Is Coffee Made with Cold Water Really Different?

Cold brew coffee is coffee extracted with cold water over a long period at low temperature, not hot coffee chilled with ice. Because no high-temperature extraction takes place, the release of tannic acid and caffeine from the beans is suppressed, giving a milder, sweeter cup that is neither too sour nor too astringent. The method itself is simple to repeat at home.

Cold brew spread from the United States through social platforms to Japan and Europe, then reached a wider audience after Starbucks launched it officially. The practical difference lies in ratio and time: set a coffee-to-water ratio, refrigerate overnight and strain the next day. This is what separates it from iced coffee, which is brewed hot and cooled quickly with ice.

In the past two years, Cold Brew Coffee has spread from the United States via social platforms to Japan and Europe, and finally swept the globe thanks to Starbucks' official launch. In China, it also entered the public eye starting last summer. This coffee, extracted with cold water over a long period at low temperature, has an icy mouthfeel and a mild, balanced flavor, yet its brewing method is surprisingly simple. This article will walk you through the definition and origins of cold brew coffee, clarify the essential differences between it and ordinary iced coffee, and include a practical guide to making cold brew at home—just master the coffee-to-water ratio and refrigerate overnight, and the next day you can enjoy a refreshing glass of iced coffee. For black coffee lovers, this is undoubtedly an option worth trying.

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Cold Brew Coffee / cold brew coffee seems to have become popular in China starting last summer. With its icy mouthfeel, milder and more balanced taste, and surprisingly simple brewing method, today let's talk about it! Where exactly does its charm lie?

Table of Contents

1. What is Cold Brew Coffee?

2. The difference between cold brew coffee and iced coffee

3. Making cold brew coffee at home

NO.1

What is cold brew coffee?

Cold Brew Coffee originated in the United States, gradually influencing Japan and European countries through social media such as Instagram. With Starbucks officially launching "Cold Brew Coffee," cold brew coffee finally became a global phenomenon.

As the name suggests, cold brew coffee is coffee extracted with cold water—a pure "iced coffee." Similar to cold-brewed tea, it uses a long, low-temperature extraction to produce a coffee that is milder and more balanced.

NO.2

Cold brew coffee vs iced coffee

What we usually call iced coffee is hot coffee extracted at high temperature, then rapidly cooled with ice cubes, ice water, and the like. Cold brew coffee, as mentioned above, is a pure "iced coffee" extracted at low temperature over a long period.

Coffee that has not undergone high-temperature extraction suppresses the release of tannic acid and caffeine from the coffee beans, resulting in a cold brew coffee with a milder, sweeter taste—neither too sour nor too astringent.

And because the principle behind making cold brew coffee is extremely simple—just get the coffee-to-water ratio right and soak for a long time (12 hours or more)—you can get a glass of icy, refreshing coffee, which has made it a favorite among many office workers. Grind and brew at home the night before, refrigerate overnight, and the next morning you can drink icy coffee as soon as you get up.

In addition, cold brew coffee is said to keep longer without losing its flavor. In short, cold brew coffee is absolutely a blessing for black coffee lovers~

NO.3

Making cold brew coffee at home

/// Ingredients (450ml)

Coffee beans 40g

Cold water 500ml

★ For the coffee-to-water ratio, just use a slightly higher ratio than your usual pour-over. Once you're experienced, you can adjust it to your own taste. The recipe uses 40g of beans and 500ml of water because I add ice cubes when drinking it, so it's fairly strong. If you're not adding ice, you can reduce it to 30g : 500ml

★ When shooting the recipe, I used light-roast Front Street Elida coffee beans, so the brewed coffee comes out lighter in color. I had left these beans unused for a long time because they were really a bit too sour.. But the cold brew method made their sourness less pronounced.

/// Instructions

❶ Weigh the coffee beans/grounds　Weigh out the coffee beans and grind them. A finer grind means a shorter extraction time, while a coarser grind requires a longer extraction time.

❷ Brew with cold water　Fold the filter paper and place it in the teapot's filter basket, pour in the coffee grounds, then slowly pour the cold water into the pot.

★ There are many brewing methods—you can also use a French press, just press it down. Or simply pour water directly over the coffee grounds and filter before drinking. I just made simple use of the tools I had on hand.

❸ Refrigerate and extract　Place the coffee in the refrigerator overnight and wait for the extraction to complete.

❹ Enjoy!

❺ You can also refer to the milk foam method to make cold brew coffee milk foam~

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