There are many ways to make delicious iced coffee (types of iced coffee). From the more elaborate cold drip to the most immediate iced coffee pour-over; there's also the easy-to-make and mainstream cold brew method. Cold brew has many names—Cold Brew, cold brewed coffee, cold extraction coffee, etc.—all referring to the same iced coffee-making method.
In this article, you can learn about the benefits of iced coffee and quickly master "iced coffee methods and cold brew ratios." Learn how to choose iced coffee beans & iced coffee grounds. More importantly, you don't need any special equipment like a coffee machine, cold brew pot, or cold brew cup. You know, easy-to-use equipment has always been found in ordinary homes, readily available. Check out the following cold brew tutorial:
1. Prepare 50g of Front Street Coffee Butterfly coffee beans and grind them into a coarser powder (65% passing rate through a No. 20 standard sieve).
2. Pour the ground coffee powder into a sealed bottle and add 500ml of room-temperature water.
3. Cover with the lid and shake well, then place in the refrigerator for 12-14 hours for low-temperature slow extraction.
4. After the time is up, use filter paper (or a strainer) to separate the coffee grounds. The resulting coffee liquid can be enjoyed immediately or refrigerated and consumed within two days.
5. Because this recipe uses a 1:10 ratio for cold brew, allowing as much substance as possible to dissolve in less water, the resulting cold brew will be rich and full of fruity sweet-and-sour flavors. You can also add an appropriate amount of ice cubes to dilute and chill it, making it even more refreshing and cool to drink.
Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee
1. Delicious: Anyone who has seen the "Six Steps to Tasting Coffee" video knows that most aromatic substances in coffee beans are lost during hot water pour-over. The biggest difference in flavor between iced coffee and hot coffee is that cold brew preserves water-soluble aromatic compounds to the greatest extent, bringing the aroma you taste closer to what you smell.
2. Unique: Iced coffee made by cold brew has low bitterness and astringency. The flavor is rich, mellow, with a fermented note reminiscent of fine wine.
3. Affordable: Making it yourself allows you to use better coffee beans for cold brew. The price of cold brew coffee is also cheaper than buying ready-made cold brew.
4. No waste and eco-friendly: Use up inventory of good beans and mixed beans. The coffee grounds can be used as fertilizer, as well as refrigerator and bathroom deodorizers.
Q: Are commercially available ready-made cold brew coffee packs good to use?
A: After ground coffee sits for several hours, most of the good aromas evaporate. Since these good flavors that dissolve into cold brew through low-temperature extraction are missing, such cold brew will be far inferior compared to freshly ground whole beans that are then cold brewed.
Q: After making iced coffee, can I drink it overnight or the next day?
A: If you make iced coffee according to this tutorial, it can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a few days. Of course, it needs to be kept in a sealed jar—at least a glass jar with a lid—to prevent it from losing its flavor.
Q: Does cold brew or cold drip coffee taste sour?
A: If you choose light-roast, high-acidity coffee beans, the extracted coffee liquid will have a rich fruity acidity. If you don't like coffee's fruity acidity, you can choose beans with a darker roast level, or wet-hulled, aged, or other naturally low-acidity coffee beans.
Q: Is the caffeine content of cold brew high?
A: The melting point of caffeine is around 220 degrees. The caffeine level depends on the caffeine content of the coffee beans themselves. For the same beans, cold water extraction may yield slightly lower caffeine than hot water brewing.
Q: What grind size should I use for cold brew coffee?
A: Use the same grind size you normally use for pour-over.
Q: What's the difference between cold brew coffee and cold drip coffee?
A: Cold drip coffee is made by using cold water plus ice cubes, dripping ice water drop by drop onto coffee grounds for extraction; cold drip coffee has a more pronounced fermented flavor. Cold brew coffee, on the other hand, uses a method similar to cold-brewed tea… coffee grounds are soaked in water, refrigerated for several hours, and then filtered to obtain the coffee liquid. The flavor is more rounded and the aroma is more pronounced.
Q: There are many coffee bean varieties—are there any particularly suitable beans for cold brew?
A: All coffee beans can be used to make cold brew, and the extracted flavor naturally depends on the beans used. This is also why we recommend making it yourself; after all, cold brewing with coffee beans you like makes it easy to get a flavor you love.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
