28 Nov A Dublin Roasters Guide to the Best Coffee for Cold Brew
Just because something’s delicious doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. Far from it. In fact, the beauty of a cup of cold brew coffee is in its simplicity. Great ingredients, your imagination, and a willingness to experiment is all you need.
What kind of coffee beans should I use to make cold brew?
Play around with what you like best, but we’ve found our customers’ overwhelming favorite beans for cold brew is a medium-roasted, low-acid coffee. We prefer to stay away from anything that’s too dark. The cold brew technique brings out a different flavor profile than processes that use heat, so many find that their go-to bean for hot java doesn’t turn out to be their best choice for a cold brew.
Look for bold, hearty beans–just make sure they are coarsely ground. If you use finely ground beans, they are likely to “over-extract” as they steep for the recommended 12-24 hours, and who wants a bitter brew? A coarse ground allows the water to fully penetrate the beans, giving you a smooth, rich brew that’s lower in acid, a bit more mellow, and often slightly sweeter. (If you don’t have a grinder at home, just tell your Dublin Roasters barista that you want an extra coarse grind for a cold brew when you pick up your next batch of beans.)
Try some of these Dublin Roasters beans to get you started:
Peru is widely used in dark roast blends and as a base for flavored coffees. But the best Peru coffees are subtly exceptional: light and levitating with a vanilla-nut-toned sweetness that deserves appreciation as a distinctive specialty origin.
This coffee, grown in Naranjo, yields a tasty, superbly aromatic cup. The flavor profile features a good body boasting citrus, caramel & honey aromas with notes of chocolate.
A little south of Vietnam and Thailand, you will find this maritime paradise in the Malay Archipelago Islands. The flavor profile features guava, starfruit, licorice, molasses, and dark honey for an amazing, smooth taste!
What is the best ratio of coffee grounds to water?
The best coffee ratio for cold brew depends a lot on your preference and whether you will be adding additional liquid to it like water, milk, or cream.
When we make cold brew at Dublin Roasters, we brew five gallons per day, using a method where we pour 7 liters of double-filtered water and 3 lbs of coarsely ground of our Honduras blend beans.
Chin up if your first batch of homemade cold brew isn’t perfection. Be brave, be bold, and just enjoy playing around with flavors and ratios. Many newbie cold brewers start with a bean that’s completely different from the one that they typically use in their drip, percolator, or French Press. Experimentation and persistence will pay off with a smooth, low-acid, high-flavored cold brew that’s ready to drink right from the refrigerator at a moment’s notice, maybe even shaving a few minutes off your morning routine. Score!