People use these interchangeably. They should not. Iced coffee is hot-brewed coffee poured over ice. Cold brew is ground coffee steeped in cold water for sixteen hours or more. Different process, different flavor, different caffeine, different drink entirely.
How Each One Is Made
Iced coffee starts like any drip. Hot water through ground coffee, extraction, chill, pour over ice. Fast. Familiar. The heat pulls acids and oils quickly. That gives iced coffee its bright, sometimes sharp character.
Cold brew skips heat entirely.
We grind coarse, steep in cold filtered water for over sixteen hours, then strain. No heat means fewer acids. Smoother, naturally sweeter, heavier in body. We steep ours with beans from Eiland Coffee Roasters. A medium roast that pulls dark chocolate and oak notes when it sits overnight.
Taste
Iced coffee tastes like coffee - bright, acidic, familiar. The ice dilutes it as it melts. First sip and last sip are different drinks. Some people like that progression.
Cold brew tastes rounder. Smooth, dark, low-acid. The flavor stays consistent because the concentrate is already diluted to serving strength before ice goes in. No drift from first sip to last. If hot coffee has ever struck you as too acidic or too sharp, cold brew is probably your drink.
Caffeine
Cold brew has more. Not because of the beans. They are often the same. The long steep extracts more caffeine. Our cold brew runs roughly 200mg per twelve ounces. A comparable iced coffee is closer to 120mg.
If you need the afternoon to count, cold brew is the more efficient delivery system.
Which One to Order
Bright and acidic, ice dilution fine. Iced coffee. Smooth, heavy, consistent. Cold brew. Both work with oat milk, cream, or black. We serve both daily. The cold brew goes faster - usually gone by early afternoon, which tells you what our regulars prefer.
Can You Make Cold Brew at Home
Yes. Coarse grind, cold filtered water, 1:8 ratio by weight, sixteen to twenty hours in the fridge. Strain through fine mesh or cheesecloth. What you get is concentrate - dilute 1:1 with water or milk.
The grind matters more than people think.
Too fine and the brew turns bitter and silty. Too coarse and it comes out thin. You want the texture of raw sugar - coarse but not chunky. A burr grinder helps. A blade grinder makes it a coin flip.
We serve both at Moon Wolf Provisions. The cold brew is steeped with Eiland beans and served on tap. The iced coffee rotates with whatever single origin is on the bar. 920 Custer Road, Richardson.
