Difference Between Cold Brew and Iced Coffee

The key difference between cold brew and iced coffee is that the cold brew is brewed in cold water without heating whereas the iced coffee is brewed as normal coffee, which is then cooled down. Moreover, cold brew is less acidic and less bitter than iced coffee.

Cold brew and iced coffee are two types of chilled coffee that are perfect for a warm, sunny day. Although both are chilled coffee, their brewing methods, as well as taste and coffee concentration are different.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cold Brew
3. What is Iced Coffee
4. Side by Side Comparison – Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is Cold Brew?

Cold brew is a coffee made from coffee grounds that have been steeped in room-temperature or cold water for several hours. You can easily make your own cold brew coffee at home. All you have to do is steep coarse coffee ground in room temperature or cold water for 12-24 hours. The longer the coffee is steeped, the stronger the flavour. Once the coffee is steeped, filter the coffee grounds out. This will result in a strong coffee-concentrate you can mix with water or milk to make cold brew. This brew is usually 50:50 mix of coffee concentrate to water, but this actually depends on how you prefer your coffee. You can also keep this coffee concentrate in the fridge up to two weeks.

Difference Between Cold Brew and Iced Coffee_Fig 01

Figure 01: Cold Brew Coffee

Since this special brewing process does not involve hot water, the coffee tends to be less acidic and less bitter and has a unique, rounded flavour. In restaurants, cold brew coffee is typically more expensive than regular iced coffee.

What is Iced Coffee?

Iced coffee is chilled coffee, typically sweetened or flavoured and served over ice. This is quite different from cold brew coffee. If you want to make iced coffee, all you have to do is make brew regular coffee, cool it down and pour over ice. But, this method can dilute the coffee. You can make your coffee extra strong by doubling the amount of ground coffee in order to prevent this dilution.

Difference Between Cold Brew and Iced Coffee_Fig 02

Figure 02: Iced Coffee

Furthermore, iced coffee is more bitter and acidic than cold brew coffee. It is essentially made with hot water. In most restaurants, iced coffee is cheaper than cold brew.

What is the Difference Between Cold Brew and Iced Coffee?

Cold brew is a coffee made from coffee grounds that have been steeped in water for several hours whereas iced coffee is chilled coffee, usually sweetened or flavoured and served over ice. The basic difference between cold brew and iced coffee is that cold brew is made with cold water while iced coffee is made with hot water. When brewing cold brew, you have to steep the coffee in water for several hours; however, making iced coffee doesn’t require this. Furthermore, a noteworthy difference between cold brew and iced coffee is that the cold brew is less acidic and less bitter than iced coffee since it is not made with hot water. In most restaurants and eateries, cold brew is more expensive than iced coffee.

Summary – Cold Brew vs Iced Coffee

Although they are two types of chilled coffee, there is a difference between cold brew and iced coffee in their brewing methods and the tastes they produce. Cold brew is brewed in cold water without heating whereas iced coffee is brewed as normal coffee, which is then cooled down. Furthermore, cold brew is less acidic and less bitter than iced coffee since it is not made with hot water.