Cold Brew Coffee Ratio: How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Using Drip Bags?

Cold brew coffee has long been a favorite among coffee enthusiasts. It's wonderfully easy to make, whether at home or in the office. This time, FrontStreet Coffee walks through the ratios for cold brew coffee and introduces three ways to make it.

How Cold Brew Extraction Works

Cold brew coffee is made by slowly extracting coffee grounds mixed with cold water in specific proportions. The process yields coffee with noticeably lower acidity and astringency. Low temperatures combined with extended contact time allow only small-molecule flavor compounds to dissolve - floral and fruity notes - while larger-molecule compounds, such as smoky flavors, are difficult to extract.

What Are the Flavor Characteristics of Cold Brew Coffee?

Low-temperature extraction and a long extraction time are the two defining features of cold brew, and they are also what set it apart from hot extraction. Hot methods use water at 85-93°C and typically take no more than 3 minutes. Cold brew, by contrast, lets the subtle character of the coffee itself shine. With its gentle acidity, sweet taste, bright mouthfeel, and smooth flavor, it beautifully expresses the signature traits of premium growing regions.

[Direct Grinding Method]

Grind size: Slightly finer than pour-over coffee (80% passes through a #20 standard sieve)

Coffee grounds to cold water ratio: 1:10

Equipment needed: Sealed bottle & filter paper/filter screen

1. Prepare 50g of FrontStreet Coffee's Flower Butterfly coffee beans and grind them finer (80% passes through a #20 standard sieve).

2. Pour the grounds into a sealed bottle, then add 400ml of room-temperature water and 100g of ice cubes.

3. Cover, shake well, and place in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours of low-temperature slow extraction.

4. Once the time is up, use filter paper (or a filter screen) to separate the grounds. The finished coffee can be enjoyed right away, or refrigerated and consumed within 48 hours.

[Drip Bag Method]

Materials needed: FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe drip bags, a sealed bottle, an ice-water mixture

Coffee to water ratio: 1:10 (each FrontStreet Coffee drip bag contains 10g of coffee)

1. Prepare a clean, lidded container. Tear open the outer packaging, remove the drip bag, open its top, and pour the grounds directly into the container - but keep the bag itself, since it will serve as your filter once extraction is complete.

2. The cold brew ratio is 1:10, and each drip bag holds 10g, so prepare 100ml of ice water and pour it into the container.

3. Cover, shake well, and place in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours of low-temperature extraction.

4. Once extraction is complete, remove the drip bag, hook its paper ears onto your favorite cup, and pour the cold brew through the bag to strain out the grounds before enjoying.

[Cold Brew Bag Method]

Materials needed: Cold brew bags made from FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Sugar blend, a sealed wide-mouth bottle/cup, an ice-water mixture

Coffee to water ratio: 1:10/1:6 (each FrontStreet Coffee cold brew bag contains 10g of coffee)

1. Take out the Strawberry Sugar cold brew bag and hold it by the drawstring.

2. Place it in a cup or bottle. We recommend extracting at 1:10 per bag (one 10g cold brew bag with 100g of cold water - a ratio suited to drinking straight after extraction) or at 1:6 per bag (one 10g cold brew bag with 60g of cold water - a ratio for mixing the extracted coffee with other beverages).

3. Cover with a lid, shake gently, and place in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours so the grounds and cold water make full contact.

4. When cold brewing is finished, simply lift out the bag and enjoy.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For cold brew, FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Sugar Geisha blend is a natural fit. It pairs the classic Panama Geisha variety with Costa Rican honey-process coffee: the Geisha brings delicate rose and orange notes, while the honey process adds the sweet aroma of grape, dried blueberry, and strawberry gummy candy. The result is layered, sweet-tart, and lively - and if you let it ferment and settle a little, it even takes on a wine-like character.

If you prefer floral iced coffee, go for FrontStreet Coffee's natural Huakui. Since cold brew amplifies floral and fruit tones while muting woody and roasty notes, a light-to-medium roast works best. Grown in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Huakui's natural processing lets the beans absorb abundant sweetness from the fruit pulp and skin, yielding magnolia, cream strawberry, dried mango, guava, and black tea in the cold brew cup.

For a wash-processed option, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative beans are a superb choice. Washed Yirgacheffe brings a clean, bright sweet-tart acidity, and in cold brew it shows wonderfully sweet berry notes, layered depth, and honey.