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

Most people separate cold brew from iced coffee: iced coffee, as we usually understand it, is brewed hot and then chilled over ice. Cold brew's defining difference is that cold water does all the work — the coffee is extracted entirely at low temperature. Here's FrontStreet Coffee's guide to cold brew!

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

Cold brew coffee — Cold Brew, in English — is made by steeping ground coffee directly in cold water, typically for more than 8 hours, then filtering to obtain chilled coffee liquid. Grind size, steep time, and coffee-to-water ratio are the dials you can turn to shape flavor and strength.

Compared with hot extraction methods like pour-over or espresso, cold brew releases far fewer bitter tannic compounds, so both acidity and bitterness are muted; the mouthfeel is smooth and the flavors clean and transparent. Because the extraction temperature never climbs, fewer impurities and bitter elements are pulled out, and the cup faithfully reflects the coffee's processing method and roast level. Aromatic compounds linger in cold water longer, presenting more natural floral and fruit aromas at low temperatures. But small-molecule aromatics also dissipate faster: even refrigerated, cold brew's floral and other delicate notes fade with time. FrontStreet Coffee therefore recommends filtering the finished cold brew and keeping it in a sealed container for no more than 5 days to avoid flavor loss and bacterial growth.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew couldn't be simpler. You need a bag of beans within their optimal flavor window, a sealed container for the finished coffee, and filter bags — or filter paper with a dripper — to separate the grounds. Here FrontStreet Coffee uses its own roasted Honduras Lychee Orchid beans: brandy barrel-fermented, with rich winey aromas and prominent sweetness reminiscent of honey and lychee — perfect for cold brew and ice drip.

① Weigh 40g of Lychee Orchid beans on a scale and grind to coarse-sugar consistency. FrontStreet Coffee calibrates the grind with a China No. 20 standard sieve — 75-85% pass rate for cold brew, which corresponds to an EK43s setting of 9.5-10.5.

② Pour the grounds into a sealed bottle. FrontStreet Coffee uses a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio — 400g of room-temperature water here.

③ Cap and shake well (or stir) so coffee and water are fully in contact, then refrigerate for a slow, cold extraction of 8-12 hours.

④ When time is up, separate and remove the grounds with filter paper (or a filter screen). The clear coffee can be enjoyed right away — or refrigerated further to let the flavor ferment and mature, developing a fuller, wineier taste.

Which Coffee Beans Work Best for Cold Brew?

Any freshly roasted bean can work — choose processing method and roast level to your taste. Remember that coffee reaches its best flavor 4-7 days after roasting, after which the aromatics volatilize ever faster and flavor and mouthfeel decline noticeably. FrontStreet Coffee ships all beans within 5 days of roasting so yours arrive at peak aroma.

Cold brew's extraction character amplifies wine notes, fruit-fermentation sensations, and fruit aromas. If you're unsure where to start, here are the varieties FrontStreet Coffee recommends.

「Refreshing floral-fruity type - FrontStreet Coffee Flower Sequence TOH Washed Champion beans」

From Ethiopia's Guji Uraga region, where fertile black soil produces beans with rich fruity aromas. The washed process highlights clear floral and citrus character; FrontStreet's cold brew with these beans tastes like sweet pomelo tea.

「Wine-aroma type - FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Barrel beans」

Fermented in whiskey barrels, this Honduras Sherry delivers rich vanilla, cream, and whiskey aromas — a longtime favorite on FrontStreet's menu. As cold brew, it shows deep fermented-wine character with honeyed sweetness.

「Rich fruit-tea type - FrontStreet Coffee Natural Horse Champion beans」

The natural-process Horse Champion uses fully mature cherries with pulp sugar content as high as 30%. The fructose ferments in the sun, loading the inner beans with fruit sweetness. The cold brew shows lively berry and passion-fruit acidity, an obvious juice-like body, and a finish of delicate black-tea fragrance.

「Dark berry type - FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart beans」

Anaerobic honey processed, Mozart naturally carries a striking raisin aroma. As ice drip it shows vivid blueberry, black grape, and wine-ferment flavors with a refreshing mouthfeel and lingering aromatics; after 3-4 days of cold storage and fermentation, its wine-like character grows even more pronounced.

Why Doesn't FrontStreet Coffee's Shop Serve Cold Brew?

Visit FrontStreet Coffee's storefront and you'll find only ice drip on the menu, not cold brew. After repeatedly testing different beans both ways, FrontStreet found ice drip comes out more transparent and beautiful than cold brew — and in sensory terms it's also cleaner and more refreshing. So between the two, FrontStreet chose ice drip. Cold brew has real advantages all the same: lower equipment cost, simpler preparation, and a flavor character all its own.

For more professional coffee knowledge and coffee bean information, keep following our columns.

For more specialty coffee beans, check out FrontStreet Coffee's online recommendations below.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Cold brew amplifies floral and fruit tones while muting woody and roast flavors, so light-to-medium roasts show best. Two FrontStreet Coffee beans made for it:

FrontStreet Strawberry Candy (Geisha blend) — Geisha is world-famous for classic florals and fresh fruit acidity, and Strawberry Candy marries the most representative Panamanian Geisha with Costa Rican honey-processed coffee: one contributes delicate rose and orange, the other grape, dried blueberry, and strawberry-soft-candy sweetness, building rich layers of flavor. As cold brew it's sweet-tart, lively, and uplifting — and if you let it ferment and settle a few days, it takes on a genuine fruit-wine character.

FrontStreet Natural Huakui (Ethiopia) — if floral iced coffee is your thing, Huakui is the one. From Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, it's natural-process dried inside the fruit, absorbing abundant sweet aromatics from pulp and skin. In cold brew it reveals magnolia, cream-strawberry, dried mango, guava, and black-tea notes — the "coffee that doesn't taste like coffee" for those who usually shy away from bitterness.