Cold Brew Coffee Ratio Guide Cold Brew Coffee Making Method Recommended Coffee Beans

Many people distinguish between cold brew coffee and iced coffee because our understanding of iced coffee involves brewing with hot water, then adding ice or chilling it to transform hot coffee into iced coffee. The greatest difference with cold brew coffee is that it uses cold water throughout the entire process, extracting coffee liquid through low-temperature extraction. FrontStreet Coffee would like to share some knowledge about cold brew coffee!

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

Cold brew coffee, in English known as Cold Brew Coffee, is made by directly steeping ground coffee beans in cold water, typically for more than 8 hours, and then filtering it through equipment to obtain chilled coffee liquid. When making cold brew coffee, we can adjust the flavor and concentration by changing the grind size, steeping duration, and coffee-to-water ratio.

Compared to high-temperature extraction methods like pour-over or espresso, cold brew reduces the release of bitter tannic acids, resulting in less noticeable acidity and bitterness. The mouthfeel is smooth with clean and clear flavors. The extraction temperature of cold brew is not as high as hot coffee, making it less likely to extract impurities and bitterness. Therefore, the cold brew method faithfully reflects the coffee's processing method and roast degree in its flavor expression. Through the cold brew method, aromatic compounds remain in cold water for longer, presenting more natural floral and fruit aromas at low temperatures. Since small molecular flavors dissipate more easily, even though cold brew coffee is stored in low-temperature refrigerators, floral notes and other small molecular flavors become less pronounced over time. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends filtering cold brew and storing it in a sealed container for no more than 5 days to avoid flavor loss and bacterial growth.

Cold Brew Coffee Making Method

Making cold brew coffee is very simple. First, we need to prepare a bag of coffee beans within their optimal flavor period, a sealed container for holding the extracted coffee liquid, and filter bags or filter paper with a dripper to separate coffee grounds. Here, FrontStreet Coffee uses their own roasted Honduras Lychee Orchid coffee beans. This coffee undergoes brandy barrel fermentation, carrying rich fermented wine aromas with very prominent sweetness, reminiscent of honey and lychee, making it perfect for making cold brew and ice drip coffee.

① Weigh 40g of Lychee Orchid coffee beans with an electronic scale and grind them to the consistency of coarse sugar. FrontStreet Coffee adjusts the grind size using China No. 20 standard sieve, with a pass rate of 75-85% for cold brew, and an EK43s grind setting of 9.5-10.5.

② Pour the ground coffee into a sealed bottle. FrontStreet Coffee uses a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10, meaning 400g of room temperature water is added.

③ Cover with a lid and shake well, or use a stirrer to ensure full contact between coffee and water, then place in the refrigerator for low-temperature slow extraction for 8-12 hours.

④ After time is up, use filter paper (or filter screen) to separate and remove the coffee grounds. The resulting clear coffee liquid can be enjoyed immediately, or refrigerated to allow flavor fermentation and maturation, which will develop a fuller fermented taste.

What Coffee Beans are Recommended for Cold Brew?

Regarding coffee bean selection, FrontStreet Coffee believes you can choose coffee beans with different processing methods or roast degrees according to your preferences, provided you select freshly roasted coffee beans. Since coffee enters its optimal flavor period 4-7 days after roasting, the coffee aroma will accelerate in volatilization after this period, significantly diminishing flavor and mouthfeel. FrontStreet Coffee ensures everyone experiences coffee at its best by shipping beans roasted within 5 days, so the coffee beans you receive will have optimal aroma.

Due to the characteristics of cold brew extraction, it highlights wine aromas, fruit fermentation sensations, and fruit aromas in coffee. If you're unsure which coffee beans to choose, you can refer to the several varieties FrontStreet Coffee has listed.

「Refreshing Floral and Fruity Type - FrontStreet Coffee Flower Sequence TOH Washed Champion Coffee Beans」

This coffee bean comes from the Guji Uraga region of Ethiopia. The region's geology consists of fertile black soil, producing coffee beans with rich fruity aromas. The washed processing method highlights the coffee's clear floral and citrus flavors. Cold brew coffee made by FrontStreet Coffee with these beans presents the sweet taste of pomelo tea.

「Fermented Wine Aroma Type - FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Barrel Coffee Beans」

This Honduras Sherry coffee bean undergoes whiskey barrel fermentation processing, presenting rich vanilla, cream, and whiskey aromas. It's a very popular coffee bean on FrontStreet Coffee's menu. When made into Sherry cold brew coffee, it displays rich fermented wine aromas along with honey-like sweetness.

「Rich Fruit Tea Type - FrontStreet Coffee Natural Horse Champion Coffee Beans」

The natural processed Horse Champion coffee beans use mature coffee fruits with pulp sugar content as high as 30%. Fructose ferments under sunlight, allowing the inner beans to develop full fruit sweetness. Cold brew made with these coffee beans has active berry and passion fruit acidity, with obvious juice-like sensations, and a finish with the delicate fragrance of black tea.

「Dark Berry Type - FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans」

This Mozart coffee bean uses anaerobic honey processing and naturally has a very special raisin aroma. When used for making ice drip coffee, it exhibits very obvious blueberry, black grape, and wine-fermented flavors, with a refreshing mouthfeel and lingering aroma. After 3-4 days of low-temperature storage and fermentation, its wine-like flavors become even more pronounced.

Why Doesn't FrontStreet Coffee's Store Have Cold Brew Coffee?

If you visit FrontStreet Coffee's storefront, you'll notice that Frontsteet only offers ice drip coffee, not cold brew coffee. The reason is that Frontsteet repeatedly tested different beans to make both ice drip coffee and cold brew coffee, and found that ice drip coffee appears more transparent and beautiful than cold brew coffee. Furthermore, in terms of sensory experience, ice drip coffee is also cleaner and more refreshing! Therefore, between these two options, FrontStreet Coffee chose ice drip coffee. However, cold brew coffee also has its advantages, such as lower equipment costs, simpler preparation methods, and unique flavor characteristics.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473