How to Make Cold Brew Coffee: Methods, Bean Recommendations, and Storage Duration

If you have ever had cold brew coffee, you have surely been won over by its uniquely smooth texture and its "pure" character. Why is cold brew so popular, and how does it differ from ordinary iced coffee? In this article FrontStreet Coffee will explain what cold brew coffee actually is.

The Difference Between Cold Brew Coffee and Iced Coffee

Many people separate cold brew from iced coffee because our idea of iced coffee is the traditional one: extract with hot water, then add ice or chill it to turn hot coffee cold.

The biggest difference with cold brew is that it uses cold water throughout, extracting at low temperature to produce the coffee liquid. Because of this low-temperature method, cold brew effectively avoids releasing some bitter compounds, giving the coffee a distinctive, unique, and mild flavor.

Flavor Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee

Low-temperature extraction and a long extraction time are the two defining features of cold brew, and the main differences between it and high-temperature extraction. High-temperature coffee is made by extracting grounds with hot water between 82-95°C, generally for no more than 3 minutes.

Cold brew can fully express the subtle flavor characteristics of a coffee. Because of its mild acidity, sweet taste, bright mouthfeel, and gentle flavor, FrontStreet Coffee believes cold brew can better present the flavor characteristics of a specialty bean's origin region.

What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Cold Brew?

Since low-temperature extraction releases rich compounds less readily, cold brew is better suited to fresh, medium-light to medium roasted beans with sweet and sour flavors. FrontStreet Coffee believes only freshly roasted beans carry richer flavor and aroma, which is why every order ships within 5 days of roasting.

For those who love rich fruit acidity, try "FrontStreet Coffee's Huakui Beans." This is a natural coffee from the Buku processing plant in the Hambela region of Guji, Ethiopia. High-altitude cultivation gives it excellent layers of flavor; made as cold brew it shows berry-like sweetness and tartness, honey-like sweetness, and a black tea aftertaste.

For those who like floral and fruity flavors but want less acidity, try "FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly Beans." This is a single-origin washed coffee from the Boquete region of Panama, a blend of Geisha with Catuai and Catimor. The Geisha brings floral and fruity notes, while the Catuai and Catimor add gentle fruit acidity and body. Made as cold brew it shows white-flower fragrance, soft citrus acidity, caramel sweetness, and a green tea aftertaste.

For those who prefer a non-acidic coffee with distinctive flavor, try "FrontStreet Coffee's Sherry Beans." This is a wine-flavored coffee, made from whiskey-barrel fermented beans from Moka Manor in Honduras. Its hallmark is low acidity, a rich body, and wine aroma. Made as cold brew it shows a whiskey-like wine aroma, vanilla-cream smoothness, and hazelnut-caramel sweetness.

How to Make a Single Serving of Cold Brew Coffee

First, prepare a 200ml clean, oil-free glass bottle with a lid that seals.

Then weigh 20 grams of beans for cold brew and grind them to a medium granule, the size of sugar (75% pass rate through China's No. 20 standard sieve).

Place them in the glass bottle and add room-temperature or ice water at a 1:10 ratio. Stir thoroughly so the coffee particles contact the water, then seal and refrigerate for 8-12 hours of extraction. No need to shake midway; just let it steep.

When steeping is complete, filter out the grounds with a filtering tool or coffee filter paper, and it is ready to taste.

Storage Time of Cold Brew Coffee

Some people have heard cold brew can be stored for 2-3 weeks, but FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend keeping it that long. Once extraction is complete and the grounds are filtered out, sealed cold brew is best consumed within 72 hours.

Some homemade cold brew sits in a home fridge alongside different meats and vegetables. Even sealed, it is hard to avoid bacterial contamination, so once it is made, remember to drink it soon.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui Natural — Cold brew intensifies floral and fruity notes while muting woody and roasted tones, so a light-to-medium roast is ideal, and Huakui fits perfectly. From Ethiopia's coffee homeland and given a natural process, the beans absorb abundant sweet aromatics from the fruit and skin. As cold brew they show magnolia, creamy strawberry, dried mango, guava, and black tea.

FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend — A cold-brew specialist. It combines Gesha, famous for its floral character and fresh fruit acidity, with Costa Rican honey-processed coffee, one contributing delicate rose and orange notes and the other a sweet, candy-like grape, raisin, and strawberry character. Made as cold brew it is sweet-tart with a lively lift, and after resting it takes on a fruit-wine texture.

FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato — For a juice-forward cold brew, this is the first choice. Its cherry tomato, snow pear, black plum, and smoked plum sweet-tart profile comes through fully at low temperature, with low bitterness and full acidity, especially refreshing over ice. Grown in Kenya's Sika region from SL28 and SL34, processed with the local K72 double-wash, and roasted medium-light, it brings complex fruit to the cup.