What's the Difference Between Iced Coffee and Cold Brew Coffee? How to Make Iced Coffee and Common Varieties Explained

Introduction to Cold Coffee Beverages

Iced coffee has been around for centuries, with the idea apparently originating as far back as Vienna and France, so don't feel ashamed if it is your go-to choice. Cold brew coffee, on the other hand, has rapidly built its own reputation over the past five years or so as it has become more accessible. The difference between cold brew and iced coffee comes down to how each is made and the flavors that process produces.

What is Iced Coffee?

Iced coffee has been around for a long time, but its popularity has never completely surpassed hot coffee. Iced coffee is exactly what it sounds like: simply cooled coffee poured over ice. Any flavors or creamers you like can be added, sometimes making it more like an iced latte than iced coffee, but the key is keeping it cool with plenty of ice.

Remember that nearly half of your cup will eventually become ice, so the coffee's flavor changes as the ice melts. If you're drinking iced coffee at home, you can fill the glass with more ice to keep the ice from melting as quickly.

What is Cold Brew Coffee?

The benefits of cold brew come down to taste. Unless you stick with mass-produced Starbucks or Dunkin' options, every place you go will be different. One cold brew's taste will never be exactly the same as the next, but all cold brews tend to share similar characteristics: milder, sweeter. Coffee's reputation for bitterness gets left behind along with the heat. Some days call for intense flavors, but when you just want to sip and relax, cold brew has you covered.

The best cold brew should be enjoyable without ice, but adding a few cubes to stay cool during an extra-long day shouldn't ruin the taste too much.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee?

The difference between cold brew and iced coffee traces back to how each one is made. It's a lengthy process, but nothing is very complicated.

What Does Cold Brew Taste Like?

Regular iced coffee is more acidic, which leads most people to add creamer. Too much creamer is just a pile of sugar crash and unnecessary calories. This isn't to say some acidic coffees don't also have rich flavors, but it is not for everyone.

Cold brew, on the other hand, tends to have a rich, smooth taste. Done well, it usually needs just a little milk, and even that is a bit much; cold brew black is another kind of magic. If you're trying to move away from creamers and more in this direction, cold brew is a great way to get your taste buds accustomed to black coffee.

Why is Cold Brew Coffee So Popular?

All cold coffees are game-changers, but the culture around cold brew coffee is worth noting too. Shops seem to be competing for the cutest cold drink cans and cold drinks.

FrontStreet Coffee's Perspective

The difference between iced coffee and cold brew coffee, in FrontStreet Coffee's opinion: each type has its own character and is very enjoyable to drink. As for which tastes better, that depends on personal preference, because everyone's taste is different, so there's no absolute answer to which is better.

For example: FrontStreet Coffee's Mandheling, some people like its medicinal flavor while others don't; FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee, some people like its acidity and berry flavor while others don't. FrontStreet Coffee offers many varieties of premium coffee, and everyone is welcome to come and taste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If cold brew is your drink of choice, the beans you pick matter a lot, since cold extraction amplifies floral and fruity notes while muting woody and roasting flavors. A medium-light roast is the best fit. The FrontStreet Natural Flower Queen, grown in coffee's birthplace of Ethiopia, works beautifully: because it is naturally processed, the beans soak up plenty of sweet aromatics from the fruit and skin, and as a cold brew it shows magnolia, cream strawberry, mango, guava, and black tea notes.

For something sweeter and more layered, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is a cold-brew specialist. It pairs a classic Panama Geisha, with its fine rose and orange notes, against a Costa Rican honey-processed coffee known for grape, raisin, and strawberry-candy sweetness. As a cold brew it is sweet-tart and lively; given a little time to settle, it even takes on a fruit-wine-like mouthfeel.

And if you want a juicy, full-bodied cold brew, reach for the FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato. From Thika in Kenya, it uses the carefully selected SL28 and SL34 varieties and the region's distinctive 72-hour double washed processing, with a medium-light roast, so its cherry tomato, pear, black plum, and dried-plum sweet-tartness comes through in full at low temperature. The bitterness is low and the acidity is full, and over ice it is especially refreshing with a long-lasting aroma. Since cold brew uses more grounds than pour-over, it's also smart to blend for value: many people love the passion fruit, grape, apricot, and dried-fruit complexity of the FrontStreet Colombia Sidra, but given its cost, blending it 1:2 with the FrontStreet Costa Rica Tarrazu keeps the Sidra's floral-fruit aroma alongside Tarrazu's crisp citrus acidity while stretching your budget further.