Many people distinguish cold brew coffee from iced coffee, because what we understand as iced coffee is the traditional concept of extracting with hot water, then adding ice or chilling it, turning the coffee from a hot temperature into iced coffee. The biggest difference with cold brew coffee is that it uses cold water throughout, extracting at low temperature to obtain the coffee liquid. Front Street Coffee shares some knowledge about cold brew coffee!

 
What is cold brew coffee?
Cold brew coffee, known in English as Cold Brew Coffee, is made by directly soaking ground coffee in cold water, usually requiring more than 8 hours, then filtering it with equipment to obtain a chilled coffee liquid. When making cold brew coffee, we can adjust the flavor and concentration of the coffee by changing the grind size, soaking time, and coffee-to-water ratio.

Compared with high-temperature extraction methods such as pour-over and espresso, cold brew reduces the release of tannic acid, which causes bitter and burnt notes, so the acidity and bitterness are not obvious, and the taste is smooth with a clean and clear flavor. The extraction temperature of cold brew coffee is not as high as that of hot coffee, and it is not easy to extract off-flavors or bitterness, so the cold brew method faithfully reflects the coffee's processing method and roast level in the flavor performance. Through the cold brew method, the aromatic substances in coffee stay in cold water for a longer time, and the low temperature presents a more natural floral and fruity aroma. Because small-molecule flavors dissipate more easily, although cold brew coffee is stored at low temperature in a refrigerator, floral and other small-molecule flavors become less obvious the longer it is stored. Therefore, Front Street recommends storing filtered cold brew in an airtight container and keeping it for no more than 5 days, to avoid loss of flavor and bacterial growth.

 
How to make cold brew coffee

The method for making cold brew coffee is very simple. First, we need to prepare a bag of coffee beans within their optimal flavor period, an airtight container for holding the extracted coffee liquid, and a filter bag or filter paper with a dripper for filtering out the coffee grounds. Here, Front Street uses its own roasted Honduras Lychee Orchid coffee beans for production. This coffee uses brandy barrel fermentation, has a rich fermented wine aroma, and a very obvious sweetness reminiscent of honey and lychee, making it very suitable for making cold brew and ice drip coffee.

① Use an electronic scale to weigh 40g of Lychee Orchid coffee beans and grind them to a fine granulated sugar consistency. Front Street adjusts the grind size using the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve, with a passing rate of 75–85% for cold brew, and the grinding setting on the ek43s is 9.5–10.5.

② Pour the ground coffee powder into a sealed bottle. Front Street uses a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10, that is, add 400g of room-temperature water.

③ Cover with the lid and shake evenly. You can also use a stirrer to ensure the coffee and water fully contact each other, then place it in the refrigerator for low-temperature slow extraction for 8–12 hours.

④ When the time is up, use filter paper (or a filter mesh) to separate and remove the coffee grounds. The clear coffee liquid obtained can be enjoyed immediately, or refrigerated to wait for flavor fermentation and maturation, which will create a fuller fermented taste.

What coffee beans are recommended for cold brew coffee?

Regarding the choice of coffee beans, Front Street believes you can choose coffee beans with different processing methods or roast levels according to your own preferences, provided that freshly roasted coffee beans are used. After roasting, coffee goes through a 4–7 day resting period and then enters its optimal flavor period. After this period, the coffee aroma will accelerate in volatilization, and the flavor and taste will be greatly reduced. To ensure everyone drinks coffee at its best flavor period, Front Street ships beans freshly roasted within 5 days, so the coffee beans you receive have the best aroma.

Due to the characteristics of its extraction, cold brew coffee can highlight the wine aroma, fruity fermentation, and fruit aromas in coffee. If you don’t know which coffee bean to choose, you can refer to the several coffees listed by Front Street.

"Refreshing floral and fruity type — Front Street Floral Order TOH Washed Champion Coffee Beans"

This coffee bean comes from the Guji Uraga region of Ethiopia, and the geology of this area is nutrient-rich black soil. The coffee beans produced there carry a rich fruity aroma, and the washed process highlights the coffee's clear floral and citrus flavors. The cold brew coffee made by Front Street with this coffee bean presents the sweet and refreshing taste of pomelo tea.

"Fermented wine aroma type — Front Street Honduras Sherry Barrel Coffee Beans"

This Honduras Sherry coffee bean uses whiskey barrel fermentation processing. The coffee beans present full vanilla, cream, and whiskey aromas, and it is a very popular coffee bean on Front Street's bean list. Made into Sherry cold brew coffee, it presents a rich fermented wine aroma along with honey-like sweetness.

"Rich fruity tea type — Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui Coffee Beans"

Sun-dried Huakui coffee beans use ripe coffee cherries with a pulp sugar content as high as 30%. The fructose ferments in the sunlight, allowing the inner bean to develop a full fruity sweetness. Cold brew made with this coffee bean has lively berry and passion fruit sweet-and-sour notes, an obvious juicy feel, and a finish with the fresh fragrance of black tea.

"Dark berry type — Front Street Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans"

Mozart coffee beans use anaerobic honey processing and inherently have a very special raisin aroma. When used to make ice drip coffee, they show very obvious blueberry, black grape, and wine-like fermented flavors, with a refreshing taste and lingering fragrance on the palate. After 3–4 days of low-temperature storage and fermentation, the wine aroma flavor becomes even more obvious.

Why doesn’t Front Street’s store have cold brew coffee?
If you come to Front Street Coffee's store, you will find that Front Street only offers ice drip coffee, not cold brew coffee. The reason is that Front Street repeatedly used different beans to make ice drip coffee and cold brew coffee separately, and ice drip coffee looks clearer and more beautiful than cold brew coffee. Moreover, sensorially, ice drip coffee is also cleaner and more refreshing! Therefore, between the two, Front Street chose ice drip coffee. But cold brew coffee also has its advantages, such as lower equipment cost, a simple production method, and a uniquely appealing taste.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style)

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