Medium to light roasts with a fruity-sweet profile. Cold brew highlights natural sweetness and fruit notes. Very dark espresso roasts often turn bitter. Natural processed beans from Ethiopia or Brazil work especially well.

Which beans are best for cold brew?

Medium to light roasts with a fruity-sweet profile. Cold brew highlights natural sweetness and fruit notes. Very dark espresso roasts often turn bitter. Natural processed beans from Ethiopia or Brazil work especially well.

Why that is

Cold brew extracts selectively: The low temperature preferentially dissolves sugars, chocolate, and caramel notes, while acids and many bitter compounds remain in the coffee grounds. This means: beans that are naturally sweet and fruity truly shine in a cold brew. Beans that rely heavily on roast flavors (dark roasted) lose their character in cold brew and become flat or bitter.

Light to medium roasts:

• The varietal-specific flavors are preserved.
• Natural sweetness is emphasized by the cold extraction.
• Fruit notes come through more clearly than with hot brewing.

Dark roasts:

• Roast flavors (smoke, ash, dark chocolate) dominate.
• During long cold extraction, extra bitter compounds are dissolved.
• Result: often flat, bitter, one-dimensional.

Particularly good for cold brew:

• Ethiopia Natural: Blueberry, strawberry, grapes. The fruity notes explode in cold brew. The classic choice.
• Brazil Natural: Chocolate, nut, caramel. Gentle, sweet, uncomplicated. Ideal for beginners.
• Colombia: Red fruits, caramel, balanced. Works as a great all-rounder.
• Guatemala: Chocolatey, nutty, mild. Less adventurous, but very pleasant and beginner-friendly.

Natural processed coffees (where the coffee cherry dries on the seed) tend to have more fruit sugars and work particularly well in cold brew. Washed processed coffees (washed with water) are cleaner and clearer, but less sweet.

Blends vs. Single Origins: Both work in cold brew. Blends can be pleasantly balanced, while single origins show more character. It’s worth experimenting.

In practice at Green Wall Coffee

At Sophienstraße 27, we prefer to use Ethiopian naturals for our cold brew — the fruity sweetness comes out incredibly well in cold water. For guests who haven’t tried cold brew yet, I love serving an Ethiopian cold brew neat — the reaction is almost always: “This tastes like iced tea!”

Related questions

• How to make cold brew at home?
• What is the difference between cold brew and iced coffee?
• Which beans are best for filter coffee?

Come visit us at Sophienstraße 27 — Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm.