The rapid growth of the ready-to-drink and cold brew coffee markets point to the need for concentration methods that can maintain a high quality of these beverages. Cold brew coffee differentiates itself from hot extraction methods primarily through its heat labile aroma and flavor components. Thus, a nonthermal concentration process is crucial for product quality retention, especially since existing concentration methods (thermal concentration and reverse osmosis) fail to satisfy all three criteria: high degrees of concentration, low energy costs, and no quality loss. In this review paper with a small experimental component, forward osmosis (FO) was evaluated as means to produce cold brew coffee concentrate. Although preliminary tests found trace amounts of high melting point lipids which prove problematic for membrane regeneration and attainable flux, FO still shows promise as a nonthermal concentration method for cold brew coffee with no quality loss and low energy expenditure.