I tested the best coffee for cold brew and I’m sharing my brutally honest thoughts on the ones worth buying. The beans for cold brew is a medium to dark roast, coarse grind and certified organic.

After testing a dozen brands, the best coffee for cold brew making is Fabula for immersion method steeping, Purity Coffee for cold drip and Biodynamic Coffee by Holistic Roasters for decaf.

What is Cold Brew?

Cold brew is a method of making coffee through cold water extraction, which in layman’s terms means allowing ground coffee to steep in cold or room temp water for an extended period (12-24 hours). Cold brew is different from iced coffee in that the latter is just regular hot-brewed coffee poured over ice, while cold brew is never exposed to heat. Heat is what causes a lot of the acidity in coffee to come out, so cold brew ends up tasting smoother, richer and less bitter and is lower in acidity.

Why Make Cold Brew over Hot Brew?

• Cleaner more distinct flavor
• Cold brewing helps keep the antioxidants in coffee intact.
• Cold brew is less acidic than hot brewed coffee and great for sensitive stomachs.
• Saves money on iced coffees! Cold brew can be made in big batches at home and lasts in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• You can infuse it with natural ingredients to create lots of different flavors.
• Saves time in the morning! I love being able to open the fridge and drink my coffee right away.
• Can be made without any new equipment (I break down different cold brewing methods below.)
• Perfect for hotter months when you want a refreshing cup of coffee, of course!

8 Methods for Cold Brew Making: Drip vs Immersion

1. Immersion method: Immersion is the most common way to make cold brew coffee whereby coarsely ground coffee is steeped in cold water for 12–24 hours.
2. Cold drip: Cold water slowly drips through coffee grounds over several hours. Love using my Fellow Aiden coffeemaker for slow drip cold brew.
3. French press method: An immersion method that’s SO easy and requires no new equipment if you already own a French press. Just steep in the fridge for 12-24 hours then press down and serve.
4. Mason jar method: Another common immersion method, where you use a mason jar to steep coffee with water then strain through a fine filter.
5. Pitcher method: Uses a large pitcher and filtered through a paper or mesh filter.
6. Coffee bag (brew bag) method: Grounds are sealed in a reusable filter bag and steeped like a large tea bag. Bizzy makes organic brew bags.
7. Nitro cold brew preparation: Finished cold brew is infused with nitrogen gas for a creamy texture. I love using my Cumulus coffee machine to make at-home nitro cold brew!
8. Toddy system: A dedicated cold brew brewer uses a built-in filter to produce a smooth concentrate.

What’s the Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew

If you’re overwhelmed by all the coffee bean options at grocery stores, these are five things I’d consider:

1. Roast Level: Dark roast coffee beans are best for cold brew because they bring out all the wonderful notes that taste rich and smooth when cold. Some dark roasts can taste too “roasty” or sharp though it’s based on individual preference.

2. Always choose a coarse grind. You always want a corase grind for cold brew because larger granules slow down the extraction process and prevent over-extraction (ie bitterness). If they’re too fine, they’ll leak through the filter and you end up drinking a gritty cup of cold brew.

3. Freshly roasted: Freshly roasted beans produce the best flavor versus stale beans. If they’re stale, it won’t matter whether they come as pre-grounded or whole bean.

4. Arabica vs Robusta: The bean type makes a noticeable difference and Arabica beans are the best. Most specialty coffee is 100% Arabica already, but this bean is sweeter, smoother and more complex. Robusta is more common in cheap supermarket blends and tastes more acidic.

5. Single Origin vs Blend: Single origin is just coffee lingo for beans that come from one specific place like a country, region or farm. If you’re a coffee enthusiast who wants the distinct flavor profile of a certain country or nuanced flavors, the origins of the coffee affect taste. A blend is totally fine if you’re making large batches or you’re adding milk or sweetener anyway, since that would mask the nuanced origin notes.

I tried Purity Coffee Cold Brew (most antioxidants)

Purity Coffee is the only coffee company that optimizes the antioxidant levels in their coffee and lab-tests CGA and trigonelline levels. Their Cold Brew Medium Roast is roasted specifically for cold brewing so the slow, cold extraction brings out the best flavor. It’s a medium roast, single-origin Brazilian coffee that’s rich in antioxidants and prebiotic compounds, and is third party tested for mold, mycotoxins, and pesticides. This is one of my new favorites and has such good flavor depth, some brightness and a nutty chocolatey taste. You’re already starting off with a very antioxidant-rich coffee, and using the cold brew method, retaining all that goodness. Purity recommends combining 3/4 cup of cold brew grounds with 4 cups of cold water in a French press for 6-7 hours for maximum caffeine and antioxidants.

Price: $30 for 12 oz
Origin: Brazil
Notes: peanut butter and cocoa nibs
How it actually tastes: some brightness and a nutty chocolatey taste

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Best Decaf Cold Brew: Biodynamic Coffee by Holistic Roasters

The best decaf coffee for cold brew is Biodynamic Coffee by Holistic Roasters, hands down. They’re one of the highest quality, healthiest coffee brands on the market and go above and beyond organic beans and third-party lab testing for mold, mycotoxins, and heavy metals. Their decaffeination process uses 100% chemical-free Swiss Water Process, and they’ve obtained all three USDA Organic, Ecocert and Demeter Certified Biodynamic certifications.

Most decafs are fairly one-note, but Biodynamic Coffe’s has a full-bodied and smooth, clean taste with a very round and nutty complexity. They also stand out from other coffee brands by offering seven types of grinds depending on the brewing method. I asked the team at Biodynamic Coffee and they informed me their French Press grind is their coarsest grind best for cold brew.

Price: $21 for 10.58 oz | $137 for 5 lb
Notes: chocolate, roasted nuts
How it actually tastes: full body and well-rounded for a decaf

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I tried Fabula Cold Brew Dark Roast

Fabula’s Cold Brew coffee is another fantastic organic coffee brand that’s also available in stores at Sprouts. Their Cold Brew bag is a low acid, mold-free and single origin coarsely ground dark roast with sweet notes and full bodied flavor profile. For me it tastes incredibly rich, and has that crispy quality I love so much about cold brew, but I do think for some it may be too roasty and sharp around the edges. The sharpness is mellowed out when I add milk. This makes excellent concentrate that I can dilute in whatever way I want and still have flavorful coffee. Fabula uses single origin beans from Peru, are USDA certified organic and are 3rd party tested to be mold and mycotoxin free with test results available. Every bag is freshly roasted – they use a roast-to-order model meaning they ship out immediately after roasting.

Price: $29.99 for 12 oz
Origin: Peru
Notes: chocolate, roasted nuts
How it actually tastes: roasty and bright with some sharpness around the edges

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I tried Lifeboost Cold Brew Coarse Ground

Lifeboost Coffee is low acid, easy on the stomach and uses 100% USDA certified organic beans that have been 3rd party tested for mycotoxins, heavy metals, and pesticides. They use single origin beans prepared using a wet and dry process to avoid mycotoxins, hand-washed in pure spring mountain water, and dried in ural sunlight. I tried their Cold Brew Coarse Ground in their signature Grata Medium Roast and find that it makes a very balanced, nutty and rounded cold brew. In comparison, Purity and Fabula’s cold brew tastes roastier, brighter and sharper. I’ve noticed a very subtle difference when I make it via cold drip method versus immersion method, but the diff is virtually undetectable once I add milk or creamer. Lifeboost offers both a medium roast and dark roast in Cold Brew course ground.

Price: $27.99 for 12 oz
Origin: single origin, high elevation farm in Central America
How it actually tastes: balanced, nutty and rounded

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I tried Four Sigmatic Focus Cold Brew Ground Coffee

Out of all the supermarket coffee brands I tried, Four Sigmatic’s Focus Cold Brew is my favorite and widely available at tons of grocery stores. I find this mushroom cold brew coffee to be such a wonderful twist to my normal cold brew and I will keep repurchasing. It’s so convenient to grab in stores too. The addition of lion’s hand and yacon powder gives this coffee a really unique and interesting flavor profile. It does have the classic richness and smoothness of a dark roast, but it’s got a wonderful sweetly earthy taste. I like making sure I steep this particular blend for more than 24 hours to really extract all the flavors, since there’s a smaller ratio of actual coffee grounds. There’s absolutely no bitterness or acidity hooray! If you get jittery with coffee, this is a great alternative. No one wants a mouthful of coffee grinds and I did not experience any sediment.

Price: $20 for 12 oz
Origin: Honduras
Notes: dark chocolate, mushroom, yacon
How it actually tastes: distinct sweet nuttiness and rounded flavor

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If you’re in the life’s too short for boring coffee camp, allow me to put you on flavor infused coffee beans like Lifeboost’s Wild Fermented Wine Infused Coffee and Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee. The slow, cold extraction really brings out of the unique aromatic flavors so well. Their Wild Fermented Wine infused coffee combines wine wildly fermented in Israeli vineyards and South American coffee and has notes of wine with just a hint of oak-iness. It comes in whole bean for only, so I have to coarsely grind the beans myself which I feel helps bring out the bold flavors more. They have the widest variety of flavor infused organic coffee I’ve seen.

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I tried Bulletproof The Original Cold Brew

Bulletproof is Rainforest Alliance Certified, uses sustainably sourced beans, and is 3rd party tested for mold and mycotoxins. I tried their Original cold brew coffee in the medium roast and it has a lighter, slightly sweeter taste. They also make a medium-dark roast specifically for cold brew, but I find the medium still does the trick for me. It’s smooth and clean tasting with no bitterness. I think they offer decent cold brew for a budget friendly organic coffee brand available in stores and would consider them an entry-level brand to the world of organic coffee. For super rich, complex flavor I would skip them though. Making cold brew requires a TON of coffee grinds, so I appreciate an affordable option. I did experience a small amount of sediment using this.

Price: $18.99 for 12oz
Origin: Central and South America
Notes: cinnamon, plum, orange
How it actually tastes: fairly one-note and lacks the complexity of other brands I tried

I tried Bizzy Cold Brew

Bizzy offers the full spectrum of cold brew coffee, including pre-made liquid concentrates and pouches. I love how smooth this tastes and the sweet notes really do shine. This is a decent budget cold brew coffee and it comes in decaf, espresso and breakfast blend. Their pouch version is also convenient and requires no cleanup like with regular cold brew making. Bizzy uses USDA organic beans but does not state that they do lab testing.

Price: $17.99 for 16oz / $59.99 for 5lb
Notes: caramel, hazelnut
How it actually tastes: a mellow sweet nuttiness

Some amazing new launches I’m looking forward to trying are Canyon Coffee’s canned cold brew that’s certified regenerative organic and Chamberlain Coffee’s organic cold brew bags that come in coconut and vanilla flavors.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

1. Grind your beans coarsely or get pre-ground coffee specifically for cold brew.
2. Add the coffee to the cold brew maker and pour filtered water over the coffee grounds. If you don’t have a cold brew maker then pour into a large jar or French press. Use a 1:4 ratio to make a concentrate that you can customize to your liking (ie 1 part coffee to 4 parts water) or for more dilution a 1:8 ratio.
3. Steep in the fridge for 12-24 hours.
4. Pour and dilute the concentrate with equal parts water or add milk over ice. If you didn’t use a cold brew maker then pour the mixture into a fine mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth or paper coffee filter into a separate bottle. With a French press you simply press the plunger down and pour.
5. Store the rest in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

How to Infuse Flavor into Cold Brew Coffee

The coolest part about cold brew making is being able to infuse it with extra ingredients and create a ton of different flavors! Here’s some ways to inspire you to get creative.

• Whole spice infusion: Add cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, or star anise during steeping.
• Fruit or Citrus infusion: Add dates, frozen fruits like berries or strips of orange, lemon, or grapefruit zest. My favorite is infusing with 3 to 4 dates for a nutty sweet taste!
• Nut infusion: To add more nuttiness, steep with almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans.
• Vanilla infusion: Steep with a real vanilla bean or vanilla extract.
• Cocoa infusion: If you’re a chocolate lover add some cocoa powder or cacao nibs for chocolate notes.
• Tea infusion: Tea lovers can steep with chai, Earl Grey, and fresh herbs like mint, rosemary, lavender, or basil.