Which Country Originated Cold Brew Coffee? How Should Beginners Choose Coffee Bean Flavors for Cold Brew?

The Origin Story of Cold Brew Coffee

Regarding the origin of cold brew coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's research indicates that the earliest documented cold brew coffee originated in the Netherlands. In the 17th century, the Netherlands had become extremely powerful at sea, possessing the world's finest sailors and shipbuilding technology, even surpassing the maritime hegemon England. During that time, Dutch colonists dominated world trade for an extended period.

At that time, to solve the problem of sailors drinking coffee during long sea voyages, they invented a peculiar brewing method: steeping coffee grounds in cold water for more than twenty hours until the coffee flavor was extracted. Through this method, they created a coffee concentrate that contained higher caffeine content and tasted quite good. It required no heating and had an extended shelf life, greatly facilitating sailors and merchants during maritime journeys.

People on the ships still preferred to heat the extracted concentrate with water before drinking, but sometimes they would drink the concentrate directly for convenience. Due to the repeated expansion of colonial hegemony, the Netherlands established the Dutch East India Company, the first multinational corporation in history. This company monopolized Asian trade for a long time, extending its easternmost trade reach to Japan. This coffee brewing method subsequently spread to Japan. Since Japan had a tradition of cold-brewed tea since ancient times, this cold brew coffee method didn't seem particularly novel in this new location. The Japanese combined their cold-brew tea approach and invented the Kyoto-drip method of coffee brewing. Today, some niche coffee shops still use the Kyoto-drip method to make cold brew coffee, making it one of the must-experience items for coffee enthusiasts.

Grounds-to-Water Ratio for Making Cold Brew Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee typically recommends a grounds-to-water ratio of 1:13 for making cold brew coffee. This ratio produces cold brew coffee with just the right concentration that can be enjoyed directly without dilution. Some friends prefer to add milk/soda water or use it to make specialty coffee drinks. In such cases, a higher coffee concentration is needed, and FrontStreet Coffee suggests using a 1:10 ratio for cold brew coffee intended for specialty drinks.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Using a 1:13 grounds-to-water ratio as an example, FrontStreet Coffee uses 30g of coffee beans ground to a size where approximately 80-85% passes through a 0.85mm standard sieve (medium-fine grind). "It's important to note that while low-temperature extraction can reduce the emergence of bitter substances, it's not 100% effective. If the grind is too fine, the sweet and sour substances in the coffee grounds will be quickly extracted, followed by the release of rich, full-bodied substances. An appropriate amount of these rich substances can enhance the coffee's body, but if steeped for too long, woody flavors will begin to emerge, reducing the overall clarity of the coffee."

After grinding the coffee beans, place them in a clean, oil-free sealed container. Add 150g of ice cubes and 240ml of purified water, seal the container and shake gently to ensure the coffee grounds and ice water are fully mixed, then place in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. After extraction is complete, filter out the coffee grounds using filter paper or a fine mesh strainer before drinking.

Coffee Bean Recommendations for Cold Brew Coffee

Since low-temperature extraction makes it difficult to extract rich, full-bodied substances, medium-dark roast coffee beans may produce a somewhat thin cold brew lacking substance and body. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using light-medium to medium roast coffee beans, particularly those with prominent sweet-sour characteristics or distinctive aromas.

FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian Natural Red Cherry coffee beans produce a cold brew with rich, complex fruit juice notes and a tea-like sensation similar to black tea.

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Butterfly Geisha Blend coffee beans produce a cold brew coffee with citrus acidity, white floral notes, and a green tea-like sensation.

FrontStreet Coffee's Costa Rica Musician Series Mozart coffee beans produce a cold brew coffee with raisin aromas, noticeable fermentation notes, and a substantial, rich mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Barrel Fermented Sherry coffee beans produce a cold brew coffee with whiskey aromas, vanilla cream-like smoothness, and caramel-like sweetness.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473