Two Citrus Cold Brews to Make This Summer

Citrus cold brew combines chilled cold brew coffee with fresh orange or lemon juice over ice, usually at about two parts coffee to one part juice. Both recipes start from the same base: 60 g of coarse coffee steeped in 600 ml of cold water for eight hours. Lighter, fruit-forward roasts suit citrus better than dark roasts, whose bitterness clashes with the acidity.

Coffee and orange juice sounds wrong until you try it, at which point it sounds obvious. Cold brew is low in acid and heavy on sweetness and chocolate. Citrus is the opposite. Put them together and each one supplies what the other lacks.

Both of these are built on the same base, so make one batch of cold brew and you've got the makings of either.

The base

60 g of coarsely ground coffee to 600 ml of cold water in a Mizudashi, eight hours in the fridge, then lift the filter basket out.

Pick something light and fruity. A washed Ethiopian or a Kenyan works beautifully here, because the citric notes already in the coffee meet the juice halfway. A dark Italian roast will fight it, and the fight is not interesting.

Orange cold brew

Serves one.

• 120 ml cold brew, chilled
• 60 ml fresh orange juice, strained
• 1 tsp simple syrup, optional
• Orange peel, to finish
• Ice

Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour in the orange juice, then float the cold brew over the back of a spoon so it sits as a separate layer. Twist a strip of peel over the top to release the oils, then drop it in. Stir before drinking, or don't, and watch it marble.

Strain the juice. Pulp makes it cloudy and ruins the layering.

Our cold brew guide has the full method if you haven't made it before.

Lemon cold brew

Sharper, and closer to a long drink than a coffee.

• 120 ml cold brew, chilled
• 20 ml fresh lemon juice
• 10 ml simple syrup
• 60 ml sparkling water
• Lemon slice and ice

Lemon is far more acidic than orange, so it needs less of it and it needs the sugar. Build over ice: lemon juice, syrup, cold brew, then top with sparkling water. The bubbles carry the aromatics and stop the whole thing tasting flat.

Getting it right

Everything cold before you start. Room-temperature cold brew over ice waters the drink down before it reaches the table.

Fresh juice only. Cartoned juice is pasteurised and tastes cooked next to coffee this delicate.

Sweeten last. Taste it first. How much sugar it needs depends entirely on your coffee and your fruit.

Serving a few people

Batch the cold brew, not the finished drinks, because citrus juice goes dull within about an hour of squeezing. Brew a litre in the 1L Mizudashi, keep it in a glass server, and let people build their own. A Colors server looks better on a table if you're putting it out for guests.

Frequently asked questions

Does orange juice curdle in coffee?
Not without dairy. Citrus curdles milk, not coffee, so keep these two dairy-free or add the milk to a separate drink.

What coffee works best with citrus?
Light or medium roasts with fruit-forward notes. Ethiopian and Kenyan coffees are ideal. Dark roasts clash.

Can I make citrus cold brew ahead of time?
Make the cold brew ahead, up to a week. Add the juice when you serve, since it dulls within an hour of squeezing.

How much juice should I add to cold brew?
About two parts coffee to one part orange juice. Lemon is sharper, so use roughly one part lemon to six parts coffee, plus syrup.