09on the shelf
Coffee beans for cold brew, picked for low acidity and a body that survives a long, cold steep. For a classic, chocolatey cold brew: DARK MATTER, GRINDSTONE, VELVET HARMONY and HOUSE NO. 02. For a brighter, fruitier one: RED LANTERN and OBSIDIAN. Order whole bean and grind coarse, or pick a cold brew grind at checkout. Roasted to order in New Delhi, free shipping across India.
Cold brew ratios and timing
Cold brew is coffee steeped in cold water, then filtered. No heat, so extraction runs slow and selective. Two schools work here. They want different beans and different timings, and most cold brew advice only describes one of them.
The first is the heavy school. Low-acid lots with weight: monsooned Malabar, medium-dark blends built on cocoa and toasted nuts, naturals carrying dried fruit, and robusta processed with care. Grind coarse, close to French press. Use 1:8 by weight for a concentrate you dilute 1:1 with water or milk. Steep 16 to 24 hours at room temperature. Push much past that and you pull wood and bitterness, not sweetness. If you want it stronger, add coffee, not time.
The second is the bright school. Light washed roasts steeped short, giving a cold brew closer to iced tea than to chocolate. These lots do go flat on a long steep. The fix is a shorter one, roughly 8 to 12 hours, and a slightly coarser grind. That holds the acidity together and stops the cup turning vegetal.
Ratios for every method are on our coffee to water ratio page.
