For more coffee origin news and coffee knowledge, please followCoffeeHuntersToutiao account

Recently, quite a few friends have come to the Front Street store asking if we have ice drip coffee. Front Street's iced coffee offerings include not only ice drip, but also cold brew, iced Americano, and iced pour-over extractions of various single-origin coffee beans. As the two most popular types of iced coffee, guests often ask Front Street what the difference is between ice drip and cold brew, why ice drip coffee needs to be "pre-ordered," and what detailed differences there are in how the two are made. Don't worry—today Front Street will tell you.

Simply put, both are low-temperature coffee extractions; the difference is that one is steeped, while the other is drip-filtered. However, sometimes the term cold brew coffee is also used broadly to refer to low-temperature extracted coffee. In most cases, though, cold brew coffee refers to cold-steeped coffee made by soaking with cold water; using the term cold brew coffee is purely an elegant translation of the English "Cold brew."

Which tastes better, cold brew or ice drip?

When Front Street uses the same coffee bean—Front Street Mozartand makes a pot of cold brew coffee and a pot of ice drip coffee according to the store's production parameters, we ultimately find that the two indeed display their own characteristics: Front Street Mozart cold brew is closer to the coffee bean's original flavors, with aromas of raisins, osmanthus, and sweet orange, and its layers are fuller and richer; while the ice drip coffee is cleaner, clearer, and more refreshing, and you can also taste a strong fruity wine fermentation note, fully expressing the distinctive flavor of this method.

(This flavor comparison between the two methods is based on the emphasis shown by the same coffee bean through these two methods. If you do not taste carefully, you may not notice any difference.)

Some friends come to the Front Street store and see written on the blackboard: "Ice drip coffee requires a two-day advance reservation." This is because ice drip coffee takes a relatively long time to make: the drip filtration takes 6-8 hours, and after the drip filtration is complete, it needs to sit for 12 hours before it can be drunk. So if friends want to drink ice drip coffee made with a specified coffee bean, they need to make a reservation in advance.

Of course, in weather as hot as it is now, Front Street makes ice drip coffee every day, though the choice of beans depends on Front Street's schedule for the day.

Ice drip coffee parameters (note here that ice drip and cold brew parameters are not the only ones; just like pour-over coffee, there are many completely different parameters that can achieve a delicious result. What is shared here are the parameters Front Street uses.)

Dose: 60 grams (depending on container size)

Grind size: 85% passing through a No. 20 sieve (caster sugar)

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:10

Temperature: extracted at room temperature with an ice-water mixture

Ice drip flow rate: 7 drops per 10 seconds

Extraction time: 6-8 hours

Drinking method: after extraction, seal and refrigerate for 12 hours; when drinking, add 50 grams of ice per 200 milliliters of liquid.

Cold brew coffee parameters

Dose: 30 grams (depending on container size)

Grind size: 80% passing through a No. 20 sieve

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:12

Temperature: refrigerated extraction at 7 degrees Celsius

Extraction time: 12 hours

Drinking method: after extraction, filter with filter paper, then refrigerate for 4 hours before drinking.

Generally speaking, for the sake of flavor experience and health and safety, whether it is ice drip or cold brew, Front Street recommends that all extraction methods carried out in a low-temperature environment be finished within 5 days (counting from the production date).

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