Kitchen · Duration: 1 day
Is cold brew really less bitter? A blind test
Leo Hartmann · Sep 7, 2026
Hypothesis
Cold brew made from the same beans will taste noticeably less bitter than hot-brewed coffee.
Method
We used one bag of medium-roast beans, a coarse grind and matched strength by diluting. Ten tasters tried unlabelled cups in random order and ranked their bitterness.
Result
Nine of ten tasters ranked the cold brew as less bitter. Several also described it as flatter or less bright.
Confirmed
Confirmed. Smoother, yes, but you trade away some of the flavour.
Tried this yourself? We'd love your data.Share your results →
