How to Choose the Perfect Coffee Beans for Your Next Cold Brew

With summer just around the corner, I've been getting a lot of questions about cold brew coffee. So, I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some insights into one of our favorite ways to enjoy coffee when the weather heats up.

So, what exactly is cold brew? As the name suggests, it’s a method that uses cold water, instead of hot, to extract flavor from coffee grounds. The process takes much longer than a typical hot brew, but the result is a uniquely smooth and refreshing coffee concentrate. The two most common methods are immersion-style "Cold Brew" and the slow-drip "Cold Drip" (sometimes called Dutch Coffee). For today, we'll focus on the classic immersion method, which is incredibly easy to make at home.

Why Does Cold Brew Taste So Different?

When you make your daily pour-over, the hot water quickly extracts oils, acids, and other flavor compounds from the coffee. Cold water, on the other hand, is a much less efficient solvent. To get a rich, concentrated brew, we have to let the coffee steep for a very long time—typically between 12 and 24 hours.

This slow, gentle extraction process is what gives cold brew its signature taste. It pulls out fewer of the bitter-tasting compounds and acids, resulting in a coffee that is incredibly smooth, full-bodied, and naturally sweet. Because it’s brewed and stored at a low temperature, it also has a much longer shelf life. A well-filtered batch of cold brew can stay fresh and delicious in your fridge for 3 to 5 days.

Choosing the Best Beans for Your Brew

Now for the big question: what are the best coffee beans for cold brew?

As a general rule, I recommend using light to medium-roasted single-origin beans. These tend to produce a final cup that is crisp, refreshing, and full of character—perfect for a summer afternoon.

The best part is that the flavor notes you see on a bag of coffee will shine through no matter how you brew it. The cold brew method simply highlights certain characteristics, often amplifying the rich, fermented notes of a coffee. The key is to pick a bean with a flavor profile you already love.

Here’s a guide to help you choose based on your taste preferences:

• If you love a bright, clean, and acidic cup: Look for washed-process, light-roast coffees. Beans from regions like Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Guatemala, or Kenya are fantastic choices. They will give you a crisp and refreshing cold brew with a clean finish.

• If you prefer sweet and fruity flavors: You’ll want to explore natural or anaerobic processed beans. Light roasts from Ethiopia, like a Hambela or a Guji with blueberry notes, are excellent. You can also find incredible options from Costa Rica or Colombia, such as the El Vapor (Bach) or Mozart lots, which bring out intense fruit-forward sweetness.

• If you crave rich, boozy, and fermented notes: This is where cold brew truly excels. Look for unique processing methods. Coffees like a Sherry-processed Honduras, a Lychee-fermented lot, or a Colombian "Moonlight Sonata" (Flor de Luna) will produce a complex and aromatic brew with intriguing, wine-like characteristics.

Can You Use Dark Roasts for Cold Brew?

You absolutely can, but it comes with a caveat. Most people don't enjoy intensely bitter flavors in a cold drink. A dark roast, which already has prominent bitter notes, can become overwhelmingly so when brewed cold.

However, it’s not impossible to make a great one! I once tasted a medium-roast Yunnan coffee that had been cold-brewed and refrigerated at the Kafava Office for a full week. The flavor was remarkably full-bodied with a powerful, fruit-wine fermentation quality. It just goes to show that while it's more challenging to make a delicious cold brew with a less acidic, darker-roasted coffee, it can certainly be done.

My Simple Recipe for Perfect Cold Brew at Home

Making immersion cold brew is incredibly simple. You only need to pay attention to a few key details: grind size, ratio, and time.

What You'll Need:

• A container with a lid (a 600ml jar or even a clean water bottle works perfectly!)

• 40 grams of your chosen coffee beans

• 480 ml of cold, filtered water

• A filter (paper filter, fine-mesh sieve, or cheesecloth)

The Steps:

1. Grind Your Coffee: The grind should be slightly finer than what you’d use for a pour-over, with a consistency like coarse sand. (Technically, we aim for about 85% passing through a #20 sieve).

2. Combine and Steep: Add the 40 grams of coffee grounds and 480 ml of cold water to your container. The coffee-to-water ratio here is 1:12, but feel free to adjust it to your preference.

3. Saturate the Grounds: Gently shake or stir the container to ensure all the coffee grounds are fully saturated with water.

4. Refrigerate: Place the sealed container in the refrigerator (at 5-10°C) and let it steep for 12 to 24 hours. The longer it steeps, the stronger and more concentrated your brew will be.

5. Filter: After steeping, carefully filter the coffee to separate the liquid from the grounds.

6. Enjoy: Your cold brew is ready to drink! You can serve it immediately over ice or let it chill in the fridge for another 4 hours, which can help enhance its aroma.