrontStreet Coffee uses [Hartmann] and [Flower Queen] to create a cold brew coffee with rich fermentation aroma.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473