For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow our WeChat official account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

Recently, many friends have been asking about cold brew coffee, so Front Street Coffee would like to take this opportunity to talk about "cold brew coffee."

Cold brew coffee is actually different from the usual hot water brewing. It is a coffee liquid extracted by soaking or drip-filtering coffee grounds in cold water for a long time. Cold brew and cold drip are the most common forms of cold brew coffee. However, some places now also use cold brew coffee in a narrow sense to refer specifically to cold brew coffee, distinguishing it from cold drip coffee. This may come from a translation issue: cold brew coffee in English is "Cold Brew Coffee," while cold drip coffee in English is "Cold Drip Coffee" or "Dutch Coffee."

When brewing pour-over coffee normally, we are very particular about water temperature, because the water temperature directly affects the extraction efficiency of coffee. Cold water has very low extraction efficiency. If you want to get a cup of coffee with a good concentration, you must extend the extraction time. Therefore, cold brew coffee takes a very long time to make, usually 6-8 hours.

The biggest difference between cold brew coffee and hot coffee is that cold brew coffee has a longer extraction time, so there will be more water-soluble flavor substances, the taste will be richer, and the mouthfeel will be fuller. In addition, it is extracted and stored at low temperature throughout the process, so the shelf life is also longer, generally 3-5 days.

As for what kind of coffee beans are suitable for cold brew coffee? Front Street recommends using medium-light roasted single-origin coffee beans. The cold brew coffee made this way will be refreshing and delicious, very suitable for summer drinking.

Some friends may want to know whether a certain coffee is suitable for making cold brew coffee, or want Front Street to recommend a few coffee beans for making cold drip coffee. In this regard, Front Street can help everyone clarify the relationship between coffee bean flavors and cold brew coffee, so you should have a clearer idea of what coffee beans you want.

The flavor descriptions on the coffee bean label are the flavors tasted during cupping. In other words, no matter what extraction method is used, the coffee produced will have the flavors described on the label. Cold brew coffee is a method that can highlight certain characteristics, such as a rich fermented flavor.

Therefore, whether used to make pour-over coffee or cold brew coffee, you can choose single-origin coffee beans that match the flavor descriptions on the corresponding label according to your own taste. The flavor of the coffee beans themselves does not conflict with the extraction method of cold brew.

"If you like a clearly acidic, refreshing feeling, you can choose some washed light-roast coffee beans, such as Front Street Yirgacheffe, Front Street Guatemala La Flor, and Front Street Kenya; if you like a bit more fruity and honey-sweet flavor, you can choose natural or anaerobic light-roast coffee beans, such as Front Street Huakui, Front Street Boulder Estate Blueberry, and Front Street Rose Valley; if you like a rich fermented flavor and vinous aroma, you can choose Front Street Honduras Sherry, Front Street Lychee Orchid, Front Street Costa Rica Baja, Front Street Mozart, and Front Street Colombia Flower Moon Night..."

So does that mean medium-dark roast coffee cannot be used to make cold brew coffee? Not at all. It is just that most people cannot accept iced bitter coffee, just as no one would voluntarily drink iced Banxia herbal tea, so it is naturally not recommended. Front Street has also tasted a cold brew coffee made with medium-roast Yunnan beans. After proper storage and refrigeration until the seventh day, its mouthfeel was full and the fruity wine-like fermented sensation was very strong. This shows that coffee that is not acidic is not incapable of being made into cold brew; it is just that making a delicious cold brew is difficult.

The method for making cold brew coffee is also relatively simple. Basically, by mastering a few key parameters, you can make delicious iced coffee. Cold brew is divided into immersion-extracted cold brew coffee and drip-extracted cold drip coffee. Front Street has also previously given a detailed explanation of how to make cold drip coffee. Friends who are interested can click "here," and this article will not repeat it.

The equipment for making cold brew coffee is also very simple. You only need a 600ml container. "You ask whether a mineral water bottle will do?" "Of course it will, as long as you don't mind it looking inelegant!" The main parameters to pay attention to in cold brew coffee are coffee grind size, ratio, and time. The coffee grind size required for cold brew coffee is a bit finer than for pour-over, about the coarseness of 85% passing through a No. 20 sieve.

The coffee-to-water ratio is generally 1:12, and it can also be adjusted according to your own preference. If calculated using a 600ml container, about 40 grams of grounds need 480ml of cold water.

The soaking time is recommended to be controlled between 12-24 hours. The longer the time, the stronger the coffee. You only need to put the coffee grounds and water into the bottle, then gently shake it so that all the coffee grounds are wet. After that, place it in the refrigerator (5-10°C) and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Finally, it needs to be filtered. Use filter paper (cloth) to separate the coffee grounds from the coffee liquid, and then it is ready to drink. It can also be refrigerated at low temperature for 4 hours before drinking. This way the aroma will be better. It is recommended to taste it after refrigerating it for a period of time.

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