What are the Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew?

Cold brew coffee is popular for a good reason - its smooth, low-acid profile delivers a refreshing coffee experience unlike any other brewing method. But creating that perfect pitcher of cold brew starts with two critical elements: selecting the right beans and grinding them properly.

In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about choosing ideal coffee beans for cold brew and how to prepare them for the best possible extraction. Whether you're a cold brew beginner or looking to refine your technique, these expert tips will help you craft the perfect cold brew every time.

Why do the right coffee beans matter when it comes to cold brew?

The coffee beans you select are arguably the most crucial element in creating exceptional cold brew. Because cold brew's slow extraction process pulls out different compounds than hot brewing methods, your bean selection dramatically influences the final flavor profile.

Cold brewing tends to highlight a bean's inherent sweetness and chocolate notes while minimizing acidity and bitterness, making it particularly responsive to the nuances in different varieties and roast levels. High-quality beans with distinct flavor characteristics will shine through the extended steeping process, while lower-quality beans might produce a flat, one-dimensional result.

Additionally, freshness plays an even more significant role in cold brew, as the extended contact time will amplify any staleness or off-flavors present in older beans. The bean's density, oil content, and cellular structure—all influenced by growing region, processing method, and roast level—affect how compounds extract during the long steep, ultimately determining whether your cold brew will be refreshingly bright, richly complex, or disappointingly bland.

Taking time to select the right beans helps unlock cold brew's full potential to deliver a smooth, flavorful experience that hot brewing simply cannot replicate.

How to Choose the Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew

A great place to start is with something like our Cold Brew coffee pre-ground to the perfect texture. To make our Cold Brew blend, we select the finest beans grown in Africa and lightly roast them. The beans are ground to a coarse texture to make the filtration process easier and deliver refreshing, smooth, and well-balanced cold brew coffee.

While our specially designed Cold Brew coffee offers the perfect starting point, the world of cold brew presents endless opportunities for flavor exploration. Light roasts beyond our African blend can reveal surprising bright notes and delicate complexity when cold brewed, with fruity and floral characteristics becoming more pronounced through the gentle extraction method. Medium roasts offer wonderful versatility, developing rich chocolate and nut tones while maintaining enough acidity to keep the flavor profile interesting and balanced. Don't shy away from experimenting with dark roasts either – the slow extraction of cold brew naturally reduces bitterness while highlighting the caramel, chocolate, and toasted flavors these beans are known for. Flavored coffees take on a completely new dimension in cold brew, with vanilla, hazelnut, and chocolate notes becoming more subtle and integrated.

The beauty of cold brew's forgiving nature is that it allows you to discover new dimensions in beans you might already enjoy hot or to give beans that seemed too intense or acidic for your taste a second chance in this smooth, refreshing format.

How to Grind Coffee Beans for Cold Brew

Measure Precisely

• Weigh out 1 oz of San Francisco Bay Coffee beans for each 10 oz of water

Finding the Right Grind Setting

• On most burr grinders, aim for settings between 7-10 on a 10-point scale

• If your grinder has numbered settings (1-10), choose 8-10

• If your grinder has labeled settings, select "French Press" or "Cold Brew"

• Always err on the side of too coarse rather than too fine

Visual Cues for Proper Grind

• Your ground coffee should resemble coarse sea salt or raw sugar

• Particles should be visibly larger than standard drip coffee grounds

• You should see distinct, chunky pieces with minimal fine powder

• The grounds should feel rough and gritty between your fingers

Grinding Technique Tips

• Grind in small batches for more consistent results

• Allow your grinder to work at its own pace without forcing beans through

• Clean your grinder regularly to ensure consistent particle size

• If your grounds look uneven, adjust your grinder to a slightly coarser setting

Common Grinding Mistakes to Avoid

• Grinding too fine (leads to over-extraction and bitter flavor)

• Using pre-ground coffee (typically too fine for cold brew)

• Inconsistent particle size (creates uneven extraction)

• Grinding too far in advance (reduces freshness and flavor)

To learn more about making cold brew, read our guide How to Make Cold Brew Coffee. 

Shop San Francisco Bay Coffee

Now that you understand the importance of bean selection and proper grinding techniques for cold brew, it's time to put your knowledge into practice. Our collection includes a wide range of coffee beans you can use to create your daily cold brew coffee. If you prefer to buy pre-ground, we made a special, coarse-ground Cold Brew that is perfectly smooth, sweet, and balanced. Let us save you time and work achieving and right grind with our delicious Cold Brew blend.