Can You Add Fruit to Black Coffee? How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Taste Better?

As the temperature reaches over 30 degrees Celsius, FrontStreet Coffee's backend receives at least one message every day asking us to write about cold brew coffee. So today, let's continue to "delve deeper" into the topic of cold brew!

Exploring Cold Brew Possibilities

When it comes to cold brew coffee methods, there actually aren't too many variations. Under the constraints of low temperature and slow steeping, besides the coffee beans themselves, the variables we can adjust to influence flavor are limited to water amount, water temperature, and grind size. Additional factors include steeping method (bag brewing) and water quality. So, are there really no other approaches?

One afternoon, FrontStreet Coffee looked at a pile of unfinished fruits on the table. With the mindset of not wasting anything, and considering that fruits can be used for tea and coffee can be made into cold brew, why not pair them together and steep them?

Practical Implementation

Considering that the resulting cold brew shouldn't have the "coffee flavor" overwhelmingly stronger than the fruit flavor, nor should the fruit flavor completely mask the coffee's characteristics, FrontStreet Coffee decided to pair each fruit with a specific coffee bean for steeping. With blueberries, grapes, lemons, and peaches on hand, the combinations formed with four coffee selections are as follows:

• 10g Blueberries + Kenya AA Washed (Flavors: Cherry tomato, dark plum, berry notes)
• 20g Grapes + Ethiopia Sidamo Natural (Flavors: Floral notes, berries, fruit sugar)
• 2 slices Lemon + Colombia Orange Soda (Flavors: Orange juice, dried tangerine peel, citrus)
• 20g Honey Peach + Costa Rica Strawberry Candy (Flavors: Strawberry jam, raisins, rose)

Cold Brew Parameters

• Coffee Beans: 20g
• Water Ratio: 1:10 (200ml room temperature water)
• Grind Size: Fine sugar (EK43s setting 9.5)
• Steeping Time: 12 hours (chilled for 2 hours after filtering)
• Extraction Method: Fruits crushed/sliced, added directly to coffee grounds for steeping

Tasting Session

Kenya + Blueberries:

The aroma presents delicate blueberry fruitiness. Upon tasting, you first notice Kenya's dark plum and dark berry acidity, followed by the natural sweetness of blueberries and caramel aftertaste. Although the rich cherry tomato notes are less prominent, the cold brew achieves a nice balance of body and refreshing quality, perfect for summer enjoyment.

Natural Sidamo + Grapes:

You can detect the subtle berry aroma in the cold brew. The taste is distinctly grape juice with the unique fermented aroma characteristic of natural processed coffee. The texture is clear, sweet and juicy, with a finish accompanied by hawthorn and black tea characteristics. This pairing left the deepest impression among the four cold brews.

Orange Soda + Lemon:

Before tasting, the uplifting fresh lemon aroma immediately hits FrontStreet Coffee's nostrils, mixed with unique notes like lemongrass. However, in terms of taste, this combination's performance was less than ideal. The initial taste brings citrus peel astringency, green tea, and lemon's distinctive stimulating acidity. After swallowing, an unpleasant astringent sensation remains on the tongue.

(Image for reference only - FrontStreet Coffee doesn't actually steep lemon together for drinking)

Strawberry Candy + Honey Peach:

Since FrontStreet Coffee didn't crush the peaches but used sliced form for direct steeping, when opening the lid, only strawberry jam aroma was noticeable, while the peach fragrance wasn't prominent. However, when tasting, notes of dried apricot, ripe strawberries, and slight fermented wine-like aroma emerge. Compared to regular strawberry candy cold brew, this batch with fresh peaches added significantly more intense fruit flavors and fuller sweetness.

Summary of Experience

Through this experiment, FrontStreet Coffee believes that to create a well-matched combination of fresh fruits and coffee that presents a juicy and sweet cold brew coffee, we must first consider whether the fruit is suitable for steeping and how to extract good flavors from it. Take Guangzhou, where FrontStreet Coffee is located - while we encounter many fruit varieties daily, those suitable for overnight steeping and compatible with "coffee flavor" are relatively fewer, mainly berries, drupes, and tropical fruits.

For berries, we can choose grapes, blueberries, raspberries, and mulberries. It's best to crush them with tools to extract juice before steeping. For drupes, we can select honey peaches, apricots, and cherries. Before steeping, try to slice them thinly to better release fruit flavors. Tropical fruits include pineapple, lychee, and others - these are relatively foolproof options.

Secondly, select the coffee beans to pair with them. Considering flavor balance, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing lighter to medium-roasted beans with more delicate body for extraction. Therefore, Africa and Central America, known for producing coffee with floral and fruity characteristics, become our primary targets. For specific cold brew bean selection guidelines, everyone can revisit FrontStreet Coffee's previous article: "Boss, do you have any cold brew coffee bean recommendations?"

- END -

FrontStreet Coffee
No. 10, Bao'an Front Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473