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A while ago, a piece of data from Starbucks showed that cold drinks now account for 70% of total beverage sales. Among them, cold brew coffee is increasingly favored by the new generation of consumers. Why is a simple cold brew coffee so popular? In this article, Front Street Coffee will chat with everyone about the charm of low-temperature extracted coffee.

The Science Behind Cold Brew

Many people choose cold brew coffee not only because of its easy-to-drink temperature, but also because of its smooth and full-bodied coffee taste, as well as its ability to better showcase the unique aroma and flavor of a coffee bean. Unlike high-temperature/hot water extraction, cold brew coffee is a coffee product made by soaking coffee grounds in cold water or room-temperature water, then placing it in the refrigerator and extracting for 8-12 hours.

In terms of flavor, high temperatures cause the tannic acid in coffee to decompose, creating acidity and bitterness. Some studies have shown that the acidic substances in cold brew coffee are 67% lower than those in hot brew methods. Cold brew coffee has a lower acidic and astringent taste, making it generally popular among people.

The low-temperature conditions and long contact time with coffee grounds allow only small-molecule flavor substances to be extracted; therefore, only small molecules such as fruity acidity and floral notes are dissolved. Those larger-molecule flavor substances, such as smoky and roasted flavors, are difficult to extract.

This is also why cold brew coffee does not have a strong aroma when smelled, but tastes smoother when drunk. Made with the same coffee beans, cold brew coffee will have a fuller and cleaner mouthfeel than hot brew coffee~

Recommended Single-Origin Coffee Beans for Cold Brew

Front Street Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans
Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 2300m
Variety: Local heirloom
Processing Method: Natural processing
Flavor: Berry, lemon, strawberry, fermented wine aroma

Front Street Panama Butterfly Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Region: Boquete

Altitude: 1600m

Variety: 70% Geisha + 30% Caturra and Catuai

Processing Method: Washed processing

Flavor: Floral, citrus, nut, tea-like, honey

Front Street Sherry Coffee Beans

Country: Honduras

Region: Marcala, Mocha Estate

Altitude: 1500-1700m

Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas

Processing Method: Whiskey barrel fermentation processing

Flavor: Whiskey, vanilla cream, almond, dark chocolate, caramel

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

To make delicious cold brew coffee, using freshly roasted coffee beans is very important! All coffee beans sold by Front Street Coffee are shipped within 5 days after roasting, in whole-bean form. Although there is a grinding service, Front Street still recommends that everyone grind fresh and extract fresh, so that the aroma and flavor of the coffee will be better and more complete.

When making cold brew coffee, grind to a medium-fine degree/white sugar size, then put it into a clean sealable container, add water at a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10-1:13, and place it in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

After extraction is complete, use filter paper/a filtering tool to filter out the coffee grounds, and the coffee liquid obtained is cold brew coffee~ After filtering, store it sealed. The best tasting period is within 72 hours, and the storage period is recommended not to exceed 5 days.

What are the benefits and effects of drinking cold brew coffee?

Cold brew coffee has more caffeine

Front Street checked the information and found that the amount of caffeine depends on the coffee variety and also on the coffee extraction time. The longer the extraction time, the more caffeine content. Therefore, coffee extracted slowly at low temperature has a better refreshing effect than coffee extracted quickly at high temperature.

Cold brew coffee is weakly acidic

Cold brew coffee is more alkaline than hot brewed coffee. Hot coffee has a higher concentration of titratable acidic compounds and a lower pH value. If you are prone to acid reflux or heartburn, hot brewed coffee can trigger these discomforts, while drinking cold brew is less likely to cause such situations.

Cold brew coffee is convenient to make

Compared with other coffees that require a bunch of complicated equipment and extraction parameters, cold brew requires no excessive equipment and is especially simple to make at home. You only need to prepare a cold brew pot and have a refrigerator. Of course, if you are drinking it yourself, even replacing it with a sufficiently large clean container is no problem. In addition, because cold brew coffee is soaked at low temperature, the coffee made has an extremely high tolerance for error. Unlike pour-over and espresso machines, which can easily fail with one wrong move, when Front Street uses coffee beans with different flavors to make it, it also presents a different flavor profile. It is simply a blessing for lazy people at home.

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