Is Coffee Cold Brew Really Different From Dutch Coffee?

Cold brew coffee is made by slowly dripping ice water through ground coffee at room temperature over six to eight hours, extracting flavor without the bitterness that hot water pulls out. The name covers two related methods: cold drip, where water drips steadily through a coffee bed, and cold brew, where grounds steep in cold water. Both trace back to Dutch traders in the early 1700s who used cold water on long sea voyages.

The key variables are grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and drip rate; a finer grind or slower drip raises extraction, while a coarser grind keeps the cup clean. Bean choice matters just as much, and Costa Rica Mozart is used as a working example here. Beans with strong fruity or fermented notes show up clearly in cold drip, giving a sweet-tart cup that stays refreshing over ice.

Cold drip coffee, with its rich yet non-bitter taste brought by low-temperature slow extraction, has become a highly popular coffee category in summer. This article starts with the definition and historical origins of cold drip coffee, sorts out the relationship between Dutch coffee, cold brew coffee, and cold drip coffee, then breaks down in detail the structure and use of a cold drip tower, and, using Costa Rica Mozart coffee as an example, gives key parameters such as grind size, coffee-to-water ratio, and drip rate. The article also shares Front Street Coffee's specific bean recommendations in four major categories—tropical fruit fermented style, clean and refreshing style, sweet and pleasant style, and flavor blend style—to help coffee lovers make a cup of outstanding cold drip coffee at home.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow our WeChat official account: Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee). Friends who often come to Front Street's store to drink coffee say that watching the ice water in the cold drip tower fall drop by drop is especially soothing, and then they ask Front Street what kind of coffee this is. Compared with many other coffee categories, the biggest difference of cold drip coffee is that it requires 6 to 8 hours of long, slow extraction, so Front Street's cold drip coffee usually has a limited output and is often in short supply. What is cold drip coffee? Simply put, cold drip coffee is made by letting ice water drip at a constant rate through a bed of ground coffee, slowly extracting the aromatic substances from the coffee under normal pressure. Because the water temperature is low, the bitter components in coffee are not easily brought out, while the slow water flow significantly increases the extraction yield, so cold drip coffee tastes strong but not bitter. If you choose beans with strong flavor expression, the fermented notes and fruity sweet-tartness will be especially prominent, and with ice added, one sip in summer makes you feel completely refreshed.

The origin of cold drip coffee We usually hear the names cold drip coffee (Cold drip coffee), cold brew coffee (Cold brew coffee), and Dutch Coffee. What exactly is the relationship between them? This starts with a story about Dutch coffee. In the early eighteenth century, the Dutch brought coffee beans back to Europe from their colony Indonesia. The sea voyage was long, and on the ship there was neither hot water nor the leisure to brew a cup of coffee. Unable to drink hot coffee, they came up with the idea of extracting with cold water: find a container, put in ground coffee, pour in cold water, and soak for several hours. The coffee made this way turned out to be especially sweet, with no bitterness at all. Dutch merchants found this method very convenient for maritime trade, so the practice of making coffee with cold water gradually spread.

However, this method of extracting coffee with ice water did not become popular in the Netherlands itself. Instead, it was inherited by the Japanese and, through continuous improvement, gradually evolved into today's cold drip coffee. So sometimes you will see the claim that "cold drip coffee was invented by the Japanese." More accurately, the Japanese improved on the method pioneered by the Dutch and preserved this way of making coffee, so that today we can still drink this uniquely textured iced coffee. After reading the story above, Front Street believes you already roughly understand that the practice of soaking ground coffee in cold water to obtain coffee liquid is what people call Dutch Coffee. Cold drip coffee, improved from the cold brewing principle, also belongs to the category of Dutch coffee. In addition, there is a newer low-temperature extraction method, cold brew coffee, which is made by pouring ice water into a container with ground coffee and letting it sit for 12 to 24 hours, then filtering out the grounds to get a cup of iced coffee with a slight alcoholic note and sweet-tartness. Its principle is actually the same as Dutch coffee, so it is also classified as Dutch coffee.

How to use a cold drip coffee tower There are all kinds of cold drip towers online, with different materials and shapes, but basically they all consist of three parts: upper, middle, and lower. Specifically, they can be divided into four main structures: upper pot, valve, coffee powder cup, and lower pot.

The topmost container is used to hold ice and water, and below it is connected a metal component, which is the valve. By adjusting the opening of the water outlet, you can change the speed of the water drops so that ice water drips evenly onto the coffee grounds. The middle glass pot, shaped like a cup, is used to hold the ground coffee, and there is a filter hole in the center of its bottom, through which the extracted coffee liquid drips out. The large pot at the bottom is responsible for collecting the coffee liquid. Here Front Street chooses a relatively popular Costa Rica Mozart coffee from the store to make it. Mozart coffee beans use raisin anaerobic honey processing, with flavors of raisins, osmanthus, and the sweet aroma of fruit fermentation. When made into cold drip coffee, the fermented quality becomes even more obvious.

In terms of grind size, Front Street generally chooses the same grind size as for iced pour-over. Because low-temperature water reduces the extraction yield, the coffee is ground finer to improve extraction. For this bean, choose a 85% passing rate on the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve, which corresponds to Front Street's store grind size of 9 on the ek-43s grinder. Usually we first calculate the extraction parameters, using a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, extracting 600 grams of coffee liquid from 60 grams of coffee. The ratio of ice to water mixture is 1:1, and the valve flow rate is controlled at 7 drops per 10 seconds. Generally, drip filtration can be completed within 6 to 8 hours. (The coffee-to-water ratio for cold drip is usually between 1:10 and 1:12; everyone can adjust according to their own taste preferences.)

Place a round filter paper at the bottom of the middle pot, then pour in the ground coffee. Be careful to level it, so that extraction is even. Also place a round filter paper on the surface of the coffee bed to prevent water droplets from disturbing the coffee bed. Before starting drip filtration, the coffee bed needs to be moistened with cold water first, which both saves extraction time and avoids uneven extraction at the beginning.

Place the coffee powder cup on the stand and begin adding the ice-water mixture, usually half ice and half water. Adjust the valve flow rate to 7 drops/10 seconds, and align the falling water droplets with the position where the coffee liquid drips out. After drip filtration is complete, pour the coffee liquid from the lower pot into a sealable container. Front Street uses a glass bottle, then puts it in the refrigerator to ferment for more than 12 hours. Generally, it can be drunk the next day. After a night of refrigeration, Mozart coffee will show an alcoholic, fermented quality, along with the sweet-tartness of berries, pineapple, and other tropical fruits. The taste is rich but not bitter, and after dilution with ice it is like drinking a refreshing fruit wine.

How to choose coffee beans for cold drip coffee The biggest feature of cold drip coffee is long extraction at low temperature, so when choosing beans, types with more prominent flavor characteristics are generally considered. Here Front Street introduces several more typical flavor directions. 1. Tropical fruit, fermented wine aroma type For example, the Mozart coffee mentioned earlier by Front Street has the sweet-tartness of dark berries, plus the wine aroma produced by low-temperature aging, making the overall taste more outstanding. In addition, several other beans on Front Street's bean list also belong to this type: Colombia's Flower Moon Night coffee, Honduras's Sherry coffee, and Costa Rica's Strawberry Candy coffee. Their aromas are all very obvious, and they are likewise suitable for iced pour-over and cold brew methods.

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2. Clean and refreshing type Some beans use washed processing, and their acidity is very clean and full. When made into cold drip coffee, they carry a juice-like acidity, along with the clear fresh fragrance of cherry tomatoes and grapefruit, making them very suitable for drinking in hot summer. For example, Kenya Asalia AA coffee, Ethiopia washed Gutingding Cooperative coffee, and Panama Geisha blend Butterfly coffee on Front Street's bean list. If you like a light and fresh style, you will definitely love this pure and clear taste.

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3. Sweet and pleasant type Compared with the medium-light roasted coffees above, dark-roasted beans are generally less often used to make cold drip coffee, because people think it will be too strong and too bitter. Actually, that is not the case. Front Street has tried using Indonesian Golden Mandheling to make cold drip coffee. After adding ice, it has a rich chocolate sweetness and a fermented aroma, with no bitterness at all. If you cannot accept the "heavy taste" of Mandheling, Front Street thinks Brazil Queen's Estate can also present nutty and chocolate flavor tones, and with ice dilution it has a smooth creamy mouthfeel.

4. Flavor blend type Friends who often drink espresso certainly know that coffee beans can be combined through blending. Cold drip coffee can be made this way too. In addition to using single-origin beans with clear flavors, cold drip coffee can also extract a mixture of two or more single-origin beans. For example, Front Street has tried blending Honduras Lychee Orchid coffee and the Musician series Beethoven coffee at a 1:1 ratio, hoping to drink coffee with both alcoholic and fruity notes. After mixed drip filtration, the extracted coffee showed a rich brandy aroma and honey sweetness, along with refreshing fruit acidity. Following this idea, you can match according to personal preference and get a cup of cold drip coffee that suits your own taste.

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Regarding flavor expression, everyone can refer to Front Street's categorized recommendations above when choosing. Because cold drip coffee is extracted at low temperature, the efficiency is slower, so it is also more forgiving. Everyone can adjust flexibly according to factors such as equipment at home and budget. What needs to be noted here is that all flavor expression is based on the freshness of the coffee bean roasting, so Front Street recommends choosing coffee beans within their best flavor period. Front Street's roasting principle is freshly roasted good coffee. What Front Street ships is coffee beans freshly roasted within 5 days, hoping every customer can drink good coffee during its best flavor period.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.