The Unique Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee Flavor Is Cold Brew Better Than Hot Coffee What Are the Differences

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Iced coffee offers a refreshing and cleansing taste. Even in the dead of winter, customers still come to FrontStreet Coffee to order this chilled coffee. Due to different extraction principles between iced coffee and hot coffee, the flavor profiles will also differ.

The Origin of Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water at low temperatures, allowing aromatic compounds to release through a reaction over a certain period of time. This is a low-temperature extraction method. The iced drip coffee and cold brew coffee we often see in coffee shops both belong to the cold brew category. Gradually, people have become accustomed to calling cold brew coffee simply "cold brew" according to their own understanding.

Cold brew coffee originated in European countries. In the sixteenth century, the Dutch were unable to use hot water to brew coffee during long sea voyages, so they had to make do with steeping coffee in cold water. They unexpectedly discovered that the taste was quite unique—smooth and mellow, unlike the strong flavor of hot coffee. Soon, this method of cold-steeped coffee spread to more regions through shipping routes. Iced drip coffee, which uses drip-style low-temperature extraction, began to spread thanks to the iced drip pots made by the Japanese.

The Difference Between Cold Brew and Pour-Over

Regardless of which method is used to brew coffee, water is a crucial component. During the extraction process, water and coffee undergo a series of chemical reactions, and water temperature directly affects the extraction rate of different compounds in the coffee.

When making pour-over coffee, we use near-boiling hot water poured into evenly ground coffee grounds to extract the flavor compounds. FrontStreet Coffee recommends controlling the water temperature between 87-93°C, as too high a temperature can easily make the coffee bitter and burnt, while too low a temperature cannot fully extract the flavor compounds. Additionally, factors such as pouring technique, time, and grind size all affect the coffee's taste.

Cold brew coffee, extracted through low-temperature slow steeping, reacts much more slowly in cold water than pour-over coffee, therefore requiring a much longer extraction time to release sufficient aromatic compounds. FrontStreet Coffee typically steeps cold brew for 12 hours, while iced drip coffee is made at a flow rate of 7-8 drops per 10 seconds, generally completing in 7-8 hours.

During the coffee brewing stage, fruit acid small molecules emerge first, followed by sweet molecules, and finally bitter large molecules. As temperature increases, the extraction rate of substances accelerates, and various changing factors can affect the coffee's taste. Therefore, when making pour-over coffee, careful control of various parameters that affect extraction rate is necessary. In contrast, cold brew extraction in low-temperature environments yields much fewer bitter and astringent compounds compared to high-temperature hot water. The richness and body of a cup of coffee mainly come from bitter compounds. Without the support of these bitter compounds, the coffee's mouthfeel tends to be thin with lacking aftertaste.

Some friends might ask FrontStreet Coffee about the difference between cold brew and iced pour-over coffee, and which tastes better. As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, pour-over belongs to hot water high-temperature extraction, which is subsequently cooled with ice cubes to achieve a chilled taste. Meanwhile, the cold brew process always occurs in a low-temperature environment with slow molecular movement of coffee compounds. Both offer refreshing tastes, but there are still certain differences in flavor. If you're curious about the flavor profiles of different coffee brewing methods, FrontStreet Coffee suggests first consulting with the barista to enhance your tasting experience.

Recommendations for Making Cold Brew

Cold brew only requires fresh coffee beans, a grinder, and a sealed container to hold the coffee, making the convenient operation very hassle-free. Although cold brew coffee generally doesn't need to worry about over-extraction, making a delicious cold brew still requires attention to some small details. FrontStreet Coffee has summarized several points here for your reference.

1. Choose Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans

Regardless of the extraction method used, the first prerequisite is to ensure that the coffee beans are freshly roasted. Coffee beans enter their optimal flavor period after 4-7 days of post-roast resting. Beyond this period, the coffee aroma accelerates its dissipation, and flavor characteristics are significantly diminished. FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands the importance of coffee freshness, therefore ships coffee beans roasted fresh within 5 days, ensuring customers receive them at peak flavor.

Compared to the full and complex layers of pour-over coffee, cold brew coffee pursues a cool, sweet and sour taste with fermented fruit aromas. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the following three types of coffee beans.

「Refreshing Floral and Fruity Aroma—FrontStreet Coffee Flower Butterfly Coffee Beans」

This coffee bean comes from the Panama region, where the geology consists of nutrient-rich volcanic ash soil, producing coffee beans with rich floral and fruity aromas. The washed processing method highlights the coffee's clear white floral notes and citrus flavors. FrontStreet Coffee's cold brew made with these beans presents a sweet and sour taste reminiscent of pomelo green tea.

「Fermented Wine Aroma—FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Barrel Coffee Beans」

This Honduras Sherry coffee bean uses whiskey barrel fermentation processing, presenting rich vanilla, cream, and whiskey aromas. It's one of the most popular coffee beans on FrontStreet Coffee's menu. When made into Sherry cold brew coffee, it delivers rich fermented wine aromas along with honey-like sweetness.

「Rich Fruit Tea Type—FrontStreet Coffee Natural Huang Gui Coffee Beans」

The natural-processed Huang Gui coffee beans use mature coffee fruits with pulp sugar content as high as 30%. The fructose ferments under sunlight, allowing the inner beans to develop full fruit sweetness. Cold brew made with these coffee beans offers vibrant berry and passion fruit sweet and sour notes, with distinct juice-like qualities and a black tea fragrance in the aftertaste.

2. Grind Size and Coffee-to-Water Ratio

Just like pour-over coffee, the grind size for cold brew also requires attention. Grinding too coarse or too fine can easily lead to bitter or tasteless coffee. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a slightly finer grind than pour-over coffee, with a #20 standard sieve pass rate of 85% as reference. Richness is also related to the coffee-to-water ratio. FrontStreet Coffee suggests 1:10 to 1:12. The extracted coffee can be consumed directly or diluted with ice cubes to achieve the desired concentration.

3. Steeping Time and Storage

FrontStreet Coffee typically prepares cold brew the night before, controlling the steeping time to approximately 12-14 hours. The next day, the coffee grounds can be filtered out to obtain the extracted coffee liquid.

FrontStreet Coffee once accidentally left the steeping process for more than a day due to forgetfulness, resulting in bitter and irritating coffee liquid. Everyone needs to pay attention to controlling extraction time to avoid waste. Additionally, coffee absorbs various aromas from the air wherever it's stored. If we keep it in a home refrigerator, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing a container with good sealing properties to prevent flavor contamination.

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