Cold Brew Coffee Beans: Knowledge, History, Origins, Characteristics & Homemade Methods

The Perfect Start to a Summer Morning

On a slightly cool summer morning, standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows of your room, watching the city after rain, listening to the tireless chirping of cicadas, summer breezes brush past your ankles, sweep past your ears, and your voluminous hair sways gently in the wind. Your consciousness still lingers in dreams, unwilling to awaken. At such a moment, having a glass of refreshing cold brew coffee by your side would mark the perfect beginning to an ideal day. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the flavor differences between cold brew coffee and hot coffee.

The Historical Origins of Cold Brew Coffee

Many people first became acquainted with cold brew coffee out of curiosity about the unique ice drip apparatus. Cold brew coffee refers to immersion-style cold brew coffee (Cold Brew Coffee), distinct from drip-style ice drip coffee (Ice Drip Coffee). Cold brew involves steeping coffee grounds in room temperature water or an ice-water mixture in a container, maintaining it at low temperatures for a certain period, then filtering out the coffee grounds to obtain the coffee liquid. Ice drip, on the other hand, involves slowly dripping an ice-water mixture through coffee grounds to extract the coffee liquid. Both methods belong to low-temperature extraction and are among the most common iced coffee varieties in many coffee shops.

The earliest documented records of cold brew coffee date back to the seventeenth century, when Dutch sailors attempted to steep coffee grounds in cold water during long sea voyages. They discovered that coffee extracted with cold water was not bitter and could be stored and transported for extended periods, thus earning the name "Dutch Coffee." This "cold water coffee" method was introduced to Japan during the Edo period through maritime trade. The Japanese developed the drip-style ice drip coffee pot by slowly extracting more aromatic components from coffee.

What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee?

Since coffee beans are seeds, and seeds typically contain more oils than other parts of plants, regardless of the coffee variety, the darker the roast, the more these oils will manifest on the bean surface and in the mouthfeel. Light roasts offer a lighter mouthfeel,偏向果汁感, more prominent fruit acidity, uplifted floral and fruity aromas, and smell less like traditional coffee; dark roasts present a heavier, richer mouthfeel, deeper aromas, and smell closer to the traditional "coffee flavor" we recognize.

Compared to high-temperature extraction methods like pour-over or espresso, cold brew reduces the release of tannic acids that create bitterness, resulting in less prominent acidity and bitterness, with a smooth mouthfeel and clean, clear flavors upon tasting. The extraction temperature of cold brew is not as high as that of hot coffee, making it less likely to extract undesirable flavors and bitterness, so the cold brew method faithfully reflects the processing method and roast degree in the flavor expression. Through cold brewing, aromatic compounds in coffee remain in cold water for longer periods, presenting more natural floral and fruity aromas at low temperatures.

Since small molecular flavor compounds dissipate more easily, although cold brew coffee is stored in low-temperature refrigerators, delicate flavors like floral notes become less pronounced over longer storage periods. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends storing filtered cold brew in airtight containers for no more than 5 days to avoid flavor loss and bacterial growth.

How to Make Cold Brew at Home

Step 1: First, prepare a cold brew bottle. If you don't have one, it doesn't matter—any sealed container will work! If you don't have a cold brew bottle or a sealed container, that's fine too! Any glass covered with plastic wrap will suffice!

Step 2: Choose a single-origin coffee bean that you like and grind it (For this session, FrontStreet Coffee is using 50g of Mozart from Costa Rica, ground with an EK43s grinder at a grind setting of 9 for iced pour-over, but please adjust according to your equipment and the condition of the beans on the day~)

Step 3: Pour the ground coffee into the built-in filter of the cold brew pitcher and add room temperature purified water. (This time we're using a ratio of 1:12, meaning 50g of coffee grounds to 600ml of water, which can be adjusted according to your preferred concentration. Note that the water level should be high enough to submerge the coffee grounds.)

Step 4: Secure the lid and place it in the refrigerator for 8 hours. (Note: Refrigerate, don't freeze!)

Step 5: Remove the coffee from the refrigerator after 8 hours and filter it to make it taste cleaner

Step 6: After further filtering with filter paper, you can start drinking! Adding ice cubes makes it taste even better~

Similar to pour-over coffee, the grind size for cold brew requires attention. Grinding too coarsely or too finely can easily lead to bitter or tasteless coffee. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a slightly finer grind than for pour-over coffee, with 85% pass-through through a #20 standard sieve as reference. Concentration also relates to the coffee-to-water ratio, which FrontStreet Coffee suggests as 1:10 to 1:12. The extracted coffee can be consumed directly or diluted with ice to reach the desired concentration.

FrontStreet Coffee typically steeps overnight for about 12-14 hours, so the next day we can take it out and filter the coffee grounds to obtain the extracted coffee liquid. FrontStreet Coffee once accidentally left it steeping for more than a day, and the resulting coffee was bitter and harsh, so everyone needs to pay attention to extraction time control to avoid waste. Additionally, coffee absorbs various odors from the air. If stored in a home refrigerator, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing containers with good sealing properties to prevent flavor impact.

Which Coffee Beans Make Better 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 beans. Since coffee enters its optimal flavor window 4-7 days after roasting, after this period, coffee aroma accelerates its dissipation, and flavor profile significantly diminishes. To ensure everyone experiences coffee at its best flavor period, FrontStreet Coffee ships beans roasted within 5 days, so the coffee beans you receive will have optimal aroma.

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

「Refreshing Floral and Fruity Aroma Type—FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Sequence TOH Washed Champion Coffee Beans」

These coffee beans originate from the Uraga region of Guji, Ethiopia, where the geology consists of fertile black soil, producing coffee beans with rich fruity aromas. The washed processing method highlights the clear floral notes and citrus flavors of the coffee. When FrontStreet Coffee uses these beans to make cold brew, it presents a sweet taste reminiscent of pomelo tea.

「Fermented Wine Aroma Type—FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Whiskey Barrel Coffee Beans」

These Honduras Sherry coffee beans undergo whiskey barrel fermentation processing, presenting rich vanilla, cream, and whiskey aromas, making them one of the most popular coffee beans 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's Natural Flower Queen Coffee Beans」

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

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

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