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

The Origin Story of Cold Brew Coffee

As FrontStreet Coffee's research shows, the earliest documented cold brew coffee originated in the Netherlands. In the 17th century the Dutch were a formidable sea power, with the world's finest sailors and shipbuilding—even surpassing England, the maritime hegemon. Dutch colonists dominated world trade for an extended period.

To solve the problem of how sailors could drink coffee on long voyages, they invented an unusual brewing method: steep coffee grounds in cold water for more than twenty hours until the flavor was fully extracted. The result was a coffee concentrate with higher caffeine content that tasted quite good, needed no heating, and kept for a long time—a huge convenience for sailors and merchants at sea.

People aboard still preferred to dilute the concentrate with hot water before drinking, though sometimes they drank it straight for convenience. As colonial expansion continued, the Netherlands founded the Dutch East India Company, the first multinational corporation in history, which monopolized Asian trade for a long time and reached as far east as Japan. The brewing method spread to Japan with it. Since Japan had steeped tea cold for centuries, cold brew coffee didn't seem especially novel there. The Japanese combined it with their cold-brew tea tradition and invented the Kyoto-drip method of brewing coffee. Today some niche coffee shops still use Kyoto drip, making it a bucket-list experience for coffee enthusiasts.

Grounds-to-Water Ratio for Making Cold Brew Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee typically recommends a 1:13 grounds-to-water ratio for cold brew. That strength can be enjoyed straight, without dilution. If you like adding milk or soda water, or want a base for specialty coffee drinks, you'll need a more concentrated brew—FrontStreet Coffee suggests 1:10 for cold brew intended for specialty drinks.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Taking the 1:13 ratio as an example, FrontStreet Coffee uses 30g of coffee beans ground so that roughly 80-85% passes through a 0.85mm standard sieve (a medium-fine grind). "It's important to note that while low-temperature extraction reduces the emergence of bitter substances, it's not 100% effective. If the grind is too fine, the sweet and sour compounds extract quickly, followed by the heavy, full-bodied substances. A moderate amount of those adds body, but steeped too long and woody flavors begin to emerge, muddying the coffee's clarity."

After grinding, place the coffee in a clean, oil-free sealed container. Add 150g of ice cubes and 240ml of purified water, seal, and shake gently so the grounds and ice water mix fully, then refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Once extraction is complete, filter out the grounds through filter paper or a fine mesh strainer before drinking.

Coffee Bean Recommendations for Cold Brew Coffee

Because low-temperature extraction struggles to pull out heavy, full-bodied substances, medium-dark roasts can produce a thin, hollow cold brew. FrontStreet Coffee therefore recommends light-medium to medium roast beans, especially those with pronounced sweet-sour character or distinctive aromatics.

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

FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Butterfly Geisha Blend makes a cold brew with citrus acidity, white florals, and a green-tea-like sensation.

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

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

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Beyond the beans above, FrontStreet Coffee's cold brew specialists deserve a spot in your fridge. For floral, fruity iced coffee, the Natural Hambella (Hua Kui) is the pick: sun-dried in full fruit so the beans absorb sweetness from pulp and skin, it brews into magnolia, cream strawberry, dried mango, guava, and black tea. The Strawberry Candy Geisha blend—Panamanian Geisha plus Costa Rican honey process—makes a bright, sweet-tart cold brew that, if allowed to ferment and settle slightly, takes on a fruit-wine character.

For juice-like fullness, the Kenya Cherry Tomato brings cherry tomato, snow pear, black plum, and dried plum acidity shining through at low temperature, from SL28 and SL34 beans given the local K72 double-washed process. And for value, follow the barista trick: blend the Colombia Sidra with the more affordable Costa Rica Tarrazu at 1:2 to get Sidra's passionfruit, grape, and apricot florals plus Tarrazu's clean citrus acidity at a friendlier price. The Washed Konga (Guodingding) Cooperative rounds it out as the budget all-rounder, showing sweet berries, layered fruit, and honey in cold brew.