If you've had cold brew from a gas station, a grocery store shelf, or one of those giant plastic jugs that's been sitting around for who knows how long — you already know what mediocre cold brew tastes like. Thin. Watery. Sometimes weirdly bitter. Nothing like the glass of cold brew you've had at a great coffee shop that made you stop mid-sip and think, what is this and how do I get more of it.
The difference usually comes down to two things: the beans and the time. At Roast, we take both seriously.
Why Cold Brew Is Different
Cold brew isn't iced coffee. Iced coffee is hot-brewed coffee poured over ice — it's fast, but the heat extracts different compounds from the bean, including some of the acids that cause bitterness. Cold brew, by contrast, is never exposed to heat. It steeps in cold or room-temperature water for 12 to 24 hours, which pulls out the sweetness and body of the bean while leaving a lot of the harsher acids behind.
The result is a coffee that's naturally smoother, lower in acidity, and noticeably sweeter — without any added sugar. It's also highly concentrated, so it holds up beautifully over ice without getting watery as the cubes melt.
How We Make Ours
At Roast, we roast our beans fresh daily in our Medford café. For cold brew, we work specifically with beans that we know perform well in cold extraction — typically our darker profiles, where the roast has developed the chocolate and caramel notes that shine in cold brew.
1. Coarse grind, fresh beans. We grind coarser than we would for drip — think breadcrumb texture rather than table salt. This slows extraction and keeps the flavor clean.
2. Cold steep, 18–20 hours. We steep in cold water, not room temperature, which slows extraction even further and results in a cleaner, less fruity profile.
3. Slow filter. We filter through paper, which takes longer but removes the fine particles that can make cold brew muddy or gritty. The result is a liquid that's clear, dark, and almost syrupy-looking.
4. Serve at 2:1 concentrate ratio. Our cold brew is brewed as a concentrate, which means we dilute it about 50/50 with water (or milk, or oat milk) when we serve it.
What to Order at Roast
Our cold brew menu varies with the season, but you'll typically find:
- Classic Cold Brew — served over ice, black or with milk
- Cold Brew Lemonade — cold brew concentrate over ice with a hit of lemonade; sounds weird, tastes incredible
- Nitro Cold Brew — our cold brew on nitrogen tap, which gives it a creamy, Guinness-like texture without any dairy
Make It at Home
If you want to replicate a solid cold brew at home, here's what we recommend:
- 1 cup of coarsely ground Roast beans (we suggest our Dark Star blend or Signature Espresso)
- 4 cups of cold, filtered water
- A large mason jar or pitcher
- Cheesecloth, a nut milk bag, or a paper coffee filter
Combine the grounds and water, stir gently, cover, and refrigerate for 18–20 hours. Then filter through your chosen method — be patient, it takes 30–45 minutes through paper. What's left in the jar is concentrate. Dilute 1:1 with water to serve, or use it straight over ice if you want something strong.
Why Local Makes a Difference
Most cold brew you find in stores — even the "craft" brands — was brewed weeks ago and pasteurized for shelf stability. Cold brew is at its best in the first three to five days after it's brewed, which is why buying from a local roaster that makes it fresh changes the experience entirely.
If you're in Medford, Marlton, Cherry Hill, Mount Holly, or anywhere else in South Jersey, come try ours. We think it's the best cold brew in the area.
Roast Coffee Company is a specialty coffee roaster and café at 200 Tuckerton Rd, Medford, NJ 08055 — open Mon–Fri 6am–4pm, Sat–Sun 7am–4pm.