In such hot weather, in such a hot Guangzhou, sipping an iced coffee is truly one of life's great pleasures. Iced coffee is perhaps something everyone has drunk plenty of, so what exactly is cold brew coffee? Why doesn't every coffee shop have it? Today FrontStreet is here to give everyone a rundown of the cold brew coffee category.

 
The production process and principles of cold brew and Americano are completely different! Simply put, the biggest difference between the two lies in "temperature", or more precisely, extraction temperature. Iced coffees like iced Americano and iced pour-over are cold drinks we get by brewing hot coffee first, then adding ice to bring the temperature down.

Cold brew coffee, as the name suggests, is iced coffee extracted with cold water. It stays in a low-temperature environment throughout, so the extraction efficiency is slow and the production time is long, but at the same time it has less bitterness and sourness, and a more balanced mouthfeel.

Below we will first introduce the characteristics of cold brew coffee:
 
Sweeter taste:      The flavor molecules in coffee dissolve in a certain order; the aromatic small molecules are extracted first, and only then the bitter, heavy large molecules. When brewing coffee with hot water, improper control of temperature and time often dissolves too many bitter molecules, making the coffee taste poor. Cold brew coffee uses cold water for a long extraction, dissolving only the small molecules such as fruity acids and floral aromas, giving a richer, smoother taste that presents coffee's best original flavor. Not bitter and not sour or astringent is the main reason many people love cold brew coffee.

 
Long shelf life:   After any food is heated, its molecular structure is destroyed and it becomes prone to spoilage. The drinking window of hot-water-brewed coffee is extremely short; leave it for more than half an hour and the aroma begins to fade. Cold brew coffee has not gone through a heating process, so its shelf life is very long; once extracted it can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for two weeks, and the fermentation process during that time also brings out different layers of mellow variation in the coffee's flavor. It is generally recommended to put the finished cold brew coffee in the refrigerator for 1-3 days before drinking, for a better flavor.
 
Gentle on the stomach:      Many people with poor digestion keep their distance from coffee because ordinary coffee gives them stomach pain. Cold brew coffee has far fewer of the irritating molecules found in hot-extracted coffee; it is mild and smooth and does not upset the stomach, making it a relatively healthy choice.

FrontStreet Cold Brew Coffee Bean Recommendations

Whether at the Guangzhou store or the online Taobao shop, FrontStreet Coffee offers more than 40 different coffee beans, including single-origin coffee beans and espresso blends, and many friends, while enjoying a cup of coffee at FrontStreet, will also pick up a few bags of coffee beans to take home. Some friends who make cold brew at home ask what coffee beans are suitable for making cold brew coffee; in fact, any type of coffee bean is suitable for making cold brew coffee, and coffee beans from different origins will produce cold brew coffee with different flavor expressions.

This time FrontStreet Coffee plans to use drip bag coffee packs to make cold brew; below are the 10 drip bag coffees FrontStreet has listed, and everyone can choose according to their own preferences.

How do you make cold brew?

Step 1: Prepare two drip bag coffees
 
Grind size and parameters really are a hassle for many people, and grinding fresh requires a grinder first, which costs too much. At times like this, all you need is two fresh drip bag coffees to easily meet the requirements for making cold brew! Simple and affordable! Here, Qianjie Strawberry Candy drip bags are used to make cold brew. This is a Gesha blend combining Costa Rica and Panama, with flavors of raisins, strawberry gummy candy, and pink florals, suitable for many brewing methods.

 

Cold brew coffee generally extracts more slowly, and the substances extracted are fewer than with hot water extraction, so the coffee-to-water ratio needs to be larger, usually around 1:10. That is, one drip bag (10 g of coffee) pairs with about 100 g of water, and since the coffee grounds absorb water, you may end up with only about 80 g of cold brew coffee. With such a long wait, of course it makes sense to make more at once so there is enough to drink.


Step 2: Soak and refrigerate
 
Prepare a container; any material will do, plastic, glass, ceramic and so on are all fine, and whether it has a lid does not matter, but make sure it is deep enough to hold the coffee and water. First, open the drip bags and pour the coffee grounds into the container (do not throw away the drip bag filter bags! Keep them, they will be useful!), then add a mixture of ice and water. Low-temperature extraction is what makes cold brew coffee special. Extracting with 4°C water versus 24°C water will give you different flavors.

Stir gently and evenly, and be sure to make sure all your coffee grounds are wet and soaked, then put it in the refrigerator to soak for 12 hours. The soaking time is very important. Not enough time will lead to under-extraction and a weaker flavor, while too much time... you will wait very painfully! Ha ha.

Step 3: Filter
  
After a full 12 hours of waiting, the coffee soaking and extraction is finally complete! At this point, prepare a cup for the cold brew coffee. You have not thrown away the drip bag filter bags from earlier, right? Pour the finished cold brew coffee into the filter bag to strain out the grounds, and after it has fully filtered, you will have your very own cold brew coffee.

 
Just like that, you can have delicious cold brew coffee in a super simple way, and it can be kept refrigerated in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can add ice to adjust the strength, or add milk or anything else you want to flavor it with.
 
Slow work produces fine results. Cold brew coffee is like the essence extracted by time, every drop so precious. Whether to cool off or just to try something new, if you love coffee you absolutely must not miss the great taste of cold brew coffee!

 
Cold brew coffee can be very strong. You can reduce the concentration of the coffee by adding water or ice cubes. Some people mix equal amounts of water and coffee. Exactly how much ice or water to add is entirely up to your preference.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee)