Some drinks are intuitive. Mandarin and cold brew coffee may be one of those drinks for you.
Juice adds natural sweetness and a bright citrus scent, while coffee includes roasted flavours and body.
If you tend to order your coffee drinks creamy or chocolate-flavoured, this caffeinated beverage is a nice departure. Mandarin cold brew is light, easy to customise, and simple to make when you’ve got coffee on hand.
At The Nivara Coffee, we love helping people discover new coffee drinks. Here’’s the scoop on mandarin cold brew coffee: what it is, how it tastes, and how you can make your own.
What Is Mandarin Cold Brew Coffee?
Mandarin cold brew coffee features cold-brewed coffee and mandarin. Mandarin is usually added as fresh juice, zest, syrup, or as an infusion. The beverage is served chilled, often over ice, and typically doesn’t include milk.
Cold brew is created by steeping ground coffee in cool water, then filtering out the grounds. For our recipe below, we add the mandarin after brewing.
Adding ingredients separately allows you to customize the drink more easily. For example, you can add a small amount of juice, take a sip, then decide if you want more fruit, water, or sweetness.
Coffee beans can also have “mandarin tasting notes.” If you see this description on a bag, it doesn’t always mean fruit has been added to the drink. Mandarin tasting notes could be natural flavours found in the coffee after it’’s brewed.
What Does Mandarin Cold Brew Coffee Taste Like?
If it’’s made correctly, you should be able to taste the coffee as well as the citrus.
Mandarin provides sweet fruit flavour with a fragrant aroma and some tartness. Coffee adds roasted flavour and will make the drink somewhat bitter. The exact taste will vary based on the beans, fruit, and proportions used.
Mandarin juice will give you:
- Citrus fragrance: Mandarin aroma is strong, especially if you add a peel garnish.
- Juicy sweetness: Depending on the sweetness of your fruit or if you add syrup.
- A tangy edge: Mandarin keeps the drink feeling light and fresh.
- Roasted flavour: So you can still taste coffee behind the fruit juice.
- A thin body: Unless you add milk, the basic recipe is dairy-free.
Remember that not every batch will taste the same. One batch of mandarin might be sweeter and milder. Another could be very tart. Sample the juice before mixing it with coffee.
Mandarin Juice, Zest, or Syrup: Which Should You Use?
Here’s how each of these ingredients can affect your coffee:
| Ingredient | Description/How to Use |
|---|---|
| Fresh mandarin juice | Fruit flavour, sweetness, and tartness. Add to coffee. |
| Mandarin zest | Orange oils found in citrus peel. Use as garnish or stir in. |
| Mandarin syrup | Flavour concentrate and sweetener. Add to coffee by the drop. |
| Packaged mandarin juice | Juice from concentrate with varying sugar amounts. Good for convenience. |
| Mandarin segments | Sliced or sectioned mandarin. Use as a garnish with seeds removed. |
Juice is an easy place to start because it’s simple to measure. Zest can be used as well, but works best as a garnish.
Avoid adding too much peel to your coffee drink. Over time, the bitterness from the peel and white pith can overpower your coffee.
Easy Mandarin Cold Brew Coffee Recipe
Follow this suggested recipe to make one serving of mandarin coffee. Feel free to adjust it to your preferences once you know how the ingredients work together.
Prep time: ~5 minutes if you already have cold brew ready to go.
Ingredients:
- 150 ml chilled, ready-to-drink black cold brew coffee
- 45 ml freshly squeezed mandarin juice
- 15–30 ml cold drinking water (optional)
- 1 teaspoon simple syrup (optional)
- ice cubes
- small mandarin peel twist or segment (optional)
Instructions:
- Wash the mandarins, then squeeze out the juice. Use a strainer to catch seeds and excess pulp.
- Combine juice and cold brew in a glass. Stir, then take a sip.
- Add cold water if the coffee seems too strong.
- Add simple syrup only if you prefer a sweeter taste.
- Pour over ice, garnish if you like, and enjoy!
Use coffee that tastes good at drinking strength. If using cold brew concentrate, make sure to dilute it first according to package instructions.
How to Make the Cold Brew Base
To make cold brew coffee, mix 50 g of medium- coarsely ground coffee with 400 ml of water in a jar or other container.
Stir gently until all grounds are wet. Cover and leave in the refrigerator. We recommend starting with around 14 hours of steeping. You can strain now or pour the mixture through a paper coffee filter if you prefer less sediment.
This is now a concentrate. Try adding half water and half concentrate to a glass. Dilute more until you reach your desired strength.
Keep your mandarin separate until you serve the coffee. It also allows you to use the same batch for traditional cold brew and fun flavour additions.
Which Coffee Should I Choose?
This drink is best started with coffee you enjoy drinking black. Balancing added fruit is much easier when you like how the coffee tastes on its own.
A medium roast with chocolate, caramel, or nutty flavours is an excellent place to start. Those flavour notes are familiar and will sit nicely behind the citrus.
Lighter roasts can work, but go easy on the juice. Bright coffee paired with tart mandarin could end up too acidic.
Dark roasts will have stronger roasted coffee flavours. If that is what you prefer, try it out. Add small amounts of juice and sweetness until you find the right balance.
There isn’t a single ideal coffee bean for making mandarin cold brew. Taste is subjective, so find a combination you like!
How Do I Change the Taste?
Typically, only small adjustments are needed to improve a drink that doesn’t quite fit your tastes.
| Issue | Potential solution |
|---|---|
| Too sour | Next time, use less juice. Adding a bit of syrup may help balance the current batch. |
| Too sweet | Try adding a small amount of unsweetened cold brew to balance. |
| Coffee tastes overpowering the fruit juice. | Add a bit more juice or use a lighter coffee brew as your base. |
| Tastes mostly like juice/adds too much water | Increase coffee by a small amount. |
| Bitter peel flavour | Remove the peel, and try less of it next time. |
| Too pulpy | Strain the juice again. |
| Melts into water quickly | It’s likely not cold enough. Chill the ingredients before mixing, and drink quickly. |
Only change one variable at a time. If you add juice, syrup, and water to your coffee, you won’’t know which thing fixed the issue.
Mandarin Cold Brew Variations
Once you know how you like the basic drink, try adding one of these extras at a time.
Sparkling Mandarin Cold Brew
Swap out the optional still water for chilled, unsweetened sparkling water. Add last, and don’’t stir too vigorously.
Start with less sparkling water if you still want to taste the coffee.
Mandarin Vanilla Cold Brew
Use vanilla syrup instead of plain syrup. Start with 1/2 teaspoon, then add more after tasting.
If you tend to prefer sweeter coffee with less intense citrus flavours, this may be right up your alley.
Mandarin Mint Cold Brew
Drop one or two mint leaves in when serving. Gently clap the leaves between your palms before adding to release the scent.
Keep mint subtle so you can taste the mandarin.
Mandarin Cold Brew Tonic
Swap out the water for a small amount of tonic water. Tonic will add bitterness to the drink. Most brands also include added sweetness.
Taste before you add any additional syrup.
Can I Add Milk?
Our basic recipe doesn’t include milk. There are a few reasons why.
Juice is acidic and may cause milk to curdle. Non-dairy milks can vary widely and may also not mix seamlessly.
If you would still like to try adding milk, start with a small batch. Or look for a citrus-flavoured additive meant for coffee and milk.
The simplest version is to leave your cold brew mandarin black.
Mandarin Cold Brew vs Orange Iced Coffee
Both of these drinks change the fruit and how the coffee is brewed.
| Drink | Fruit added to | type of coffee base used |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin cold brew | juice, zest, or syrup | cold brewed coffee |
| Orange cold brew | juice, zest, or syrup | cold brewed coffee |
| Mandarin iced Americano | flavours | espresso, water, and ice |
| Orange cold brew | flavours | Traditionally hot brewed coffee served cold |
Some cafés will have different recipes. If you have a preference, ask how they make the drink.
You can replace mandarin juice with regular orange juice. It will make orange cold brew coffee. Since every brand is different, you may need to adjust how much you use.
Orange juice can be sweeter or more acidic than mandarin. Sample and adjust accordingly.
Can I Use Instant Coffee?
Instant coffee mixed with cold water can be chilled and combined with mandarin juice. However, this makes an iced coffee with mandarin rather than true cold brew coffee.
Will Mandarin Juice Reduce Caffeine?
The juice will cut down on the coffee flavour. However, it doesn’’t filter out caffeine. You will still get caffeine from the coffee used in the drink.
Should I Brew Mandarin Peel With Coffee?
For this recipe, we recommend waiting to add citrus. Once brewed you can add as little or as much juice as you like.
Adding it before brewing can make it more difficult to perfect your desired taste. You risk adding too much bitterness from the peel.
Does Coffee with Mandarin Flavouring Have Fruit in It?
No, not always. When a coffee is described as having “mandarin flavouring”, it doesn’t necessarily mean fruit is added.
Mandarin could be one of the flavours found in coffee itself. Check the ingredients to determine whether fruit was added.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use orange juice instead?
Yes, you can. It will become orange cold brew coffee instead. Orange juice may be sweeter or more acidic than mandarin. Taste, then adjust how much you use.
Can I use instant coffee to make it?
Yes, but you’ll make mandarin iced coffee. Brew the instant coffee using cold water, chill, then add mandarin juice.
Does mandarin juice remove caffeine?
No, it simply dilutes your coffee. If you drink the entire beverage, you’ll still consume the caffeine from that serving of coffee.
Should I add mandarin peel to my coffee grounds?
We recommend waiting to add mandarin until after your coffee has finished brewing. This allows you more control over flavour. Too much peel can become bitter.
Does coffee with mandarin tasting notes have fruit?
Not necessarily. Mandarin tasting notes can be natural flavours found in the coffee. Look at the ingredients to see if fruit was added.
The Nivara Coffee is a modern café brand focused on creating relaxing spaces where people can enjoy great coffee, delicious food, and quality hospitality. Built around comfort, convenience, and community, The Nivara Coffee offers a refreshing experience for customers looking to unwind, work, or spend quality time with friends and family.
With a growing presence across India, the brand is also expanding through franchise opportunities, helping entrepreneurs build profitable café businesses backed by strong operational support, innovative concepts, and customer-focused service.
