Best Coffee for Cold Brew: Our 16 Delicious Top Picks (2024) – With Brewing Guides
Cold brew is massively exploding in popularity as more and more people experience the smooth deliciousness of its uniquely made flavor. Cold brew is incredibly easy to make at home and requires no special equipment, but since cold brewing brings out different flavors than traditional methods, you may need guidance on what coffees are best to use. Check out the top pick for the best coffee for cold brew and several other excellent selections.
Looking for inspiration? Make sure to read our cold brew brewing guide!
Best Coffee for Making Cold Brew at Home
Cold brew will result in a smooth coffee experience with lower caffeine content and a less acidic taste.
Therefore, some of the best options for making cold brew for diehard coffee lovers will be darker roasts with fruity and nutty tones, as cold brews will allow for rich expressions of those flavors without being compromised by the burnt nature often created by traditional hot brewing methods.
Top Pick: The Mentalist by Bulletproof
This blend is by far the best coffee for cold brew. It features heady notes of cherry, almonds, and caramel that make it fruity, nutty, and delicious despite its dark roast roots. Pre-ground for your convenience, it will make a stunning impact as a cold brew after twelve hours of mingling with filtered water.
Emergent Brew Exclusive: BulletProof gives Emergent Brew readers 15% off any order (valid storewide). Just enter the coupon code EMERGENT15 at checkout. Here's the link to get the special offer.
Other Great Coffees for Making Cold Brews at Home
No matter your coffee preferences, there’s no wrong way to cold brew. All that cold brewing means is making coffee your way, on your time, the slow and steady way. Check out these options for a verifiable cornucopia of options of incredible, delicious coffees perfect for crafting your next ice-cold smooth cup.
While most of these options come as both pre-ground and as beans, if you prefer to buy beans, it is easy to grind them yourself at home.
No Place Like Home: Bourbon Praline Pie by Volcanica
This flavored coffee is one for the books, featuring three vices in one. The heady aroma of caffeinated delights teams up with the sharp sweetness of all-American bourbon and brings it all home with the undeniable at-home comfort of praline pecan pie.
This coffee is an absolute all-star, featuring notes of nuttiness, sweetness, aromatics, fiery smokiness, and a depth of flavor rarely found in coffees of its ilk. As a cold brew, it makes its mark as a cold holiday drink. This coffee is delightful with just the slightest dash of Irish cream, and it warms the heart no matter how coldly it is brewed. It deserves the second spot in our list of best coffee for cold brew.
Delicious Dessert: Frosted Carrot Cake by Lifeboost
This incredible coffee blend tastes exactly like the iconic confection. With notes of cream cheese frosting and moist cake, it lends itself perfectly to a cold brew for the ideal companion to a tea-time snack.
Frosted Carrot Cake features an incredible spice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice, ginger, cardamom, star anise, and a dash of turmeric to create a unique flavor sure to linger on the tongue long after the first sip. Enjoyers of this unique blend will swear that they’re feasting instead on a slice of cake.
A Great Way To Start Your Day: Breakfast Blend by Bulletproof
This gentle yet assertive brew sets you off on the right foot, whether hot or cold, making it perfect for the balmiest of summer days or the most frigid of nights. Bulletproof’s Breakfast Blend offers an incredible array of light, aromatic flavors, including citrusy notes of berries and oranges and vibrant notes of milk chocolate.
Emergent Brew Exclusive: BulletProof gives Emergent Brew readers 15% off any order (valid storewide). Just enter the coupon code EMERGENT15 at checkout. Here's the link to get the special offer.
Autumnal Delights: Frosted Pumpkin Roll by Volcanica
The leaves are changing, the Halloween costumes are being sewn, the pumpkins have swollen on the vine, and you’re itching for a new taste on your tongue. Frosted Pumpkin Roll Flavored Coffee from Volcanica is the perfectly sugary sweet way to kick off your autumn celebrations.
With a cold brew sure to please those who tend to avoid coffee for its bitterness, this super sweet blend may convince even the dearest lovers of creamers to try their coffee black for the first time.
The mix of tastes of spiced pumpkin cake, sweet icing, and baking spices make for a sweet and spicy taste that lingers pleasantly on the tongue in a way that hot coffee just doesn’t permit.
Alternatively, give it a try with just a splash of vanilla almond milk to truly discover a new depth of flavor this autumn.
A Christmas Stocking Tradition: Chocolate-Covered Orange by Lifeboost
For many Americans, chocolate oranges and chocolate-covered oranges are symbols of the holidays. Down in the toes of their stockings, they’re sure to find a citrusy, cocoa-covered treat from Santa Claus himself.
Now, indulge in that powerful combination once more in a delicious cold brew experience. The richness of the cocoa is empowered by the brewing process of taking it sweet and slow.
Citrus oils take center stage in this unique roast. Creamy milk chocolate plays a delightful second fiddle, acting as a wonderful complement and rounding out the mouthfeel as silky and smooth.
Custard Coffee in a Cup: Eggnog Latte by Lifeboost
For those for who a cup of thick eggnog seems too rich for early mornings but you still find yourself craving a taste of that rich, cold flavor, nothing beats making up a pitcher of cold brew Eggnog Latte coffee.
This indulgent blend is a decadent celebration of flavors, including eggs, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and even a splash of rum. A king’s bounty in a mug, sip with absolute confidence that you are living your best life with Eggnog Latte by Lifeboost.
A Dark Roast That’s Sure To Please: French Kick by Bulletproof
This smoother-than-silk roast is a full-bodied brew that’s best for experienced coffee drinkers looking for something bracing in the early mornings. French Kick is smoky, chocolate, and as dark as a dark roast can go.
Emergent Brew Exclusive: BulletProof gives Emergent Brew readers 15% off any order (valid storewide). Just enter the coupon code EMERGENT15 at checkout. Here's the link to get the special offer.
A Delicate Treat in Your Cup: Tiramisu by Lifeboost
This recursive twist on the classic Italian dessert will have you begging for more. The iconic treat features ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped custard composed of mascarpone cheese, sugar, and eggs. The whole ensemble is then flavored with cocoa.
This magical coffee blend brings a rich array of these flavors into the beans through a masterful command of the craft. Acidity hints at the richness of the cheese blended into the fluffiness of the eggs.
The lightness of the ladyfingers lingers on the tongue. Cocoa notes are scorched delicately onto the surface of the coffee beans, found once again through the brewing process. Altogether, the dessert is reincarnated anew into a mug.
Sophisticated and Sweet: Honey Lavender Latte by Lifeboost
Lavender and other botanical flavors are picking up steam in cafes and coffee shops across the globe, and they just might be in your home kitchen next. They make especially great candidates for cold brews, as some of the more delicate compounds featured in botanical blends can get damaged or even demolished in the hot brewing process.
Honey Lavender Latte is an elegant blend featuring expertly balanced sweetness and floral notes that is certain to delight the most developed of palates.
A Spin on an Indulgent Treat: White Russian Flavored Coffee by Volcanica
A traditional White Russian is an alcoholic mixed drink, or a cocktail, consisting of vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream. This coffee is a delightful twist on those expectations, featuring notes of caramel and vodka baked directly into the coffee itself.
All the Warmth of Summer Camp, Keeping it Cool: Smores by Lifeboost
Whether you’re nostalgic for the memories of gathering around the campfire to stay warm on a late summer night or simply looking for the perfect flavor combination that has everyone demanding ‘some more, look no further than this delightful coffee.
Smores by Lifeboost makes a unique cold brew reminiscent of decadently rich chocolate, golden graham crackers, and marshmallows toasted over an open fire.
Keep it Classic: The Original by Bulletproof
This classic twist on a run-of-the-mill cup of joe will have houseguests turning heads and asking where you sourced such a delightful yet simple coffee.
The Original Medium Roast from Bulletproof is a taste sensation to be reckoned with. Plum, hazelnut, cinnamon, and an excellent dash of citrusy orange all come to play and mingle with one another in this delightful menagerie of flavor.
Just Like Grandpa Bakes: Snicker Doodle Cookie by Volcanica
This indulgent coffee makes for a fascinating sensation as a cold brew. Cinnamon and sugar notes combine to create that iconic snickerdoodle taste with a buttery undertone that ushers in feelings of comforting nostalgia to accompany the smooth, rich flavor of your morning cup of coffee.
Perfect to start your day or for a sweet pick-me-up, this Snicker Doodle Cookie coffee is a year-round treat that will surely bring a smile to your face.
Perfectly Aged: Whiskey Barrel from Lifeboost
This unique offering from Lifeboost is a one-of-a-kind coffee that features the best of the world of nightlife beverages for your morning coffee experiences.
The beans for the Whiskey Barrel coffee are stored in charred whiskey barrels for a month or more to achieve their iconic flavor. The time they spend in these barrels allows them to develop a striking flavor achieved only by barrels that have previously stored spirits, as the whiskey has altered the wood of the barrels and opened the pores of the material.
Once the beans are roasted, any remnants of alcohol are burnt off. The resulting coffee is oaky and smoky and retains lingering flavors of sweet smokiness. Whiskey notes remain just at the edges, perfectly brought out by the cold brewing process.
If you’re not just looking for the best coffee for cold brew but you’re also the adventurous type, this is a must-try for you.
Perfect for the Holidays: Peppermint Mocha by Lifeboost
Rounding out our reviews of the best coffee for cold brew: Peppermint Mocha by Lifeboost.
This chocolatey minty dream makes for a bracing experience in a cold brew form, perfect for the extremists in chilly thrills.
The blend of peppermint gently muddled with expertly roasted cacao beans in this flavored blend is sure to delight even the grumpiest during the holiday season.
Conclusion
The trick to making incredible cold brew coffee at home is that there is no trick at all. Picking the best coffee for cold brew is about your taste and preferences. From decadent dessert flavors to traditional dark roasts, there are many options on this list to inspire you. So shop around and find the best options for your palate.