Iced Americano or Hot Americano: Which Suits Summer Brewing?

Cold brew made at home depends mostly on bean choice. Under cold water, light roasts lean sour while dark roasts turn bitter and can lose aroma, so medium roasts give the most balanced cup. Fruity and fermented options, such as blueberry and tropical-fruit lots, hold up well over ice.

The process itself is simple: combine ground coffee with cold water, keep the ratio steady, use a coarse grind, and refrigerate for hours before filtering. Parameters for coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and steeping time decide whether the result tastes clean or muddy. For anyone weighing an iced americano or hot americano which is better, cold brew offers lower acidity and a sweeter finish in heat.

Guangzhou's summer heat is unbearable. Instead of going out and being scorched by high temperatures, it's better to stay home and make a refreshing cold brew coffee with coffee beans and ice water. This article will explain in detail how to choose coffee beans suitable for cold brew—from the influence of roast level on flavor, to specific recommendations for fruity, fermented, and mellow types, including Front Street brand's Strawberry Candy, Huakui, Xizhua, Blackberry, and Queen's Estate coffee beans. At the same time, we will also teach you step by step the cold brew process, coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and refrigeration time and other key parameters, so you can easily make a cup of iced coffee with balanced acidity and sweetness and an alluring aroma.

Although Guangzhou's weather lets you experience all four seasons in a single week, right now it is truly unbearably hot. In the sweltering summer, you don't want to step outside, let alone be baked medium-well by the sun. At times like this, a glass of iced coffee is perfect for cooling down. If you happen to have coffee beans and ice water on hand, why not make a cold brew right away? Don't hesitate any longer—get started now!

Step one: choose a coffee bean with balanced acidity and bitterness for brewing

In fact, any coffee bean can be used to make cold brew. Whether it's a single-origin pour-over or an espresso blend, dark roast or light roast, they can all be steeped in cold water. It's just that under low-temperature conditions, they will show different flavor performances: light-roasted beans tend to be sour, while dark-roasted beans tend to be bitter and may even lose their aroma. Therefore, if you want to make a satisfying iced coffee, it is recommended to prioritize medium-roast coffee beans.

If you prefer fruity notes, your first choices are Front Street Strawberry Candy Coffee and Front Street Huakui Coffee. These two beans have the sweet aroma of blueberries, grapes, and tropical fruits, with low acidity and a delicate, balanced flavor, making them very suitable for cold drinks;

If you want to try something with a slight fermented flavor, you can go for Front Street Xizhua Coffee and Front Street Blackberry Coffee. The former offers aromas of grapes, passion fruit, and candied fruit, while the latter presents characteristics of melon, berries, and floral notes. Once made into cold brew, it will have a mouthfeel similar to fruit wine;

If you cannot accept sourness at all and want a mellow black coffee, then Front Street Queen's Estate Coffee is highly recommended. This bean uses a medium roast. After grinding, it gives off the aroma of cream and roasted peanuts, and its chocolate and toasted bread flavors are especially charming. It can also usually be used to make iced pour-over or iced SOE americano.

Step two: follow the process and adjust parameters according to personal taste

As for the coffee beans, Front Street tends to use light to medium roast beans. Here, the juicy Front Street Strawberry Candy Coffee beans are chosen for brewing. For the container, you only need a clean, sealable vessel. Prepare 40 grams of coffee grounds, grind to a fine grind level (85% passing through a No. 20 sieve), pour into the container, then add 480 milliliters of cold water, stir evenly with a wooden stick, and cover with the lid.

Refrigerate for 12 hours, then remove, filter out the coffee grounds, and the filtered coffee liquid can be drunk immediately; you can also put the filtered coffee liquid into a bottle and continue refrigerating for 4 hours, and the flavor and mouthfeel will be even better.

The Strawberry Candy cold brew made this way has just the right balance of sourness and sweetness. On the palate, there is a soft aroma of berries and roses, and a sweet orange-like taste fills the mouth. After swallowing, it also has a rounded sweetness of almonds and candied fruit.

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