Best coffee for cold brew

Cold brew is coffee steeped in room-temperature or cooler water, then filtered. The National Coffee Association starts with a coarse grind and a 1:4 to 1:5 coffee-to-water range, often about 12 hours, and treats the result as a concentrate you dilute. Roast and origin still decide the cup. The bags below are examples, not a ranking.

Cold brew is a brewing method

The National Coffee Association describes cold brew as coffee made with room-temperature or cooler water, not the hot or boiling water used in most methods. The name comes from how it is made, not from how it is served. That page says you can serve it right away, chill it, or drink it hot.

Iced coffee is a different drink. The association says iced coffee is brewed hot and then cooled, while cold brew uses room-temperature or cooler water. The names are not interchangeable. It describes cold brew as less bitter and smoother. That is tasting language for the method. This page does not turn it into a claim about your stomach.

Roast, origin, and the coffee you choose

There is no single winning bag. The National Coffee Association says you can use any coffee beans you prefer, chosen by variety, origin, and roast. Grind close to brewing. Use filtered water when you can, and avoid distilled or softened water. It does not require a country or a roast level, and a cold-brew badge is not one of its steps.

The Specialty Coffee Association article reports one full-immersion study, not a shopping rule. Light, medium, and dark roasts were brewed at 4°C, 22°C, and 92°C at a 5:1 water-to-coffee ratio until dissolved solids stopped rising (36 hours, 12 hours, and 1 hour), then diluted to 2 percent dissolved solids. Panelists found the hot brew more bitter, sour, and rubbery, and the cold brew more floral. Roast and origin moved the cup more than temperature. Cold-brewed samples had a slightly higher pH in that study. That is not advice about digestion. Preference decides the cup.

This site's organic buying guide says to choose cold brew by the flavor you want after you dilute, not by a cold-brew badge. The bags below are medium, medium-dark, or dark because that is the catalog roast facet, not because a light roast is banned. Whole bean, a roast date, and a grinder are on the best whole bean coffee guide. Caffeine is on the caffeine guide. This page does not restate those figures.

Flavor after you dilute

A concentrate is not a finished cup. The National Coffee Association says cold brewing can make a stronger concentrate meant to be diluted with water or ice, including as the ice melts. Its range is 1 gram of coffee to 4 to 5 grams of water, written 1:4 to 1:5. This site's coffee-to-water guide starts concentrate at 1:5, shown as 60 g of coffee and 300 g of water, and says that batch is not a substitute for a 1:16 hot brew. Use that guide and the coffee-to-water calculator for any other batch. This page does not add a second chart.

The coffee-to-water guide calls that 5:1 study recipe one experiment, not a promise about flavor, acidity, or shelf life. Dilute until the cup tastes right, and change one thing the next time.

A coarse grind

The National Coffee Association ties grind to contact time. The longer the grounds stay in the water, the coarser the grind should be. Espresso, which finishes in seconds, is fine. Cold brew, which can take hours, is coarse. Start coarse. If the cup tastes bitter or sour, that page says the grind may be too fine, so try coarser. If it tastes flat or watery, try finer.

A burr grinder is what the association recommends, because a blade grinder does not keep the pieces even. Grind as close as possible to brewing. Its table lists cold brew and French press as coarse, and drip as medium, so a coarse or French press preparation is the closer pre-ground match. This page does not assign a micron number.

Cold brew in a jar

A jar is enough. The National Coffee Association says any container that holds coffee and water will do, and it names a French press and a Mason jar. Cloth is the filter it calls most common. Cover the jar, or use cheesecloth if there is no lid.

The National Coffee Association's hands-on cold brew is grind, steep, filter, and dilute. The clock below is that page's. The 1:5 example is this site's starting concentrate.

1. Grind coarse. Start with a coarse grind. Grind near brewing, or pick the coarse or French press preparation when the bag has one.
2. Add cool water. Stir room-temperature or cooler water through the grounds until they are wet. Use the association's 1:4 to 1:5 range. This site's starting concentrate is 1:5, such as 60 g of coffee and 300 g of water.
3. Cover and steep. Cover the jar and steep in the refrigerator or at room temperature. The step-by-step says 12 hours or overnight. The same page also allows a few minutes up to 12 to 18 hours or more, and calls about 12 hours typical. The study's longer equilibrium times are not this jar recipe.
4. Filter. Strain through a coffee filter or a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth, and strain again if fines remain. Wash the jar. The association says leftover grounds and coffee oil can make the next cup taste bitter.
5. Dilute the concentrate. Dilute with water or ice. Do not drink the 1:5 concentrate as a 1:16 hot cup. The gram chart stays on the coffee-to-water guide and the coffee-to-water calculator.

Medium and dark bags CoffeeInc lists

These four listings are examples, not a ranking. Each handle and title contains organic, and each coffee is in the organic catalog, so that word applies to the bag itself. Each is available whole bean or ground, in 1 lb, 2 lb, or 5 lb only, with a medium or dark roast facet. The line lists the vendor, origin, roast, sizes, and preparations from the catalog. No price is printed here.

• Organic Extra Dark Roast Coffee – Centri West Coast Roast, Whole Bean or Ground, 5 lb. Centri Coffee. Organic: yes. Origin: Guatemala. Roast: Dark Roast. Sizes: 5 lb. Preparations: Whole Bean, French Press / Percolator, Paper Filter / Drip, Espresso / Fine. The product description names drip, French press.
• Organic Medium-Dark Roast Coffee – Camila's by Nossa Familia, Whole Bean or Ground, 2 lb or 5 lb. Nossa Familia Coffee. Organic: yes. Origin: Peru. Roast: Medium-Dark Roast. Sizes: 2 lb, 5 lb. Preparations: Whole Bean, Ground Coarse - French Press, Ground Medium - Drip. The product description names drip, French press, a coarse grind.
• Tomorrow's Coffee Organic Nicaraguan Single-Origin Coffee – Medium or Dark Roast, Whole Bean or Ground. Tomorrow's Coffee. Organic: yes. Origin: Nicaragua. Roast: Medium Roast, Dark Roast. Sizes: 1 lb, 5 lb. Preparations: Ground, Whole Bean.
• Guadalupe Roastery Organic Nicaragua Single-Origin Coffee – 1,400 m, Medium Roast, Whole Bean or Ground. GuadalupeRoastery. Organic: yes. Origin: Nicaragua. Roast: Medium Roast. Sizes: 5 lb. Preparations: Whole bean, Ground. The product description names drip.