Which Beans Work for Cold Brew Coffee?

Cold brew needs only water, coffee grounds, a sealed container and time in the fridge. A working recipe uses 50 grams of coffee ground so 85 percent passes a No. 20 sieve, mixed with 400 milliliters of room-temperature water and 200 grams of hard ice, a 1:12 ratio. Steep 12 to 24 hours, filter, then chill another 4 hours.

Bean selection follows one rule: use coffee past its resting period, usually 15 to 20 days after roasting, since cold water pulls gas poorly from very fresh grounds. Panama geisha coffee beans bring a fresh floral-fruity character, while citrus-berry and delicate honeyed lots round out the options. Panama geisha coffee in particular holds its aromatics well through the long, cold extraction.

Cold brew coffee is simple to make—just mix water and coffee grounds, refrigerate, and let time complete the extraction. This article details Front Street Coffee's cold brew method, including steps based on 50 grams of coffee grounds, a grind size with 85% passing a No. 20 sieve, a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:12, adding 400 milliliters of room-temperature water and 200 grams of hard ice cubes, refrigerating for 12-24 hours, then filtering and refrigerating for another 4 hours. It also explains that coffee beans past their resting period should be used for cold brew, and recommends three types of beans with different flavor profiles: fresh floral-fruity, citrus-berry, and delicate honeyed. Specific products covered include Geisha, Flower Queen, Flower Moon Night, Rose Valley, Mozart, and others.

Cold brew coffee is a very easy method to master. Simply put, all you need to do is prepare water and coffee grounds, mix them, seal the container, and put it in the fridge—then let time slowly do the extraction. You can easily make delicious iced coffee at home.

Now let's go into the specifics of Front Street's cold brew method.

When Front Street Coffee makes cold brew, it uses 50 grams of coffee grounds as the base, with the grind size controlled so that 85% passes a standard No. 20 sieve. Place the coffee grounds into a glass bottle, then pour in 400 milliliters of room-temperature water and 200 grams of hard ice cubes, totaling 600 grams of ice-water mixture, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:12. Then use a stirring stick to mix the coffee grounds and water evenly, seal it, and place it in the refrigerator.

After letting it sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours, filter out the coffee grounds with filter paper to get a clean coffee liquid, then pour it into a clean sealed bottle, continue refrigerating for about 4 hours, and then it's ready to drink.

So what coffee beans are suitable for cold brew coffee?

Since cold brew extracts coffee liquid by steeping in cold water, the coffee grounds themselves degas very poorly, so it's recommended to use coffee beans that are further out from the roast date (past their resting period). Generally, coffee beans are best used for cold brew about 15-20 days after roasting.

Below, Front Street recommends several coffee beans with different flavors for you to choose from.

① Fresh Floral-Fruity Type

Front Street recommends Panama Geisha coffee beans. For top quality, you can choose the Green Label and Blue Label series from Hacienda La Esmeralda; for a more cost-effective option, you can also choose Panama Butterfly (a washed coffee containing 70% Geisha). Used for cold brew, it expresses clean and fresh floral, citrus, and oolong tea flavors.

② Citrus-Berry Type

Ethiopian coffee beans have always been known for their excellent citrus, berry, and other fruit tones. If you like fruity flavors with high sweetness, you might try making cold brew with Flower Queen 5.0 coffee beans or Sun-Dried Red Cherry Plan coffee beans. These two coffees are of the highest quality grade in Ethiopia, and when made into cold brew, they express very sweet berry, layered, and honey flavors.

③ Delicate Honeyed Type

Anaerobic specialty-processed coffee beans have a pleasing and distinct coffee flavor. If you like sweet floral-fruity aromas and a very unique berry-like sweetness, then you can choose Colombia's Flower Moon Night and Rose Valley coffee beans, or Costa Rica's Mozart coffee beans.

Flower Moon Night is an anaerobic sun-dried coffee bean from Finca Astorga. Used for cold brew, it expresses flavors of strawberry jam, liqueur chocolate, and cream, with a very rich and comfortable mouthfeel.

Rose Valley is a double anaerobic enzyme-processed coffee bean from Finca El Arbol. Used for cold brew, it expresses flavors of rose, peach, and honey.

Mozart is one of the Musician Series from Finca Canet, using anaerobic honey processing. Used for cold brew, it expresses flavors of raisins, fermented wine aroma, and osmanthus.

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