When summer arrives, trendy iced coffee comes to mind. Indeed, in this hot summer, a cup of iced coffee instantly makes you feel refreshed. Today Qianjie wants to talk to everyone about iced coffee, which is cold brew coffee. Cold brew coffee has become a favorite among office workers. Why do we say that? Qianjie believes that the reason cold brew coffee is so popular is mainly because its operation is very simple. Compared with pour-over coffee, it is simply a minor matter.

Next, Qianjie will talk with everyone properly about cold brew coffee!

Since it is called cold brew coffee, then as the name suggests, cold brew coffee (Cold Brew Coffee) refers to coffee extracted at low temperature. It is often confused with iced coffee. Iced coffee usually refers to coffee that is extracted at high temperature and then cooled with ice cubes when drinking. So the first and biggest difference between cold brew coffee and ordinary iced coffee is the extraction temperature. So what is cold brew coffee? Cold brew coffee, whose English name is Cold Brew Coffee, is made by grinding coffee beans into coffee powder and soaking them in cold water for generally at least 12 hours, then extracting and filtering through professional equipment. If you want a higher body, you can also extend the time to 24-48 hours.

Qianjie believes that although the production time of cold brew coffee is long, its production does not require any skill. One bottle, one packet of beans, one night, and when you get up you can drink a full-bodied and mellow iced coffee. This is also the reason many people like cold brew coffee. The production principle of cold brew coffee is very simple. You only need to grasp the coffee-to-water ratio and soak for a long time (more than 12 hours) to get a cup of cool and refreshing coffee. Grind and brew at home the night before, refrigerate overnight, and the next morning when you get up you can drink iced coffee. That feeling is quite great, right?

Cold brew coffee and pour-over coffee are extracted in different ways. Cold brew low-temperature extraction produces much fewer bitter substances, and the production method is simple. Qianjie believes that anyone can make a delicious cup of cold brew coffee. Of course, this depends on getting the coffee-to-water ratio right!

What coffee beans are recommended for cold brew?

As for choosing coffee beans, Qianjie believes you can pick beans with different processing methods or roast levels according to your own preference, provided you use freshly roasted coffee beans. After roasting, coffee goes through a 4-7 day resting period and then enters its optimal tasting window; past this period the coffee aroma volatilizes faster and the flavor and mouthfeel drop off sharply. To make sure everyone drinks the coffee at its best, Qianjie ships beans freshly roasted within 5 days, so the beans you receive have the best aroma.

Because of its extraction characteristics, cold brew can highlight the boozy notes, fruit fermentation and fruit aromas in coffee. If you do not know which coffee bean to choose, you can refer to the several coffees Qianjie has listed.

"Refreshing floral and fruity type - Qianjie Huaxu TOH Washed Champion Coffee Beans"

These coffee beans come from the Guji Uraga region of Ethiopia, where the soil is nutrient-rich black earth and the beans produced carry rich fruit aromas; the washed process highlights the coffee's clear floral and citrus flavors. The cold brew Qianjie makes with these beans has the fresh, sweet taste of yuzu tea.

"Fermented Wine Aroma Type - Qianjie Honduras Sherry Barrel Coffee Beans"

These Honduras Sherry coffee beans are processed by whisky barrel fermentation. The beans present full-bodied vanilla, cream and whisky aromas, making them a highly popular coffee bean on the Qianjie bean list. Made into Sherry cold brew coffee, it presents an intense fermented wine aroma along with honey sweetness.

"Rich Fruit Tea Type - Qianjie Natural Huakui Coffee Beans"

The naturally processed Huakui coffee beans are made from ripe coffee cherries with a pulp sugar content as high as 30%. The fructose ferments in the sun, giving the inner bean a full-bodied fruit sweetness. Made into cold brew, these coffee beans deliver lively berry and passion fruit acidity and sweetness, with an obvious juicy mouthfeel and a finish with the fresh fragrance of black tea.

"Dark Berry Type - Qianjie Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans"

These Mozart coffee beans use an anaerobic honey processing method and inherently carry a very distinctive raisin aroma. Used to make cold drip coffee, they express very pronounced blueberry, black grape and wine-like fermented flavors, with a refreshing mouthfeel and a lingering fragrance on the palate. After 3-4 days of low-temperature storage and fermentation, their wine aroma becomes even more pronounced.

How Qianjie Makes Cold Brew Coffee

Qianjie also mentioned just now that the method for making cold brew coffee is very simple. Especially compared with pour-over, it appears even simpler and clearer. As long as the parameters are set correctly, you can easily make delicious iced coffee. So how should the grind size, coffee-to-water ratio and other parameters for making cold brew coffee be chosen?

Front Street usually recommends a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:12 for making cold brew, that is, based on 50 g of ground coffee, so that the resulting cold brew has just the right strength and can be tasted directly without dilution. Some friends also like to add milk/soda water or use it to make flavored coffee, in which case the coffee strength needs to be increased; Front Street recommends a ratio of 1:10 for cold brew used to make specialty coffee drinks.

Grind size for cold brew coffee

The grind size of coffee is related to brewing. Because cold brew coffee is extracted by steeping in ice water, the extraction efficiency is extremely low; in other words, there is no need to worry about over-extraction at all. For Front Street's cold brew coffee, the grind size chosen is slightly finer than the grind size for pour-over, with a reference standard of an 85% pass rate through a No. 20 standard sieve, and as few fines as possible is best. However, Front Street reminds everyone to note: although low-temperature extraction can reduce the appearance of bitter substances, it is not 100%. If the grind is too fine, after the sour and sweet substances in the coffee grounds are quickly extracted, the full-bodied substances will be released. An appropriate amount of full-bodied substances can enhance the coffee's body, but after steeping for a long time, a woody taste will begin to appear, reducing the overall cleanliness of the coffee.

Coffee-to-water ratio

Some friends may ask: then how much water is most suitable for steeping? Front Street's production standard is a ratio of coffee to water to ice of 1:8:4, that is, the actual coffee-to-water ratio is 1:12; ice is added to ensure the water temperature is low enough that the extraction efficiency can be maintained at a stable level.

Temperature

Front Street has told everyone before: the water temperature for pour-over coffee is related to the roast level, while the temperature for cold brew coffee does not need strict control; it only needs to be placed in the refrigerator for low-temperature extraction, and when extracting at low temperature the extraction time needs to be 24 hours. So can cold brew coffee be extracted at room temperature? Cold brew coffee can certainly be extracted at room temperature, but correspondingly the extraction time is shortened; however, when extracting at room temperature, Front Street Coffee recommends shortening the extraction time to 8 to 12 hours.

FrontStreet Coffee's cold brew method is based on 50 g of ground coffee. After grinding, put the coffee grounds into a clean, oil-free sealed container, add 400 ml of room-temperature water and 200 g of hard ice cubes (a total ice-water mixture of 600 g), cover with the lid and shake gently to make sure the coffee grounds and ice water are fully in contact, then place it in the refrigerator and let it sit still for 12-24 hours. When extraction is finished, filter out the coffee grounds with filter paper or a fine mesh strainer, then pour the coffee liquid into a clean sealed bottle and refrigerate it for about another 4 hours before drinking.

How long can cold brew coffee be kept after filtering is complete?
FrontStreet has also talked about how to drink pour-over coffee: different temperatures give different flavors, but you cannot say it keeps for a long time either. For example, if you leave it for a day, you still have to finish it as soon as possible. Cold brew coffee is different. In theory, the longer cold brew coffee sits, the stronger the fermented taste becomes. But excessive fermentation makes the coffee lose its original flavor, so for friends who do not like a too-heavy fermented taste, FrontStreet does not recommend trying it casually. The best time to taste cold brew coffee is 2-3 days after filtering out the coffee grounds, and the recommended storage time is no more than 7 days.

Low temperature and long extraction time are the two major characteristics of cold brew coffee, and they are also the two main differences between cold brew coffee and hot brew coffee. Hot brew coffee extracts ground coffee with hot water at a temperature between 88-91°C, generally no more than 5 minutes. The fastest espresso takes only 18-23 seconds, while cold brew coffee far exceeds hot brew coffee in terms of time. Speaking of the long extraction time of cold brew coffee, FrontStreet puts it in a rather poetic way: "What you are drinking is not just a cup of coffee, but a long wait."

The characteristics of cold brew coffee

In terms of flavor, high temperature causes the tannic acid in coffee to break down into pyrogallic acid, creating sourness and bitterness. Some studies show that the acidic substances in cold brew coffee are 67% lower than in the hot brew method. Therefore, compared with hot brew coffee and iced coffee made by adding ice after hot brewing, coffee made by the cold brew process has less sourness and astringency, and is generally welcomed by people. Friends who do not like sour coffee, cold brew coffee is just right!

In addition, FrontStreet found that the low-temperature conditions and the long contact time with the coffee grounds mean that only small-molecule flavor compounds are extracted, such as floral and fruity notes, while the larger-molecule flavor compounds, such as smoky and roasted notes, are difficult to extract. This is also why cold brew coffee does not have a very sensory-arousing aroma when smelled, yet tastes smoother, richer, with distinct layers and a clear sweet aftertaste, without any greasy feeling.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this is ensuring the coffee beans are fresh. FrontStreet Coffee is well aware that the freshness of coffee beans has a great impact on flavor. FrontStreet's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee", so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. Therefore, the coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all within 5 days of roasting, and the resting period for the coffee is about 4-7 days, so by the time the customer receives it, it is at its peak flavor.

FrontStreet believes that any coffee brewing method requires constant practice, so that the full flavor of the coffee can be better brought out. FrontStreet has half a hundred coffees from different producing regions, allowing everyone to better taste different coffee flavors; friends can also come to FrontStreet Coffee to discuss coffee with our baristas!