Difference between Cold Brewed and Iced Coffee

If you are a big fan of coffee, I believe that you cannot live without a cup of cold coffee in the coming summer. Recent years, a new type of coffee called cold brewed become fashionable for a time, whose sales in the U.S. grew 115% from 2014 to 2015, and is available from big retail chains like Starbucks. But what sets it apart from traditional iced coffee? Here’re differences between cold brewed and iced coffee.

Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee: Tastes

Cold brewed tastes smoother and less acidic compared to hot and iced coffee. It has a naturally mellow and sweet flavor. It loses the high and low flavor notes present in regular hot coffee because the brewing process doesn’t involve hot water. For the iced coffee, you may know how it tastes, but if you never come into this whole coffee thing, it tastes slightly acidic than ordinary hot coffee.

Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee: Preparation

When preparing iced coffee, the biggest difference between the two begins with the first step: the brewing. When you are ready for iced coffee, you will brew it with hot water (so what’s the ideal coffee brew temperature), just as you usually do with hot coffee. Then put it in the fridge and let it sit for a few hours. After that, you can enjoy it by your ways.

As for the cold brewed coffee, soaking is the most common way. Make sure you make your coffee with cold water instead of hot. This may seem pretty simple, but this tiny step makes a big difference in flavor. Some people say that cold brewed tastes crisp and more refreshing, and, it’s stronger. Well, this all depends on how you make it.

In order to prepare it the right way, put your ground coffee and cold water in a pot. Stir and place it in the refrigerator either overnight or an entire day due to the water usually has direct contact with the coffee grounds between 12-24 hours. Finally, once the coffee is completely soaked, the final product is a strong concentrate that can be mixed with water to make cold brewed and filter your coffee concentrate with a large paper or cloth. Feel free to add any sweeteners, just as what you do with iced coffee.

Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee:  Other differences

Basically, compared with conventional iced java, the extra cost translates into a smoother flavor and more caffeine per ounce. A cold brewed has 35 mg more caffeine compared to an iced coffee at Starbucks.

Longer course and extra coffee grounds make cold brewed more expensive than the basic iced coffee, which is almost twice the price as iced coffee at the local coffee shop. But still, we’ve seen this cold brewed coffee trend the last several years.

Though the cold brewed and iced coffee both are cold coffee, there are still many differences between them. Whether you prefer iced coffee or a refreshing cold brewed, you can choose one cup of it for your busy morning or exhausted afternoon when it’s too hot outside. Happy brewing!