The happiest thing about summer is probably drinking a glass of ice-cold, smooth cold brew in an air-conditioned room. It does not burn your mouth like hot coffee, nor is it bitter like traditional iced coffee; what hits your palate is clean fruit aroma and gentle sweetness.

Many people think cold brew is a "premium product" that only coffee shops can make, but it may actually be the least technical of all coffee-making methods - it is not fussy about equipment or technique; as long as you choose the right beans, anyone can make it.

What exactly is cold brew

Cold brew is simply soaking coffee grounds in cold water (or room-temperature water) at low temperature for a long time, "steeping" out the flavor little by little.

Unlike hot brewing, low-temperature extraction is slower and gentler, so the substances in coffee that easily bring bitterness dissolve out only in very small amounts, while fruit aroma and sweetness are fully retained. So the typical taste of cold brew is: smooth, clean and sweet, not bitter, with prominent fruit aroma.

Once you understand this principle, you will see why cold brew has such a high "margin for error" - it does not require you to control water temperature, practice pouring technique, or even watch the clock; just put it in the fridge and wait. This is also why many coffee beginners have a much higher success rate starting with cold brew than with pour-over.

Making cold brew at home takes just four steps

Step one: prepare the equipment. A sealed jar with a lid (a Mason jar, a cold brew bottle, or even an ordinary water glass will do), plus filter paper or a strainer. No professional equipment is needed.

Step two: add grounds and water in proportion. A coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10 to 1:12 is fairly reliable. For a stronger brew use 1:10; for a lighter one use 1:12. Taking 1:10 as an example, 20 g of coffee grounds with 200 ml of cold water.

Step three: refrigerate and steep. Cover with the lid, put it in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment, and steep for 8-12 hours. Make it at night and you can drink it the next morning; steeping overnight is the easiest.

Step four: filter. After steeping, use filter paper or a strainer to remove the coffee grounds, then bottle it and refrigerate. One batch can be kept for 2-3 days, ready to drink whenever you like.

The three pitfalls beginners fall into most easily

Pitfall one: grounds too coarse or steeping time too short. The cold brew will come out on the weak side. A medium-fine grind is recommended for the coffee grounds, and do not steep for less than 8 hours. Cold brew is not like hot brewing; it relies on slow steeping over time, so if the grounds are too coarse or the time is insufficient, the flavor compounds are not fully released and it tastes like water with coffee flavor added.

Pitfall two: the ratio is too dilute. Cold brew itself tastes lighter in concentration than hot coffee; at 1:12 or weaker, adding more water leaves almost no flavor. Beginners are advised to start with 1:10; if you find it too strong, dilute it with ice cubes or water, which is easier than trying to fix a brew that is too weak.

Pitfall three: choosing dark-roasted beans out of fear of bitterness. Dark-roasted beans still have a burnt, bitter taste when brewed cold, so cold brew should use light-roasted or medium-light-roasted fruit-forward beans. This is the most crucial point - if you choose the wrong beans, no technique can save it.

Which beans to start with as a beginner

Whether cold brew tastes good depends seventy percent on the beans. Just starting out, it is recommended to choose from these three, and you basically will not go wrong:

Qianjie Yirgacheffe Gudingding - a beginner's first cup of cold brew. It carries distinct citrus, berry and floral notes, along with a clean, sweet finish reminiscent of green tea. The acidity is soft and bright, like the natural sweet-and-sour of fruit, and after cold brewing it becomes even cleaner and sweeter.

Qianjie Strawberry Candy Cold Brew Blend - a savior for those afraid of bitterness. The native flavors of Arabica beans from different regions blend with one another, recreating a distinct strawberry gummy-candy sweetness, with almost none of the bitterness of traditional coffee. It is highly versatile, and one bag can cover a variety of brewing methods.

Qianjie Huakui - "the coffee that tastes least like coffee." Its tropical fruit aroma is extremely prominent, with obvious sweetness and very low bitterness; it is full of juicy fruit character on the palate, and after being made into cold brew that juicy character stands out even more.

The charm of cold brew lies in the fact that it leaves coffee's most refreshing side to summer. Find a quiet evening, weigh out the grounds, pour in the water, put it in the fridge, and when you wake up the next morning, a cup of cold brew just like the coffee shop's is already waiting for you.