Cold Brew coffee is a tasty drink for summer. It is also great all year. The best Starbucks coffee beans and Starbucks coffee beans give a rich and bold coffee flavor. Fresh coffee beans make every coffee drink taste fresh.
A simple brew makes coffee easy to make. Homemade cold brew is customizable. You can make customizable coffee with your favorite flavor. This cool drink is fresh and tasty.
Every sip wakes your taste buds. It gives you an energizing coffee drink. At-home brewing makes coffee fun. It gives you delicious coffee with a fresh coffee taste.
What is Cold Brew Coffee?
Best cold brew coffee Starbucks lovers enjoy starts with a smooth and easy cold brew coffee. This cold brew uses cold water instead of hot water. The brewing method starts with coffee grounds or coarse ground coffee.
Next, steeping and soaking takes place for 20–24 hours. This slow brewing process improves coffee extraction and creates a rich coffee drink. This coffee preparation takes more brewing time. Homemade cold brew is easy to make.
DIY coffee lets you enjoy cold brew at home with one coffee batch for many cups. Each glass of coffee stays smooth and tastes like fresh coffee. Making coffee at home helps with savings and cost savings. It supports money saving and long-term savings.
You can enjoy daily coffee, a refreshing caffeine beverage, your favorite coffee, or the best cold brew coffee Starbucks lovers enjoy from a coffee shop, well-known coffee shop, or popular coffee chains anytime you like.
Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee: What’s the Difference?
Starbucks cold brew beans help create a rich and smooth cold brew. Many coffee lovers enjoy this coffee comparison because both drinks are tasty in different ways. Cold Brew uses cold brewing with coffee grounds and cold water for several hours. It follows the idea that slow and steady wins the race.
This brewing method is a slow extraction and cold extraction. It creates a smooth flavor, mellow flavor, less acidity, a rich coffee profile, and a naturally sweeter profile. Iced Coffee starts with drip coffee as a stronger brew made by the hot-brewing method.
The hot brewed coffee is poured over ice. This is a hot extraction. It can taste bitter and have more acidity. Both are popular cold drinks, cold coffee, chilled coffee, coffee beverage, and iced beverage options.
At Starbucks, a grande iced coffee has about 165 mg caffeine, while a grande cold brew has about 205 mg caffeine. That gives many people more caffeine and a better tasting coffee choice.
From personal experience, the Starbucks cold brew beans, rich coffee concentrate, fresh coffee beans, balanced flavor, smooth taste, and careful brewing make every brew a better coffee experience.
Light vs Medium vs Dark Roast: Which is Best for Cold Brew?
Many people enjoy Starbucks beans for cold brew because Starbucks offers many coffee bean choices. You can choose coffee beans by checking the roast level and coffee origin.
For cold brew coffee and Starbucks cold brew coffee, medium roast, light roast, and blonde roast beans are good options. Dark roast beans have a rich roasted flavor. They contain more coffee oils and create a thicker mouth-feel.
Single-origin coffee beans, Arabica beans, and single-origin whole beans bring out the natural flavors of the coffee. The slow brewing process helps you enjoy the unique taste of each coffee origin.
If you want the best Starbucks beans for cold brew, choose fresh whole bean coffee with a medium roast, blonde roast, or light roast. These beans make a smooth, balanced, and flavorful cold brew coffee at home.
Read our Starbucks Cold Brew Maker guide to learn the best brewing tips, coffee beans, and simple steps for a smooth, rich cup.
What are the Best Starbucks Coffee Beans for Cold Brew?
Here are my top two picks for the Best Starbucks Coffee Beans for Cold Brew:
1. Guatemala Antigua
This single-origin coffee is my top pick for cold brew recipes. It has rich cocoa notes, smooth flavors, low acidity, and a clean finish. The balanced taste makes a fresh and flavorful Starbucks cold brew at home.
2. Pike Place Roast
Pike Place Roast is a great coffee blend for cold brew. It has a smooth, full-bodied flavor with a balanced taste. It makes a delicious cold brew concentrate. I also enjoy using this coffee for French press coffee at home.
Best Starbucks Coffee Beans for Cold Brew Recipe
Ready to make cold brew coffee at home? I’ll show you how I make smooth and refreshing homemade cold brew with this easy step-by-step guide.
You’ll learn the simple process, ingredients, and tips to make a rich, flavorful coffee concentrate like your favorite café.
Tools Needed:
1. Half-Gallon Jars
Half-gallon jars are large enough to make several cups of cold brew coffee. They still fit well in your fridge and save space. I buy a two-pack of half-gallon mason jars so I can make two cold brew batches at the same time. When I strain the coffee grounds, I pour the fresh cold brew concentrate into a clean jar for storage and serving.
2. Cheesecloth
Use a fine cheesecloth to strain the coffee grounds from the jar. It helps separate the smooth cold brew coffee from the steeped grounds. You can also use a coffee filter or fine mesh strainer for a clean brew.
3. Coffee Grinder
I have used a coffee grinder for years to grind my own coffee beans. Freshly ground coffee gives a richer taste than pre-ground coffee. A grinder helps you choose the right coffee grind size for a smooth and flavorful cold brew coffee.
4. Food Scale
A food scale helps measure the right coffee-to-water ratio for a balanced cold brew recipe. When I use a half-gallon mason jar, I measure 8 ounces of whole-bean coffee. If you buy a one-pound coffee bag, you can also use about half of the bag.
Steps to Making Cold Brew
1. Buy Your Beans
The best way to enjoy great coffee is to purchase beans as whole bean coffee. Whole beans stay fresh longer and help keep optimal freshness and strong coffee freshness. A home grinder with a coffee grinder makes it easy to grind coffee beans for freshly ground coffee before home brewing.
Coffee beans lose freshness when opened beans are exposed to air. If a grinder is not available, the baristas can prepare ground coffee. This simple step helps you enjoy the best coffee beans, the freshest coffee beans, and easy bean grinding at home.
2. Grind your Beans
Fresh coffee beans make every cup taste better. Grind your beans just before coffee brewing for the best flavor. The right grind size is very important. A French press needs a coarse grind. Coarse coffee grinds stay above the filter and help with smooth extraction.
Good grinding makes brewing easy and gives a rich taste. A skilled barista can grind the beans the right way if needed. This simple step makes coffee preparation easy and helps every cup taste fresh.
3. Using Filtered Water
Cold filtered water is recommended for making cold brew because it helps water create better extracts from coffee beans with rich flavor. This gives a smoother brew and a less acidic brew.
If cold water is not readily accessible, room temperature water or room-temperature water can also work.
Simply adjust the brewing time by a couple of hours. Hot water is not the best choice for this type of brewing because it changes the taste of the coffee.
4. Steep Your Grounds
For the best cold brew, add cold water to your coffee grounds and Steep them for 20–24 hours. A 20-hour steep ride gives a smooth taste with good strength. For a bolder brew, use the 24-hour mark.
During steeping, keep the brew in the refrigerator. The cold environment helps reduce temperature fluctuations.
Some people use the counter for a faster brew, but from personal experience, slow and steady is the best mantra for great flavor.
5. Straining your Cold Brew
The brewing process ends by straining the cold brew through a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth. This step removes coffee grounds and creates a smooth, clean drink with less sediment.
A good strainer helps make a rich cold brew and a smooth concentrate. Store it in the refrigerator after use. You can enjoy fresh cold brew for up to 7 days. The whole step takes about 5 minutes.
Brewing Cold Brew Concentrate in Half-Gallon Jars
Step 1: Measure 8 ounces of whole coffee beans or about half a pound of coffee from your 1-pound bag. Grind the coffee into a coarse grind for cold brew.
Step 2: Put the ground coffee into a clean half-gallon mason jar.
Step 3: Add about 7 cups of cold water to the mason jar. Fill it close to the top. Use 5 cups of water for a stronger cold brew concentrate.
Step 4: Stir the coffee grounds and cold water with a wooden spoon. Make sure all the grounds get wet.
Step 5: Close the mason jar lid and place it in the fridge. Let the coffee steep for up to 24 hours to create a smooth and rich cold brew flavor.
Step 6: Place a piece of cheesecloth inside a fine mesh strainer. Pour the cold brew concentrate into a clean mason jar or pitcher. The strainer will remove the coffee grounds.
Step 7: Keep the cold brew concentrate in the fridge for up to one week. Serve and enjoy your fresh homemade cold brew coffee.
How to Serve Cold Brew
To serve Cold Brew, fill a glass with ice cubes. Pour the cold brew concentrate into the glass. A 1:1 ratio gives a smooth and balanced taste. Use 1/2 cup of concentrate and 1/2 cup of cold filtered water or filtered water to dilute the drink.
This dilution keeps the flavor rich without making it too strong. Then add milk and sweeteners as desired. Years of making coffee have shown that the right ratio and enough water create a fresh and enjoyable drink.
The Best Starbucks Coffee Beans for Cold Brew
Summer is here! Make a tasty and refreshing cold brew coffee with the best Starbucks coffee beans. Enjoy a smooth and rich iced coffee with a bold taste, fresh aroma, and great flavor. It is a perfect drink for warm summer days.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of coarse-ground coffee (freshly ground coffee beans with a coarse texture for rich cold brew extraction)
- 7 cups of cold filtered water (clean filtered water for a smooth and balanced coffee flavor)
Instructions
- Measure 8 ounces of whole coffee beans from your 1-pound bag. You can also use about half a pound of coffee. Grind the beans on a coarse setting for cold brew coffee.
- Add the coarse coffee grounds to the bottom of a clean half-gallon mason jar.
- Fill the mason jar with cold water. Leave a little space at the top. Use about 7 cups of water. Use 5 cups of water for a strong cold brew concentrate.
- Stir the coffee grounds and cold water with a wooden spoon. Make sure all the coffee grounds soak in the water.
- Close the mason jar lid. Place the cold brew mixture in the fridge for up to 24 hours. This helps create a smooth and rich coffee flavor.
- Place a square piece of cheesecloth inside a fine mesh strainer. Pour the cold brew coffee into a clean mason jar or pitcher. The strainer will remove the coffee grounds.
- Keep your homemade cold brew coffee in the refrigerator for up to one week. Enjoy your smooth cold brew drink!
Notes
This recipe makes a cold brew concentrate with a rich coffee taste. Mix the concentrate with the same amount of cold filtered water before serving.
For example, add 1/2 cup of cold brew concentrate and 1/2 cup of cold water to your glass. Add your favorite sweetener, milk, or cream to create your perfect cold brew coffee drink.