Erin Elizabeth
If you love coffee as much as I do, you probably know a little something about cold brew. I was a staunch slow-drip coffee drinker until my favorite barista introduced me to Starbucks cold brew.
Goodbye bitterness, hello flavor! It is just so smooth and delicious, but you can also serve it hot or cold without losing a bit of that bold flavor.
Unfortunately, a cold brew coffee habit can quickly become an expensive problem unless you learn how to make it at home. It took some time and a lot of experimentation to figure out the best method, and I realized that not all coffees are fit for cold brew.
Thanks to my efforts, I have a list of the best coffee for cold brew so that you can just dive into the method. My rankings mostly account for the flavor, but I also considered how blends worked as hot or iced coffee.
Best Coffee for Cold Brew
Get your grinder ready! These are the best coffees for making cold brews at home.
Stone Street Coffee Cold Brew Reserve
It’s not easy to beat Stone Street Coffee’s Cold Brew Reserve.
The smooth, dark roast delivers bold coffee flavor with nutty, chocolatey undertones that leave you feeling refreshed.
The New York-based company makes artisanal quality coffee with beans roasted in Brooklyn.
Even though they offer blends in large quantities, Stone Street Coffee prides itself on delivering small-batch quality in every cup.
This blend is cold brew-specific, and I found it worked best in a French press. I would also grind it just before you brew to keep those beans as fresh as possible until you’re ready to dunk them.
Coffee Bros. Cold Brew Blend
The Coffee Bros. Cold Brew Blend comes in at a close second with slightly lighter notes.
It’s a medium roast that delivers some berry and brown sugar undertones and a stronger sense of chocolate.
Coffee Bros. recommends brewing this blend in a mason jar and straining it with a fine mesh or cheesecloth at the end.
I felt the French Press worked well enough for the blend, but who am I to argue with the professionals?
This roaster is run by true brothers, Dan and Nick, who set out to create the perfect blends, including cold brews.
The pair aims to perfectly roast each bean to avoid the bitterness and flavor loss that you get with burnt beans.
Lifeboost Biotics Cold Brew
I must admit that Lifeboost Biotics Cold Brew surprised me. It didn’t seem possible that coffee with probiotics could taste so good, but I was wrong.
The Biotics Cold Brew is smooth and delicious with the bold flavors I love. Plus, it’s designed to improve gut health, boost your immune system, and reduce inflammation.
Lifeboost uses a proprietary blend that is less acidic, non-GMO, and USDA-certified organic.
This sustainably grown, single-origin coffee is a medium roast that is less harsh on your digestive system without sacrificing flavor or caffeination.
Cooper’s Cask Coffee Peruvian Cold Brew Reserve
Cooper’s Cask Coffee is one of the unique roasters on this list because they make bourbon and whiskey barrel-aged blends.
The Cooper family partnered with Sons of Liberty Spirits to use their whiskey barrels and Thomas Tew Rum for rum barrels to create their intriguing coffee profiles.
The Peruvian Cold Brew Reserve is a masterpiece with caramel and cherry notes and slight citrus undertones.
One of the things I loved about this blend is that it heated up well on an unexpectedly chilly morning.
It didn’t have an odd aftertaste or lose any of the subtle flavors whether I drank it hot or cold.
Cold Buzz Coffee Hazelnut
Cold Buzz Coffee is a small company that sells its blends on Amazon.
The Hazelnut Cold Brew is not easy to come by because it sells out fast, but I was lucky enough to snag a bag.
If you like hazelnut, you’ll appreciate this cold brew blend. It’s especially nice because you get individual serving bags, so you always use the proper amount.
The pre-portioned bags drop in 16 ounces of water, so you don’t have to worry about straining the grounds.
Cold Buzz Coffee also offers French Vanilla, Mocha, New Orleans Chicory, dark roast, and medium roast blends.
Peet’s Baridi Blend
Peet’s is a popular name in coffee with a long history in the industry.
The Baridi Blend is one of the company’s cold brew offerings, but it’s the best of the lot, in my opinion.
This medium roast cold brew presents floral and citrus notes balanced by toffee undertones. It’s a blend of African and Latin American beans that creates an interesting flavor profile.
Peet’s Baridi Blend is one of the brighter blends on the list and brews up nicely in twelve to fourteen hours.
I personally prefer letting it steep longer, but you get a decent cup of coffee with the shorter times.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters Hair Bender
Stumptown Coffee Roasters make some of my favorite coffees, and I’ve even visited one of their cafes in Portland, Oregon.
To be fair, Hair Bender is not strictly a cold brew blend, but it surprisingly doesn’t matter.
If you like to have a versatile coffee on hand that you can occasionally use for cold brew, this is a solid choice.
I have split one bag between my drip machine, my pour-over, and as a cold brew. It’s delicious every time, though I pick up different flavor combinations depending on how I brew it.
Tiny Footprint Coffee Organic Cold Press Elixir
A name like Tiny Footprint Coffee doesn’t exactly conjure images of bold, flavorful coffee.
However, the Organic Cold Press Elixir doesn’t disappoint. It’s smooth and silky with strong chocolate notes and subtle floral and fruity undertones that create a glorious flavor thanks to the balance of light and dark roasts.
Incidentally, Tiny Footprint Coffee is the first carbon-negative company in the industry.
By donating proceeds to reforestation in Ecuador, the company offsets the CO2 used to produce their beans.
Lavazza Whole Bean Blend
Lavazza is another hefty name in the coffee industry with a massive product line and an even larger following.
You can find their products in most big box stores, but it’s easiest to order them from Amazon, where you can access the Lavazza store.
Though many of Lavazza’s beans work for cold brews, my favorite is the Dark Roast Perfetto.
By using a cold brew method, you drop all bitter notes and get a smooth, full-bodied coffee with caramel undertones.
It’s perfect for sipping and draws out the flavor in ways I didn’t experience with other brewing methods.
Best Coffee for Cold Brew
- Stone Street Coffee Cold Brew Reserve
- Coffee Bros. Cold Brew Blend
- Lifeboost Biotics Cold Brew
- Cooper’s Cask Coffee Peruvian Cold Brew Reserve
- Cold Buzz Coffee Hazelnut
- Peets ‘Baridi Blend’
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters Hair Bender
- Tiny Footprint Coffee Organic Cold Press Elixir
- Lavazza Whole Bean Blend
Final Thoughts
Cold brew coffee is one of my new favorite things. It delivers all of the bold flavor and caffeination that I love without the bitterness. The longer brew times are so worth the wait, and I can certainly plan ahead enough to always have some on hand.
Now you can enjoy the best cold brew coffees at home with the beans on this list. It’s worth the time and effort to choose a good bean for your cold brew because the flavor is stronger than other methods.
Also, take time to consider the subtle undertones because you will be more aware of them with cold brew.
Learn about other types of coffee drinks, or find the best non-dairy creamers to add to your cold brew.
