What Are the Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew?

The best freshly roasted coffee beans for cold brew depend on one very important thing: how you like to drink it.

Add a splash of milk and a coffee with chocolate, caramel or nutty notes usually has enough body to keep its flavour. Prefer your cold brew black? A lighter, fruitier coffee can give you something brighter and more refreshing.

Our coffees can take cold brew in very different directions. Rwanda Coproca 1215 and Uganda Wanale bring lighter, fruitier profiles, while our Classic Blend works nicely when you want something fuller and more chocolate-led.

The trick is to start with freshly roasted coffee beans and choose by flavour rather than simply reaching for the darkest roast you can find.

What is cold brew coffee? And how to make perfect cold brew

Cold brew is coffee made by steeping ground coffee in cold or cool water for several hours rather than brewing it quickly with hot water.

That also makes it different from iced coffee. Iced coffee normally begins as hot-brewed coffee before being cooled and served over ice. Cold brew extracts slowly in cool water, which creates a noticeably different cup.

You do not need a specialist machine. A clean jar or jug, coarse coffee, cold water and something to strain it through are enough for a first batch.

Before you start, get these together:

A clean jar or jug with enough room for the coffee and water.

Coffee ground very coarsely. Think chunky rather than powdery.

Cold or cool drinking water and a spoon.

A fine sieve, paper coffee filter or clean muslin, plus a second jug for the finished drink.

Then make it step by step:

·         Put the coarse coffee into the jar or jug. If you buy your coffee already ground, choose a grind intended for cold brew or ask for a very coarse grind.

·         Pour in the cold water. Make sure all of the grounds get wet, then give the mixture one gentle stir so you do not leave dry coffee sitting on the surface.

·         Cover it and leave it to brew. Put the container in the fridge or another cool place and leave it for at least 12 hours. Starting it in the evening and straining it the next morning is an easy way to remember.

·         Strain out the grounds. Put your sieve or filter over a clean jug and pour the coffee through slowly. For a clearer drink, pass it through a paper filter or fine cloth as well.

·         Taste before you add anything. If it is stronger than you like, dilute it with a little cold water. If it tastes good as it is, leave it alone.

·         Pour over ice and serve. Drink it black or add milk to taste, then keep the remaining strained cold brew covered in the fridge.

Once you've made your first batch, change one thing at a time. A little more coffee can increase the strength. A longer steep can do the same, although leaving it too long can introduce a drier or harsher finish.

Cold brew doesn't need to become a science experiment. Start simple, taste what you have made and adjust the next batch from there.

What coffee beans are best for cold brew?

Start with flavours you actually enjoy. Chocolate, hazelnut and caramel notes usually make a rounder cold brew that stands up well to milk, while citrus, peach and berry notes can give black cold brew a brighter edge.

Freshness matters too. Freshly roasted coffee beans retain more of the aroma and character you bought them for, and that starts fading faster once the coffee is ground.

You do not need the darkest roast available. Choose the flavour profile that suits how you plan to serve the drink.

Which Bean Smitten coffee should you choose for cold brew?

This is the enjoyable bit.

When choosing freshly roasted coffee beans for cold brew, flavour is the easiest place to start. We roast coffees with very different profiles, so your cold brew doesn't have to taste the same every time. Here's how we'd narrow the choice down.

For a brighter black cold brew, choose Rwanda Coproca 1215

For something livelier, Rwanda Coproca 1215 goes in a completely different direction.

This natural-process, light-medium roast has notes of rhubarb, lemon and brown sugar. In a cold brew, that gives you sharper fruit character alongside a softer sweetness from the brown sugar.

We'd taste this one black before adding anything else. You can always introduce a little water or milk afterwards, but its brighter character is part of what makes it interesting.

When you want fruit with a softer finish, try Uganda Wanale

Uganda Wanale sits nicely between those richer and brighter styles.

It is a washed, light-medium roast with notes of lemon, peach and milk chocolate. That means you still get plenty of fruit character, but the milk chocolate brings a softer finish than you might expect from a more citrus-forward coffee.

It is a good choice if you like a refreshing black cold brew but still want the option of adding a little milk.

A versatile choice for cold brew and beyond is Classic Blend

Already have a bag of our Classic Blend in the kitchen? There's no reason it cannot go into your cold brew too.

Chocolate and hazelnut notes make it a fuller option, particularly if you enjoy cold brew with milk. It is also useful if you want one coffee that works across several different brewing methods rather than buying a separate bag specifically for cold brew.

Still unsure? Start with the flavour notes rather than the brewing terminology. Pick the coffee that sounds most like something you'd actually want to drink.

Is medium or dark roast better for cold brew?

Dark roast and cold brew are often treated as an automatic pairing, but you have far more choice than that.

Medium and medium-dark coffees tend to give cold brew more body, particularly when the coffee has chocolate, caramel or nutty characteristics. They can work especially well when milk is part of the plan.

Move towards a light or light-medium roast and more of the coffee's fruit character can remain noticeable. These coffees can create a brighter cold brew with flavours that feel quite different from the classic rich, dark style.

Neither is inherently better.

A chocolate-led medium roast might be exactly what you want for a cold brew latte. A light-medium single origin could be far more interesting served black over ice.

Our advice is simple: choose your roast according to flavour, not because somebody told you cold brew has to be dark.

What grind size is best for cold brew?

Cold brew works best with a very coarse grind. Because the coffee sits in water for hours, it does not need espresso-fine grounds. Coarse particles are easier to strain and can help reduce sediment.

A burr grinder gives you the most control but not having one should not stop you. We offer whole beans and ground coffee, so if you order freshly roasted coffee beans for cold brew, choose a very coarse grind.

Can you use espresso beans for cold brew?

Absolutely. Our Classic Blend shows why: chocolate and hazelnut notes give cold brew a fuller profile, especially with milk. Brewing cold changes how those flavours come through, but an espresso blend can still work very well. If Classic is already your everyday coffee, you can use the same bag rather than buying a separate cold-brew blend.

Why does freshness matter for cold brew?

Coffee might spend 12 hours brewing, but freshness still matters. Freshly roasted coffee beans gradually lose aromatic compounds after roasting, and that process speeds up once they are ground. Starting fresher gives the chocolate, caramel or fruit notes you chose a better chance to remain clear after a long cold steep.

That is one benefit of buying from a speciality coffee roastery. We roast in small batches and offer whole bean or ground options, so you can choose coffee that suits how you brew at home. Keep whole beans sealed and grind only what you need where possible. If you prefer ground coffee, buy an amount you will use comfortably.

Freshly roasted coffee beans are not about making coffee more complicated. They simply give your cold brew a better starting point.

Make your next batch with Bean Smitten

Adding milk? Classic Blend gives you a fuller cold brew with chocolate and hazelnut. Prefer yours black and bright? Rwanda Coproca 1215 brings rhubarb, lemon and brown sugar. For fruit with a softer finish, try Uganda Wanale.

Whichever direction you go, start with freshly roasted coffee beans, grind them coarse and give them time. Then pour it over ice and see what you think.

Explore our freshly roasted coffee beans and find the one you'd like to try cold next.