How do you make cold brew coffee at home?

Cold brew coffee is plain black coffee made by steeping grounds in room-temperature or ice water, with no brewing equipment beyond a jar and a filter. Because extraction happens cold, flavor compounds release slowly, so total steeping runs 8 to 24 hours. Cold brew differs from ordinary iced coffee, which is hot-brewed coffee cooled down.

Room-temperature steeping should not exceed 8 hours and can turn woody; refrigerator steeping runs 12 to 24 hours. Front Street suggests a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio with a coarse grind. Steep overnight, strain in the morning, and drink within a few days. Black coffee definition aside, the ratio and time are what shape the final cup.

On a scorching summer day, cold brew coffee always sparks lively discussion among coffee lovers. It requires no complicated equipment—just prolonged contact between cold water and coffee grounds—to deliver an iced coffee experience with prominent aroma and a full-bodied mouthfeel. This article will systematically explain the definition of cold brew coffee, the differences between room-temperature and low-temperature steeping, the choice of coffee beans suitable for making it, and Front Street's recommended 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and specific steps. It will also cover the best time to drink cold brew and its shelf life, helping you easily make a satisfying cold brew at home.

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Once summer arrives, cold brew coffee becomes one of the most frequently discussed topics among coffee lovers, who eagerly share their own cold brew experiences. Why has cold brew become so popular in the coffee world in recent years? What exactly is the difference between it and ordinary iced coffee? In this article, Front Street will talk about this fascinating cold brew coffee.

What Is Cold Brew/Cold Steeped Coffee?

Cold brew coffee is a pure black coffee liquid obtained by steeping coffee grounds directly in room-temperature or ice water under ambient or low-temperature conditions. Because the extraction temperature is low, the flavor compounds in the coffee grounds are released much more slowly than in hot extraction, so the steeping time varies with room temperature and refrigerator temperature, typically requiring a total extraction time of 8 to 24 hours. Since it requires no skill and no cumbersome brewing equipment to produce an iced coffee with pronounced aroma and high body, and you can steep it overnight and drink it in the morning, it has become a favorite among many office workers.

What Is the Difference Between Room-Temperature and Low-Temperature Cold Brew?

Cold brew steeped at room temperature is recommended not to exceed 8 hours, while cold brew steeped at low temperature is recommended to steep for 12 to 24 hours.

When steeping at room temperature, the extraction time varies with room temperature. Cold brew made at room temperature immediately shows a full body, but the downside is that it easily develops a woody taste. The advantage of putting it in the refrigerator is that you get that full body without the woody taste, but the downside is that it really does take longer...

What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for Cold Brew?

The liquid of cold brew coffee is not as clear as that of cold drip coffee; a thin layer of oil floats on the surface, and the flavor and mouthfeel appear slightly heavier and more balanced. Front Street recommends choosing coffee beans with pronounced acidity and sweetness or rich aroma to make cold brew, such as Front Street Sherry coffee beans, Front Street Mozart coffee beans, Front Street Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry coffee beans, Front Street Kenya coffee beans, etc.—all single-origin coffee beans with good value and suitability for cold brew.

If you like cold brew with a sweet-and-sour profile, we recommend three specialty coffee beans: Front Street Fruit Ding Ding, Front Street Strawberry Candy, and Front Street Huakui. They are not only full of fruity aroma but also present a delicate sweet-and-sour taste under low-temperature extraction. If you prefer a balanced flavor, we recommend Front Street Diamond Mountain, Front Street Kaffa Forest, and Front Street Gesha Village Chaka, which offer a pleasant balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and sweetness.

The Correct Way to Make Cold Brew Coffee

Front Street relatively recommends making cold brew coffee in a low-temperature refrigerator environment, especially in the south, where room temperature is very high once summer arrives. If you steep cold brew at room temperature, it is difficult to control the steeping time properly.

Cold brew coffee making parameters: 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, grind size with a 75% pass rate through a Chinese standard No. 20 sieve (0.85mm holes), using ice water for steeping. When making cold brew coffee, Front Street uses 50 grams of coffee grounds, adds 400 milliliters of filtered water and 100 grams of ice, stirs evenly, seals the bottle, and places it in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment. Extract at low temperature for 8 to 12 hours; it is not recommended to exceed 16 hours (it easily over-extracts and produces off-flavors). After steeping and extraction are complete, filter out the coffee grounds with a filtering device.

The Correct Way to Drink Cold Brew Coffee

Front Street recommends placing the extracted cold brew coffee in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before drinking, because during the overnight resting process, the coffee liquid becomes fully mellowed over time, resulting in a better flavor.

How Long Can Cold Brew Coffee Be Stored?

After filtering, cold brew coffee can be sealed and stored in the refrigerator for 5 days. Although the longer cold brew coffee is kept, the mellower the flavor becomes, the refrigerator environment is, after all, "complex" (especially a home refrigerator), and it is hard to completely avoid bacterial contamination. Moreover, every time you open it to drink, air has a chance to enter, so for the sake of health, Front Street does not recommend keeping it for a week or even a month before drinking.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.