These two drinks get used interchangeably and they should not be. One is extracted cold over many hours. The other is brewed hot and chilled immediately. The recipes share nothing except ice.
Side by side
| Cold brew | Iced coffee | |
|---|---|---|
| Water temp | 4 to 20 C | 92 to 96 C |
| Time | 16 to 24 hours | 3 minutes |
| Grind | Extra coarse | Medium |
| Ratio | 1:5 to 1:12 | 1:15 then chilled |
| Acidity | Low, round | Normal, bright |
| Aromatics | Muted | Intact |
| Keeps | 5 to 7 days in the fridge | A few hours |
Cold brew: the recipe
| Strength | Coffee | Water | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concentrate (dilute 1:1) | 200 g | 1000 g | 1:5 |
| Strong ready to drink | 125 g | 1000 g | 1:8 |
| Mild ready to drink | 83 g | 1000 g | 1:12 |
- Grind extra coarse, like peppercorns. Fines make cold brew muddy and hard to filter.
- Combine coffee and water in a jar or pitcher, stir once to saturate.
- Steep 16 hours at room temperature or 20 hours in the fridge.
- Filter through a paper filter, not just a mesh sieve. Paper removes the silt that turns the drink bitter after a day.
- Store in a sealed bottle. Drink within a week.
Iced coffee: the recipe
- Brew a normal pour-over or drip batch at 1:15, but use half the water.
- Pour directly over an equal weight of ice. The melt replaces the missing water and chills it instantly.
- Stir until the ice mostly dissolves, then serve over fresh ice.
The reason to brew strong and pour over ice rather than brew normal and refrigerate is speed of chilling. A slow chill oxidises the aromatics and gives you the stale, cardboard edge that makes people think they dislike iced coffee.
Why cold brew tastes sweeter
Cold water is a poor solvent for the acids and bitter compounds that define a hot cup. What it does extract well is sugars and the heavier aromatic compounds. The result is a drink that reads as chocolatey and sweet with very low perceived acidity, even from a bright, acidic bean.
This is also why cold brew is forgiving: bad beans and stale roasts hide well in it. If you have a mediocre bag, cold brew is the kindest thing you can do with it.
Which to make
| Situation | Make |
|---|---|
| Batch for the week, one pour each morning | Cold brew |
| Want to taste the bean | Iced coffee |
| Beans are old or cheap | Cold brew |
| Making it in 5 minutes | Iced coffee |
| Adding milk and syrup | Cold brew concentrate |
| Light roast with fruit notes | Iced coffee, or cold brew at 1:8 |
The dilution error
Most complaints about cold brew being weak come from drinking concentrate-level expectations at ready-to-drink dilution, or the reverse. Decide before you brew which one you are making. A 1:5 concentrate drunk straight is roughly 4 percent strength and will taste like syrup; the same concentrate diluted 1:1 lands near a normal cup.