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Front Street believes that cold brew coffee is the most suitable type of ice coffee for home production because it has high extraction compatibility and you can make good ice coffee even without professional equipment. In addition, a friend recently asked Front Street for advice on grinding degree and soaking time, so today I will just talk about it.
Although this friend did not ask about the ratio, the various parameters in any extraction scheme will be related, so it is necessary to mention the ratio before talking about it. Front Street recommends that the powder to water ratio for making cold brew coffee is between 1:12 and 1:13. In the Front Street test, some coffee beans with a ratio higher than 1:13 will be lighter and have a dull taste. If the ratio is lower than 1:12, it will appear a bit thick and difficult to swallow.
Next, let’s talk about how to choose the grinding size and time for cold brew coffee. At this time, we need to talk about the extraction principle of cold brew coffee. Cold brew coffee is essentially an immersion type, which means that we can control the time parameter independently (steep as long as we want, and end when we want).
But another attribute of cold brewing is low-temperature extraction, which means that the extraction temperature is a set constant. We want cold brewed coffee to be more sour or thicker, which depends on the two parameters of grinding degree and time. Compared to many other variables, cold brew coffee is the simplest and most user-friendly brewing method.
In terms of grinding thickness, we can easily understand that the finer the coffee is ground, the faster the flavor will be released (coffee substances are released faster), and the coarser the grinding, the slower the coffee powder will release substances. However, a word of caution here on the front street, because cold brew coffee is extracted by standing for a long time. If the coffee is too fine, the coffee powder will "clump" and stick together, making it more difficult for the cold water to extract the coffee substances.
Therefore, coffee powder that is too fine is not suitable for making cold brew coffee. After many tests, Front Street has found that grinding thickness similar to that of hand brewing (if represented by a No. 20 sieve, the sieving rate is between 70-85%) can be used to make cold brew coffee.
When steeped for 8 hours, the flavor of the coffee will be acidic, bright, and refreshing.
When soaked for 16 hours, the coffee will have a rounder, fuller, sweeter and sour flavor.
The safe method is coarse grinding and long-term extraction. This is a must for lazy people. For example, if you are free at this time today, then there is a high probability that you will be free at this time tomorrow. This can save calculation time (and forget that you have made a cold brew).
The way to save time is to use medium-fine grinding and medium-to-long grinding. This can shorten the time accordingly. Reducing the extraction time will also make the coffee more refreshing.
Finally, let’s talk about Front Street’s cold brew coffee making method!
First of all, when buying coffee beans from Front Street, they tend to use light to medium roasted coffee beans. Here, we use Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee beans that are full of juice. All the container needs is a clean, sealable container. Prepare 40 grams of coffee powder, grind it into a fine grind (85% passing rate of No. 20 mesh) and pour it into the container, then pour 480 ml of cold water, stir evenly with a wooden stick and close the lid.
Place it in the refrigerator to refrigerate for 12 hours, then take out the filter grounds. The coffee liquid after filtering out the coffee grounds can be drunk immediately. You can also put the filtered coffee liquid into a bottle and continue to refrigerate it for 4 hours. The flavor will be better.
The strawberry candy cold brew produced in this way has a moderately sweet and sour taste. It tastes soft with the fragrance of berries and roses. The sweet orange-like taste fills the mouth. After swallowing, it is also accompanied by the mellow sweetness of almonds and candied fruits.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
