Use luxury coffee beans for Cold Brew?

Luxury coffee beans on the market, what are we talking about?

Luxury bean coffees are some of the most sought after and expensive coffees on the market. In addition to great taste and aroma, they also offer high quality and care in growing and processing. If you are a coffee connoisseur, you should definitely try at least one of these coffees.

Thefirst coffee worth mentioning is the Gesha (sometimes also Geisha) variety, which is mainly known for its flavour profile, character ised by itssweet taste and aroma of floral notes, jasmine and black tea .

ThePanama Geisha variety is considered the best Geisha coffee in the world. It repeatedly receives the highest scores from the SCA(Specialty Coffee Association).

Next, the "luxury" and quality of the coffee is determined by the cupping score. It is rated on a 100-point scale, where in the range of 80-100 points we can talk about very excellent and really very high quality coffees.

One of the most famous luxury beans on the market is Kopi Luwak (Cibet coffee). It comes from Indonesia and is known for its unique processing method. The civet, a small cat-like animal, consumes the coffee berries and excretes them intact. These berries are then collected and further processed. However, with the breeding of civets, unpleasant reports of extreme and inhumane treatment ofcivets have begun to surface . So this coffee has become a bit controversial.

Another luxury coffee bean is JamaicaBlue Mountain. This coffee comes from the mountains of Jamaica and is known for its mild aroma and low acidity. The beans are carefullyhand-picked and then sun-dried.

Another brand is Black Ivory. This coffee comes from Thailand and is also processed in a special way. The beans are first consumed by elephants, who excrete them and are then harvested and further processed .

A little science behind the preparation of Cold Brew coffee

Cold brew is an increasingly popular way of making coffee on hot summer days. As the coffee is brewed only in cold water, it takes patience and also a little alchemy to get the coffee just right.

Cold brew is all about theslow extraction process, where the coffee is soaked in cold water for several hours or even days. However, the optimum extraction time is around 12 hours.

Because cold brew is prepared in cold water only, the result is a smoother, sweeter and fuller flavour. The fruity and chocolate notes are also more noticeable. Compared to traditional coffee brewing, cold brew also haslower acidity.

An important element that affects the final taste of the coffee is the grind. Cold brew coffee should be coarser ground than regular filter coffee as there is a longer extraction time.

In general ,medium or dark roasted coffeesare recommended for cold brew , as these tend to have a stronger and more chocolatey flavour. Ideally, roasters create a cold brew blend or single origin coffee directly for Cold Brew. The coffee is selected and roasted with the aim of a consistent flavour profile that might otherwise be affected bysuch a long extraction.

Is it or is it not worth making Cold Brew from luxury coffee?

There is no doubt thatquality coffee beans are importantfor the preparation of any coffee . This is no different for cold brew. However, by being cold brewed, it brings out different flavour profiles and is also more forgiving of the quality of the beans.

This doesn't mean you can use years-old coffee, as there is a certain oxidation and weathering process at work , so you wouldn 't be left with any flavour in your coffee .

This is also true with the trend of recent years - fermented coffee. According to the Acidity and Antioxidant Activity of Cold Brew Coffee study , it was found that some of the acidic components in coffee are not extracted at all by the cold brewing process . While cold brew does not have such an aggressive acidity, it alsorobs the coffee of its unique acidity obtained fromfermentation.

So the question is whether or not it is worth making cold brew from luxury coffee or fermented coffee? It's definitelyworth using a quality selection of coffee with fruity and chocolaty notes. But save the most exceptional and high-quality coffees for other coffee variants, where their potential can shine through much more.

Luxury Cold Brew? Just add nitrogen.

After all, there are products on the market to help you achieve more "luxury" in cold brew. One of them is a special brewing device designed for the preparation of Nitro Cold Brew.

It works by injecting nitrogen directly into the coffee. This results in a smoother and creamier taste with a rich foam. The Nitro Cold Brew then stands out beautifully in a taller glass, such as for champagne. Feel the interesting texture of the drink on your tongue and Nitro Coffee will probably become your summer addiction.