We've collected Cold Brew recipes for you. 12 coffee professionals from German-speaking countries have put together their favorite recipes. The prerequisite for all these Cold Brew cocktails is a good Cold Brew base that already tastes delicious on its own.
What does Cold Brew or cold coffee taste like?
Of course, depending on the coffee, Cold Brew mainly highlights the chocolatey and nutty facets of a coffee, without overpowering the fruity notes. A peculiarity of cold coffee is an "alcoholic" taste, reminiscent of rum or even cognac. We recommend lighter filter coffee roasts for Cold Brew.
Cold Brew or Cold Drip
Cold coffee can be made in various ways. The simplest often occurs in everyday life: a cup of coffee forgotten in the rush and now cold. Sometimes, the coffee still tastes surprisingly good.
If you definitely want a good cold coffee, then the Cold Drip or Cold Brew methods are suitable.
The Cold Drip slowly drips into the collection cylinder over hours.
With Cold Drip, a drop of water drips onto the coffee grounds for six hours or more. The speed of the drops can be adjusted with a dispenser. As the water pressure in the upper chamber decreases, the drip speed often needs to be reduced. We recommend a speed of 1.5 – 2 drops per second and a brewing ratio of 1:10 (e.g., 50g coffee and 500g water). The Cold Drip looks spectacular and is therefore often used in cafes. Due to the changing drip speed, however, it is difficult to brew Cold Drip consistently well. Nevertheless, it usually turns out delicious.
Cold Drippers are available from various manufacturers. We still have a few used ones in our shop.
Cold Brew comes in two variants and numerous sub-forms. One variant is actually a classic filter coffee brewed over ice. For this, part of the brewing water is used as ice cubes. So, for example, we brew 300 grams of hot water over 30 grams of coffee. In the collecting pot, there are already 200 grams of ice cubes. The total ratio of water to coffee is therefore 500 grams of water to 30 grams of coffee, which corresponds to a ratio of 1:16.66. This is how we would brew a classic filter coffee. The ice cubes are technically a bypass in terms of brewing.
The other Cold Brew method is significantly more passive. An infusion is placed in a French press in the refrigerator. After 6+ hours, the coffee is brewed. Here too, we prefer to brew with a ratio of 1:10 and pour the first tenth of water hot. We have explained this method, as well as the other two, in detail in our Cold Brew video.
12 Cold Brew Recipes from Coffee Professionals
There are Cold Brew recipes and Cold Brew mixed drinks with completely colorful ingredients and many tips and tricks. There's something for everyone. Have fun browsing and trying them out. Feel free to post your questions and own recipes in the comment section. We will forward and add them.
Pink Unicorn Cold Brew by Erna Tosberg
"My tip: Hibiscus Tonic Water from Weißwang. Goes wonderfully with Black Unicorn Coldbrew – making it a Pink Unicorn.
For the Cold Brew, I like to use 70g per liter and let it steep for 24 hours.
Drink neat with tonic or Gin Toni."
What ratio do you use, Erna? "Hmm, I always taste it. For balance... But I would estimate 1/3 Cold Brew, 2/3 Tonic.
Erna Tosberg is a two-time German Barista Champion and competed at the World Barista Championship in 2010 and 2012. She works for roestbar in Münster and is now a WBC Judge herself.
New Orleans by Tito Huber
I am happy to share the basic recipe for an extremely well-rounded, sweetly refreshing iced coffee, the "New Orleans" Cold Brew:
First, why concentrate?
Depending on my mood, I can refine the Cold Brew in many ways:
lengthen it with a little water to exactly the desired strength, or enjoy it with milk without the coffee flavor being lost.
What coffee is suitable for this?
Beans with a chocolatey, nutty profile, dark berry aromas, medium roast.
And now, probably the oldest pairing in coffee history: chicory root. The Dutch and French were already adding chicory hundreds of years ago during coffee shortages.
A magical spice, perfect for a balanced Cold Brew depth that will even impress Aunt Rosie when she visits.
Here's how to make Tito Huber's New Orleans
- 100-120g coffee, grind size like Fleur de Sel
- ~ 10g roasted chicory root added
- 500g filtered water
- Put everything in a glass, cover, and steep overnight in the refrigerator. Extend brewing time depending on desired intensity.
- Filter the next day, first with a simple sieve and then through a paper filter.
- Serve over plenty of ice cubes with an equal amount of water or milk, rice or almond milk recommended!
If you prefer to leave the work to a professional, you can try the New Orleans here: www.coldbrew.ch
Tito Huber managed Café Henrici in Zurich. In recent years, the enterprising coffee entrepreneur has intensively focused on Cold Brew and launched Barrel Cold Brew, a successful startup alongside the cafe.
Cold Brew Tea Combination by Sandra Stucki
Brew 19 g washed Bourbon from Finca Maputo in Ecuador, roasted for filter coffee (or another coffee with stone fruit aromas) with an Aeropress.
Total 250ml water (1/2 hot, 1/2 ice cold). The coffee is dosed a little stronger here to create a concentrate so that the spirits don't dilute too much.
Afterwards:
- 2cl blackberry liqueur (vomFass) or a (wild berry liqueur)
- 14cl of cold coffee
- 2cl Zhengshan Xiaozhong (Tarry Lapsang smoked tea from China)
You can also omit the smoked tea or replace it with a rosemary sprig.
The drink is very refreshing and light. I wouldn't recommend a coffee that's too fruity (acidic), but a Natural or Semi Washed works well.
PS: You can also use a blackberry spirit and make a syrup from the Tarry Lapsang!
Sandra Stucki is a Swiss record holder in the Coffee in Good Spirits discipline. For years, she dominated the championship. Today, she works for Länggass-Tee and is increasingly becoming a tea specialist.
Two Cold Brew Recipes by Dani Hofstetter
Dani Hofstetter sent us two of his favorite Cold Brew cocktails. For one, there's a brewing recipe, and for the other, tips for experimenting yourself.
Hopper Cold Brew
Steep 200g Natural Specialty Coffee in 1L water.
Brew overnight in a Toddy, then infuse with 5-10g Mosaic or Galaxy hops for another 12h.
The hops give the rather heavy Natural Cold Brew a balancing, almost fizzy fruitiness with a nice bitterness – here lies a bit of the crux... Hops are very potent, and finding the right mix and the right type of hop so that ultimately, logically, everything perfectly matches the coffee, that's the challenge.
Serve over ice, with a little orange zest or an ice-cold splash of mineral water.
Cold Brew Martini
Number 2 I had in a speakeasy bar in Hamburg. That was an (Espresso) Cold Brew Martini, where instead of espresso, they used a Colombian Cold Brew, dripped the vodka through beets in a Cold Dripper for 24 hours, and then mixed the martini according to the classic recipe. It was awesome, no idea what the exact recipe was, but so delicious...
Dani Hofsttetter is an independent consultant in the fields of nutrition, health, gastronomy, and the food industry. He was Swiss Brewers Cup Champion in 2017 and 2019 and a finalist in the World Brewers Cup in 2019.
Michal Otte's Cold Brew and Coffee Recommendations
Cold Brew holds the potential for very different results. For me, Cold Brew is a true summer drink, which is why I like fruity, vibrant variations and coffees. With a more classic coffee, the result is more chocolatey-caramel-like.
Currently, I brew with the following recipe and a washed Rwanda (Terroir Muyongwe from Blaser Cafe ) or the blend La Fruta from Kafischmitte, currently consisting of coffee from Ecuador from Tio Emilio, Typica, Honey Process, a Costa Rica from Aquiares, washed, and a Colombian coffee from Villa Betulia, a washed Geisha.
...a very fruity and naturally light roasted combination :)
I serve the Cold Brew on ice cubes with a lemon wedge.
Recipe: Brew 55g coffee to 1 liter of cold water for approx. 10-12 hours.
Michal Otte was the 2016 Swiss Cup Tasters Champion. He works for Blaser Café in Bern and Kafischmitte in Langnau. He has years of experience as a barista and roaster and has participated in numerous championships. In 2016, he also won the Basel Cup Tasting Championship.
Cold Brew with Emi Fukahori
500g coffee – coarsely ground
5 L water (cold and with a hardness of 80ppm)
Place in a water tank, brewer, or bucket and let rest in the refrigerator for 20 hours. Afterwards, filter the contents through a coarser pre-filter and then through V60 filter paper. The goal is to remove all solid coffee particles.
The Cold Brew is served over ice. Three Cold Brews are available: a chocolatey coffee, usually a pulp natural from Brazil, a fruity coffee – usually a Natural, and a floral washed coffee.
Emi Fukahori was Swiss Brewers Cup Champion and World Brewers Cup Champion. She is also a two-time Swiss Barista Champion and founder of the specialty coffee shop Mame in Zurich.
Bärenmarke with Benjamin Schütz
At the beginning of summer, my favorite was clearly Cold Brew Tonic until a colleague from Germany brought me the original Bärenmarke, and from then on, I enjoy my Cold Brew neat or with Bärenmarke. The condensed milk enhances the caramel notes of the Irazú and rounds the whole thing off into something fine and special to enjoy. The other aromas of pomelo, grapefruit, and milk chocolate come into their own best neat or on the rocks.
- 100 gr. coffee
- Filtered water
- 16 hours steeping time.
- Triple filtered. 500, 100 & 50µm
- Fill whisky glass with ice cubes
- Pour in Coldbrew
- A dash of original Bärenmarke condensed milk
- Caramelize an orange slice as decoration and serve
Benjamin Schütz is a roaster, brewer, and works in quality assurance at UCC Switzerland. He has been a finalist in the Swiss Brewers Cup and the Swiss Roasting Championship.
Cold Brew Mojito with Constantin Hoppenz
Let's talk about my favorite Coldbrew drink at the moment and a new, unique project from Berlin. Happy Baristas is probably the world's only cafe with an extensive range of rum-based coffee cocktails. The guys developed the drinks in collaboration with Coffee in Good Spirits World Champion Martin Hudak and present them in their cafe in Berlin's trendy Friedrichshain district in the evenings. My favorite is the Mojito with Kenyan Coldbrew.
Ingredients:
- Vanilla syrup
- Grapefruit juice
- White Rum Botucal
- Mint leaves
- Elderflower Tonic
- Kii Coldbrew
Constantin Hoppenz was the 2017 German Brewers Cup Champion. In the same year, he achieved a sensational 5th place at the World Championship in Budapest.
Cold Brew Negroni by Mathias Bühler
In a nutshell: here's how Mäthu Bühler brews his Cold Brew Negroni:
- 4cl Colombian
- Cold Brew
- 2cl Gin
- 2cl Campari
- 2 cl red vermouth
- Stir for a long time with plenty of ice, add an orange zest, cheers!
Mathias Bühler is part of the management team of Bern's cult cafe Adrianos with its roastery, Colonial, and shop. Mäthu is a two-time Swiss Cup Tasting Champion and was the sixth-best sensory judge at the 2014 World Championship.
Tinu Egger and Swiss Coffee
A rather special coffee blend, which scores with wonderful chocolate notes as a Cold Brew. With the blend from the Tropenhaus Frutigen consisting of 10% Arabica Frutiger Terroir, 81% Arabica Terroir India/Brazil and 9% Canephora Terroir India. Hand-made on my Comandante and the Hario water dripper. 80g coffee to 1 liter of water. Prepared within 8 hours.
Tinu Egger works for Kialoa and is a multiple successful participant in all coffee championships.
Kevin Mohler Unveils Cold Brew Recipes
Cold Brew Virgin Mojito
6g Kenya Kiunyu AA to 100ml water (10h extraction time)
Ingredients:
- 250ml Cold Brew
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 sprig of mint
Preparation:
Cut the lime into wedges and place in a glass. Add the sugar and a few mint leaves and press the lime juice with a muddler. Now fill the glass to the top with ice cubes. Pour in the Cold Brew, stir with a straw. Decorate with mint and a light berry garnish.
The coffee brings beautiful grapefruit, blackcurrant, and bergamot aromas. The addition of lime supports the bergamot and gives the drink good complexity and depth. The brown sugar emphasizes the natural sweetness of the coffee and harmonizes perfectly with the acidity of the lime and the Cold Brew. The mint adds freshness and rounds off the drink.
Tip: Also works with other African coffees?
Kevin Mohler was the 2017 Swiss Cup Tasting Champion. He also reached the finals of the Swiss Barista Championship in both 2017 and 2018. Kevin Mohler works for the coffee department at Mövenpick.
The Mövenpick Lemonade
A little nod to Mövenpick's culinary country of origin. Coffee brewed over ice results in a fruitier coffee. A refreshing coffee lemonade with pleasant acidity and herbaceous notes.
Ingredients:
- 300 ml filter coffee (cold)
- 50 ml blackcurrant juice
- 20 ml lemon juice
- 30 ml Ricola syrup
Prepare filter coffee as usual.
Replace part of the water with ice and brew coffee directly over the ice. E.g.: For 300 ml of coffee, brew with 200 ml of water over 100 g of ice. The amount of coffee grounds remains unchanged. (6g of the Heavenly /100ml water)
Ricola Syrup:
Dissolve 15 Ricola Cranberry candies with 150g sugar in 150ml warm water and boil once until everything is well dissolved. Let cool and store chilled.
Alternatively, other berry or flower syrups can also be used. (e.g., elderflower, raspberry, woodruff, etc.)
Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice and stir.
Garnish with redcurrants, Ricola candy, and lemon.
Tip: This recipe also works perfectly with fine Kenyan specialty coffee, but I would swap the lemon juice for lime juice.
Two Cold Brews with Gap
Coldbrew Funky Fresh
Supremo Sigri AA
18.8 g coffee, 274 g water = approx. 240 g total
- 90 g ice
- 120 g cold brew
- 15 g Maison Routin Caramel Syrup
- 60 g pasteurized milk, whipped to a creamy consistency in a rotor
Gin Berry Fresh Brew
- 100 g ice
- 70 g Bombay Sapphire (Dry Gin)
- 50 g raw sugar syrup
- 40 g fresh blueberries
- 40 g fresh strawberries
- 1 mint leaf
- Blend gin, raw sugar syrup, and part of the fruit in a blender and pour into a glass, add ice, let it chill.
- Slowly pour cold brew over a spoon and garnish with peppermint and the rest of the fruit.
Gap Gijtipong Thangsubutr is a two-time Swiss Latte Art Champion. He works as a barista for the Home Barista Shop in Lucerne.
Cold Brew Video No. 1
Already a few years ago we produced a video about cold brew recipes and preparation. Here is the old video for you again, which also provides some tips for preparation.
