A good cold brew base tastes great on its own. But it really shines as a foundation for summer drinks and cocktails. We asked twelve coffee professionals from German-speaking countries for their favorite recipes: barista champions, Brewers Cup champions, and Cup Tasting masters. The result is a collection you won't find anywhere else.
What does cold brew taste like? Depending on the coffee, it primarily showcases chocolatey and nutty facets, while still bringing out fruity notes. One peculiarity of cold coffee is a slightly "alcoholic" flavor that reminds you of rum or cognac.
All recipes here build on a good cold brew base. How to get it right, with the correct ratio, grind size, and steeping time, you'll find detailed information in our Cold Brew Guide. We also clarify the most common myths about acidity and caffeine there. A French Press works just as well for preparation as a hand filter or the AeroPress. It tastes best freshly ground, most easily with a hand grinder.
Pink Unicorn Cold Brew by Erna Tosberg
"My tip: Hibiscus tonic water from Weisswang. Pairs wonderfully with Black Unicorn Cold Brew, then it's basically a Pink Unicorn. For the cold brew, I like to use 70 g per liter and let it steep for 24 hours. Drink it straight, with tonic, or as a gin and tonic."
What's the right ratio for the drink? "Well, I always taste it to find the right balance. But I'd estimate: one third cold brew, two thirds tonic."
Erna Tosberg is a two-time German barista champion, placed 10th and 12th at the World Barista Championship, and is now a WBC judge herself. She works for roestbar in Münster.
New Orleans by Tito Huber
An extremely smooth, pleasantly sweet and refreshing iced coffee, brewed as a concentrate. This allows you to extend it with water as you like or combine it with milk without losing the coffee flavor. The trick is an old pairing: chicory root, which was already mixed in centuries ago during coffee shortages. Beans with a chocolatey-nutty profile and dark berry aromas, medium roast, work well.
Tito Huber managed Café Henrici in Zurich and built a successful startup around cold brew with Barrel Cold Brew.
Cold Brew Tea Combination by Sandra Stucki
A very refreshing and light drink, brewed with the AeroPress as a concentrate so the spirits don't dilute the coffee too much. Sandra brews 19 g washed Bourbon from Finca Maputo in Ecuador (or another coffee with stone fruit aromas), 250 ml water total, half hot and half ice cold.
You can also omit the smoky tea or replace it with a rosemary sprig. Sandra wouldn't recommend a too fruity, acid-heavy coffee here; a natural or semi-washed works well. Tip: You can also use a blackberry spirit and make a syrup from the Tarry Lapsang.
Sandra Stucki is a Swiss record holder in the Coffee in Good Spirits category. Today she works for Länggass-Tee and is increasingly becoming a tea specialist.
Two Recipes from Dani Hofstetter
Hopper Cold Brew
Use 200 g natural specialty coffee for 1 L water, brew overnight in a Toddy, then infuse with 5 to 10 g Mosaic or Galaxy hops for another 12 hours. The hops give the rather heavy natural cold brew a balancing, almost fizzy fruitiness with a nice bitterness. The catch: hops are very potent, finding the right mix and the right hop variety is the real art. Serve over ice, with some orange zest or a splash of ice-cold mineral water.
Cold Brew Martini
"I had this at a speakeasy bar in Hamburg: a cold brew martini where instead of espresso they used a Colombian cold brew, had vodka drip through beets in a cold dripper for 24 hours, and then mixed the martini according to the classic recipe. It was fantastic."
Dani Hofstetter is an independent consultant for nutrition, gastronomy, and the food industry. He was Swiss Brewers Cup champion in 2017 and 2019 and reached the final of the World Brewers Cup in 2019.
Michal Otte's Cold Brew
"For me, cold brew is a real summer drink, so I prefer fruity and lively varieties and coffees. With a more classic coffee, the result tends to be more chocolatey and caramel-like." Michal likes to brew a washed Rwanda or a very fruity, light roasted blend, and serves the cold brew over ice cubes with a slice of lemon.
Michal Otte was 2016 Swiss Cup Tasters Champion and won the Basel Cup Tasting Championship that same year. He works for Blaser Café in Bern and Kafischmitte in Langnau, with years of experience as a barista and roaster.
Cold Brew with Emi Fukahori
Emi brews on a large scale: 500 g coarsely ground coffee to 5 L cold water (hardness around 80 ppm). Put everything in a water tank or bucket and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20 hours. Then filter through a coarser pre-filter and then through V60 filter paper. The goal is to remove all solid coffee particles. Served over ice, there are three cold brews to choose from: a chocolatey one (usually a pulp natural from Brazil), a fruity one (usually a natural), and a floral, washed coffee.
Emi Fukahori was Swiss Brewers Cup Champion and Brewers Cup World Champion, is a two-time Swiss barista champion, and founder of specialty café Mame in Zurich.
Bear Brand with Benjamin Schütz
"At the beginning of summer, cold brew tonic was clearly my favorite until a colleague brought me the original bear brand. Since then, I enjoy my cold brew straight or with bear brand." The condensed milk brings out the caramel note of the Irazú, and the other flavors of pomelo, grapefruit, and milk chocolate come into their own straight or on the rocks.
Benjamin Schütz is a roaster and brewer in quality assurance at UCC Switzerland. He reached the final of the Swiss Brewers Cup and the Swiss Roasting Championship.
Cold Brew Mojito with Constantin Hoppenz
Constantin's favorite drink comes from Berlin, from the Happy Baristas, probably the only café with an extensive offering of rum-based coffee cocktails. The drinks were created together with Coffee-in-Good-Spirits World Champion Martin Hudak. His favorite is the mojito with Kenyan cold brew.
Constantin Hoppenz was 2017 German Brewers Cup Champion and achieved a sensational 5th place at the World Championship in Budapest that same year.
Cold Brew Negroni by Mathias Bühler
Short and sweet, that's how Mäthu Bühler brews his cold brew negroni:
Mathias Bühler is part of the management team of Bern's cult café Adrianos. He is a two-time Swiss Cup Tasting Master and was the sixth best taster at the 2014 World Championship.
Tinu Egger and Swiss Coffee
A rather special blend that scores with wonderful chocolate notes as a cold brew: the blend from the Frutiger Tropical House (10% Arabica Frutiger Terroir, 81% Arabica Terroir India/Brazil, 9% Canephora Terroir India). Handmade on the Comandante and Hario Water Dripper, 80 g coffee to 1 liter water, prepared in 8 hours.
Tinu Egger works for Kialoa and is a multiple successful participant in coffee championships.
Kevin Mohler Shares
Cold Brew Virgin Mojito
Base: 6 g Kenya Kiunyu AA on 100 ml water, 10 hours extraction time.
Cut the lime into slices, place in a glass with sugar and a few mint leaves, and press out the juice with a muddler. Fill the glass to the top with ice cubes, pour in cold brew, stir with a straw, and garnish with mint. The coffee brings grapefruit, cassis, and bergamot with it, the lime supports the bergamot, and the raw cane sugar underscores its own sweetness. Also works with other African coffees.
The Mövenpick Lemonade
A refreshing coffee lemonade with pleasant acidity and herbiness. For a fruitier coffee, brew over ice here: replace part of the water with ice and brew the coffee directly over the ice (e.g., 200 ml water on 100 g ice for 300 ml coffee, coffee amount stays the same).
For the Ricola syrup, dissolve 15 Ricola cranberry lozenges with 150 g sugar in 150 ml warm water, bring to a boil once, let cool, and store chilled. Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice, stir, and garnish with currants, a lozenge, and lemon. Tip: also works with fine Kenyan specialty coffee, then replace the lemon juice with lime juice.
Kevin Mohler was 2017 Swiss Cup Tasting Master and reached the final of the Swiss Barista Championship in 2017 and 2018. He works for the coffee department of Mövenpick.
Twice Cold Brew with Gap
Cold Brew Funky Fresh
Base: Supremo Sigri AA, 18.8 g coffee on 274 g water (yields approx. 240 g cold brew).
Gin Berry Fresh Brew
Gap Gijtipong Thangsubutr is a two-time Swiss Latte Art Master and works as a barista for the Home Barista Shop in Lucerne.
And Now You
Twelve recipes, one common denominator: a clean cold brew base. Once you've got that down, the rest becomes a playground. How to reliably get it right, step by step and with the most important myths fact-checked, we show you in our Cold Brew Guide. You'll find the right coffee for it in our filter coffee selection, a good start is the Amigo.
Do you have your own favorite recipe? Share it in the comments, and we'll be happy to add it to the collection.
