A good cold brew base tastes great on its own. But it really shines as a foundation for summer beverages and cocktails. We asked twelve coffee professionals from German-speaking regions for their favorite recipes: barista champions, Brewers Cup champions, and Cup Tasting masters. The result is a collection you won't find anywhere else.
What does cold brew taste like anyway? Depending on the coffee, it mainly highlights chocolatey and nutty facets while not masking fruity notes. One characteristic of cold coffee is a slightly "alcoholic" taste reminiscent of rum or cognac.
All recipes here are built on a good cold brew base. How to get it right, with the correct ratio, grind size, and steeping time, is explained in detail in our cold brew guide. We also debunk the most common myths about acidity and caffeine. A French press works just as well as a hand filter or an AeroPress for preparation. Freshly ground tastes best, easiest with a hand grinder.
Pink Unicorn Cold Brew by Erna Tosberg
"My tip: Hibiscus tonic water from Weißwang. Goes wonderfully with Black Unicorn Cold Brew, then it's basically a Pink Unicorn. For the cold brew, I like to use 70 g per liter and let it steep for 24 hours. Drink it straight, with tonic, or as a gin tonic."
What ratio for the drink? "Hmm, I always taste it for balance. But I'd estimate: one third cold brew, two thirds tonic."
Erna Tosberg is a two-time German barista champion, placed 10th and 12th at the World Barista Championship, and is now a WBC judge herself. She works for roestbar in Münster.
New Orleans by Tito Huber
An extremely smooth, subtly refreshing iced coffee, brewed as a concentrate. This makes it easy to dilute with water as desired or combine with milk without the coffee flavor getting lost. The trick is an old pairing: chicory root, which was added during coffee shortages centuries ago. Beans with chocolatey-nutty profiles and dark berry flavors work well, medium roast.
Tito Huber managed Café Henrici in Zurich and has built a successful start-up around cold brew called Barrel Cold Brew.
Cold Brew Tea Combo by Sandra Stucki
A very refreshing and light drink, brewed with the AeroPress as a concentrate, so the spirits don't dilute the coffee too much. Sandra brews 19 g of washed Bourbon from Finca Maputo in Ecuador (or another coffee with stone fruit flavors), using a total of 250 ml water, half hot and half ice cold.
You can also skip the smoky tea or replace it with a sprig of rosemary. Sandra wouldn't recommend a too fruity, overly acidic coffee here; a Natural or Semi Washed works well. Tip: You can also use blackberry brandy and make a syrup from the Tarry Lapsang.
Sandra Stucki is a Swiss record holder in the Coffee in Good Spirits category. Today she works for Länggass-Tee and is increasingly becoming a tea specialist.
Two Recipes by Dani Hofstetter
Hopper Cold Brew
Brew 200 g Natural Specialty Café with 1 L water, steep overnight in a Toddy, then infuse with 5 to 10 g of Mosaic or Galaxy hops for another 12 hours. The hops give the rather heavy Natural cold brew a balancing, almost spritzier fruitiness with nice bitterness. The catch: hops are very potent, finding the right mix and hop variety is the real art. Serve over ice, with some orange zest or a splash of ice-cold mineral water.
Cold Brew Martini
"I had this at a speakeasy bar in Hamburg: a cold brew martini where instead of espresso they used a Colombian cold brew, dripped the vodka through a Cold Dripper over beets for 24 hours, and then mixed the martini according to the classic recipe. It was awesome."
Dani Hofstetter is a freelance consultant for nutrition, gastronomy, and the food industry. He was Swiss Brewers Cup Master in 2017 and 2019 and made it to the final of the World Brewers Cup in 2019.
Michal Otte's Cold Brew
"For me, cold brew is a true summer drink, which is why I like fruity, lively varieties and coffees. With a more classic coffee, the result tends to be chocolatey-caramel." Michal likes to brew a washed Rwanda or a very fruity, light roasted blend and serves the cold brew over ice cubes with a slice of lemon.
Michal Otte was 2016 Swiss Cup Tasters Champion and won the Basel Cup Tasting Championship the same year. He works for Blaser Café in Bern and the Kafischmitte in Langnau, with years of experience as a barista and roaster.
Cold Brew with Emi Fukahori
Emi brews on a large scale: 500 g coarsely ground coffee with 5 L cold water (hardness around 80 ppm). Put everything in a water tank or bucket and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20 hours. Then filter through a coarser prefilter and then through V60 filter paper. The goal is to remove all solid coffee particles. Served over ice, there are three cold brews to choose from: a chocolatey one (usually a Pulp Natural from Brazil), a fruity one (usually a Natural), and a floral, washed coffee.
Emi Fukahori was Swiss Brewers Cup Champion and Brewers Cup World Champion, is a two-time Swiss barista champion, and founder of the specialty café Mame in Zurich.
Bear Brand with Benjamin Schütz
"At the start of summer, my favorite was clearly cold brew tonic, until a colleague brought me the original Bear Brand. Since then I enjoy my cold brew straight or with Bear Brand." The condensed milk enhances the caramel note of the Irazú, while the remaining flavors of pomelo, grapefruit, and milk chocolate come out best straight or on the rocks.
Benjamin Schütz is a roaster and brewer in quality assurance at UCC Switzerland. He made it to the final of the Swiss Brewers Cup and to the Swiss Roasting Championship.
Cold Brew Mojito with Constantin Hoppenz
Constantin's favorite drink comes from Berlin, from Happy Baristas, probably the only café with an extensive selection of rum-based coffee cocktails. The drinks were created together with Coffee in Good Spirits World Champion Martin Hudak. His favorite is the mojito with Kenyan cold brew.
Constantin Hoppenz was 2017 German Brewers Cup Champion and achieved a sensational 5th place at the World Championships in Budapest that same year.
Cold Brew Negroni by Mathias Bühler
Short and sweet, that's how Mäthu Bühler brews his cold brew Negroni:
Mathias Bühler is part of the management team at the iconic Bern café Adrianos. He is a two-time Swiss Cup Tasting Master and was the sixth-best sensory expert at the 2014 World Championships.
Tinu Egger and Swiss Coffee
A rather special blend that scores with wonderful chocolate notes as a cold brew: the blend from the Frutiger Tropicana (10% Arabica Frutiger Terroir, 81% Arabica Terroir India/Brazil, 9% Canephora Terroir India). Hand-ground on the Comandante and Hario Water Dripper, 80 g coffee with 1 liter of water, prepared in 8 hours.
Tinu Egger works for Kialoa and is a multiple successful participant in coffee championships.
Kevin Mohler Spills the Beans
Cold Brew Virgin Mojito
Base: 6 g Kenya Kiunyu AA with 100 ml water, 10 hours extraction time.
Cut the lime into slices, add to a glass with sugar and a few mint leaves and press out the juice with a muddler. Fill the glass to the top with ice cubes, pour in the cold brew, stir with a straw, and garnish with mint. The coffee brings grapefruit, cassis, and bergamot, the lime supports the bergamot, and the raw sugar emphasizes the natural sweetness. Also works with other African coffees.
The Mövenpick Lemonade
A refreshing coffee lemonade with pleasant acidity and herbal notes. For a fruitier coffee, brew over ice here: replace part of the water with ice and brew the coffee directly over the ice (e.g., 200 ml water with 100 g ice for 300 ml coffee, coffee amount stays the same).
For the Ricola syrup, dissolve 15 Ricola cranberry candies with 150 g sugar in 150 ml warm water, bring to a boil once, let cool, and store chilled. Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice, stir, and garnish with black currants, candy, and lemon. Tip: also works with fine Kenyan specialty coffee, then replace the lemon juice with lime juice.
Kevin Mohler was 2017 Swiss Cup Tasting Master and made it to the final of the Swiss Barista Championship in 2017 and 2018. He works in the coffee division of Mövenpick.
Twice Cold Brew with Gap
Cold Brew Funky Fresh
Base: Supremo Sigri AA, 18.8 g coffee with 274 g water (yields approximately 240 g cold brew).
Gin Berry Fresh Brew
Gap Gijtipong Thangsubutr is a two-time Swiss Latte Art Master and works as a barista for the Home Barista Shop in Lucerne.
And Now You
Twelve recipes, one common denominator: a clean cold brew base. Once that's nailed down, the rest becomes a playground. We show you how to get it right reliably, step by step, with the most important myths fact-checked in our cold brew guide. You'll find the right coffee for it in our filter coffee selection, a good starting point is the Amigo.
Do you have a favorite recipe of your own? Drop it in the comments, we'll be happy to add to the collection.
