Cold Brew Coffee: How to Make It and Which Beans Work Best

The Short Answer

The best coffee beans for cold brew are medium to dark roasts with chocolate, caramel, or nutty flavour notes — and making cold brew at home is straightforward: coarse grind, cold water, 12 to 24 hours in the fridge, done. No fancy equipment, no heat, just patience.

If you want the full picture — ratios, bean selection, storage tips — here's everything you need to know.

Why Cold Brew Tastes Different (It's the Science)

Cold brew is made without heat, which changes everything about how flavour compounds extract from the coffee. Heat speeds up extraction but also pulls out more acidic and bitter compounds. Cold water extracts slowly, leaving those behind.

The result is a coffee that's naturally smoother, sweeter, and noticeably lower in acidity than hot brewed coffee — even without adding milk or sugar. For people with sensitive stomachs, cold brew is often a revelation.

Which Beans Work Best for Cold Brew

Medium to dark roasts are your best starting point. The roasting process develops those rich, chocolatey and caramel notes that really shine when brewed cold. Light roasts can taste thin or almost watery in cold brew — their bright, fruity acidity, which is lovely in a hot pour-over, tends to disappear or come across as flat without heat to bring it out.

That said, if you specifically want a fruity, tea-like cold brew, a high-quality light roast single origin (particularly an Ethiopian natural process) can be brilliant. It's just a different style — more niche, less crowd-pleasing.

For most people, look for beans described with these flavour notes:

• Dark chocolate or cocoa
• Caramel or toffee
• Hazelnut or almond
• Brown sugar or molasses
• Stone fruit (works well in medium roasts)

Single origin beans from Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, or Sumatra tend to hit these notes reliably. Blends designed for espresso also work surprisingly well for cold brew — they're usually built for balance and body, which translates nicely to cold extraction.

The Grind Matters More Than You Think

Use a coarse grind — similar to what you'd use for a French press. Finer grinds over-extract during the long steep and can make your cold brew bitter and muddy. Coarse grounds extract at exactly the right pace over 12 to 24 hours.

If you don't have a grinder at home, order your beans pre-ground on coarse setting. Most good roasters will do this for you.

Cold Brew Ratios: Concentrate vs Ready-to-Drink

This is where most people get confused, so here it is plainly:

• Concentrate (recommended): 1 part coffee to 4 parts water by weight. Dilute 1:1 with water or milk before drinking.
• Ready-to-drink: 1 part coffee to 8 parts water by weight. Drink it straight over ice.

Making concentrate is more practical — it takes up less fridge space and you can adjust strength to taste when you pour. A simple example: 100g of coarsely ground coffee to 400ml of cold, filtered water.

How to Make Cold Brew at Home (Step by Step)

• Coarsely grind your coffee (or use pre-ground coarse)
• Add coffee and cold filtered water to a large jar or jug at your chosen ratio
• Stir to make sure all the grounds are saturated
• Cover and place in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours — 16 hours is a solid sweet spot
• Strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth, or a paper filter
• Store in the fridge and drink within 2 weeks

That's genuinely it. No special cold brew equipment needed, though a dedicated cold brew jug with a built-in filter does make straining easier if you make it regularly.

Freshness Still Matters With Cold Brew

One thing people overlook: stale beans make weak, flat cold brew. Because cold water extracts less aggressively than hot water, you need well-developed flavour in the bean to begin with. Beans that are weeks off-roast or sitting in a supermarket bag won't give you much to work with.

This is exactly why freshly roasted coffee makes such a noticeable difference in cold brew. At UfuKoffee, every order is roasted the day you order — so you're starting your cold brew with beans at peak flavour, not past it.

Ready to Make Your Best Cold Brew Yet?

Head to ufukoffee.com to explore the range — there are cold brew-friendly options roasted fresh the day your order goes out, with free delivery always included. If you're making cold brew regularly, the Koffee Klub subscription saves you 15% on every order, which adds up fast when you're going through a bag a week.

Pick your beans, grab a jar, and give it 16 hours. You'll wonder why you ever bought cold brew from a shop.