Which coffee beans work for cold brew?

Pick cold brew beans by the flavor you want. For bright fruity acidity, choose washed beans from Kenya or Ethiopia. For softer fruit notes, naturally processed beans work well. For specific aromas, reach for specialty processed lots. If you dislike sourness, medium-dark or dark roasts, including Golden Mandheling, are the safer direction.

Cold brew is low-temperature immersion, and as steeping continues the acidic compounds in the coffee decrease, so the drink tastes less acidic and bitter than hot brew while aroma stays locked in. One extra trick: adding a small amount of dried osmanthus or jasmine flowers gives the brew a light floral note. Coffee beans production and roast level both shape the result.

Cold brew coffee, through its unique low-temperature slow extraction method, reduces acidity and bitterness while locking in aroma, resulting in a fuller and more balanced taste. But with so many coffee beans to choose from, how should beginners select? This article, based on the daily experience of baristas at Front Street Coffee, systematically sorts out the logic of bean selection by flavor type: if you prefer bright fruity acidity, choose washed beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, etc., such as Front Street Little Tomato and Front Street Fruit Ding Ding; if you like soft fruity notes, naturally processed Front Street Flower Queen and Front Street Red Cherry are recommended; if you want to try specific aromas, specialty processed beans like Front Street Strawberry Candy and Front Street Xizhua are good choices; if you don't like sourness, medium-dark roasted Front Street Queen's Estate, Front Street Bird of Paradise, or even dark roasted Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling can satisfy you. In addition, the article shares a little trick—adding a small amount of dried osmanthus or jasmine flowers can add a touch of elegant floral aroma to cold brew.

Not long ago, Front Street published an article about the steps for making cold brew coffee, and as a result, a large number of reader comments flooded in, all asking what beans to use for cold brew. Since everyone is so concerned, let's talk about this topic specifically today.

Cold brew is a low-temperature immersion extraction method. As the immersion time lengthens, the types of acidic compounds in the coffee gradually decrease. Because of this, cold brew coffee has much less acidity and bitterness than hot brew, and the volatilization of aroma is also suppressed, making it easier for the fragrance to be locked in the liquid, ultimately presenting a fuller and more balanced taste.

What flavor of cold brew do you want to drink!

"What flavor profile do you usually prefer in coffee?" This is a question that baristas at Front Street Coffee often ask customers in the shop. Based on the customer's preference, they then select the corresponding beans to brew, such as floral, fruity, sour, high-sweetness, high-cleanliness, or a specific aroma, etc.

Selection of floral and fruity beans

This type of flavor description usually corresponds to light to medium roasted coffee beans, and Africa and Central America, which are rich in floral and fruity coffee, are naturally the top choices!

Bright fruity acidity: If you want this direction, you can choose washed coffee beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Panama. Washed beans often have more elevated acidity, and the bright fruit flavors make cold brew coffee taste full of juice. You can buy Front Street Little Tomato, Front Street Fruit Ding Ding, or Front Street Grana Geisha.

To make iced coffee with a soft fruity tone, Front Street Flower Queen is the top choice; it is a representative of naturally processed coffee beans. Natural beans have higher sugar content than washed beans, so the sweetness is more pronounced, with rich floral aroma and ripe tropical fruit flavors. After a long cold brew, the floral and fruity notes complement each other, and the fermented feel unique to natural processing is amplified. In addition, the barista also recommends Front Street Red Cherry, Front Street Grana Geisha, etc.

Selection of beans with specific flavors

Nowadays, in addition to traditional processing methods, producing regions have introduced many novel green bean processing methods to give coffee a richer aroma. These techniques can make coffee beans exude a very specific flavor, which is relatively friendly to beginners. If you use beans processed this way for cold brew, over time, the aroma will develop into a cup of iced coffee with both a full body and aroma. These coffee beans are widely distributed across producing regions; Front Street will list a few of the more famous ones!

If you like iced coffee with a full aroma, please prioritize using Front Street Strawberry Candy (strawberry, dried fruit) and Front Street Xizhua (passion fruit, grape), which have obvious fruity aromas.

Selection of medium-dark roasted beans

For those who don't want sour and sweet notes, it is recommended to use medium-dark or dark roasted beans. Long high-temperature roasting will gradually cause the beans to lose their acidity, resulting in a coffee rich in caramel, spice, and chocolate flavors.

Medium-dark roast: Medium-dark roasted beans do not completely eliminate acidity; retaining a trace of acidity can make the overall taste of cold brew coffee more balanced. When made into cold brew, it will mainly exhibit chocolate flavors, and the soft acidity is not obtrusive. If you don't like sourness, buy Front Street Queen's Estate, Front Street Bird of Paradise, and Front Street 2013 Typica for cold brew coffee.

Dark roast: If you don't want any acidity at all and just want to enjoy the rich, silky smoothness brought by spices and chocolate, then dark roasted Front Street PWN Golden Mandheling will be a good choice for you!

Appropriate additions, icing on the cake

Having covered the selection of coffee beans, let's share a little trick: when making cold brew, adding a small proportion of osmanthus or jasmine can add a touch of elegant floral fragrance to the cold brew coffee~

Although there are many coffee beans to choose from for cold brew, because it is slowly extracted in cold water, compared to hot pour-over, its flavor is ultimately relatively simple. Clever friends then thought of adding other ingredients to provide some unique aroma to the coffee, such as dried flower petals, which are favored by many ladies.

Considering that cold brew has fewer intervention factors and is immersed in a static environment throughout, if you want the fragrant scent to enter the coffee and give it a touch of freshness, it is best to choose types with obvious floral fragrance for production, such as osmanthus, jasmine, and rose. These three dried flowers are not only easy to come by in daily life but also have higher compatibility with coffee flavors. However, although these dried flowers are full of aroma, their taste is relatively thin, so it is best to brew them together with light to medium roasted coffee beans with a floral and fruity flavor profile, so that the two can complement each other.

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