How do you apply drip coffee maker know-how to iced coffee?

Four styles dominate iced coffee: iced pour-over, iced Americano, cold brew and iced drip. Each uses a different extraction method and produces a distinct flavor. Iced pour-over keeps the clarity of filter coffee, while cold brew and iced drip rely on long, low-temperature contact that yields a rounder, sweeter cup. The methods share principles with a drip coffee maker, mainly controlled ratios and grind.

Ratios and grind size decide the outcome. In an iced pour-over, roughly 15 grams of beans are brewed with about 150 grams of hot water for a 1:10 ratio, giving around 120 grams of liquid before 100 grams of ice is added. The lower ratio offsets dilution as the ice melts, and brewing is split into stages, beginning with a bloom of about 30 grams of water.

On a scorching summer day, a glass of iced coffee always brings cooling and refreshing effects. But do you know that common iced coffee is actually divided into four major categories: iced pour-over, iced Americano, cold brew, and iced drip? Each uses a different extraction method, and their flavor profiles vary greatly. In this article, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will guide you through the characteristics of these four types of iced coffee one by one, and share the specific methods Front Street Coffee's baristas use to make them in-store, including key parameters such as coffee bean selection, coffee-to-water ratio, grind size, and extraction time. Whether you prefer a light and refreshing taste or a rich and bold flavor, you'll find the right cup for you.

Iced pour-over, iced espresso, cold brew, and iced drip are currently among the more common types of iced coffee. What exactly are the differences between them, and what flavor characteristics does each present? Today, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will talk about these four types of iced coffee, and how Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) baristas make them in actual practice.

Iced Pour-Over Coffee

Pour-over coffee gradually gained popularity alongside the third wave of specialty coffee, and today it is one of the core offerings of many independent cafés—Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) is no exception. Pour-over coffee separates the coffee grounds through a dripper to obtain a clean coffee liquid, and the extraction process of pouring water while filtering is also quite visually appealing.

When making iced pour-over, Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista weighs out 15 grams of Front Street Huakui coffee beans. Unlike hot pour-over, iced pour-over uses a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, meaning a total of 150 grams of hot water is poured, ultimately extracting about 120 grams of coffee liquid. This ratio is chosen because 100 grams of ice cubes will be added afterward for dilution. The ice cubes will gradually melt upon contact with the freshly extracted hot coffee liquid, and using a lower coffee-to-water ratio is precisely to prevent the ice from over-diluting the coffee's flavor.

During brewing, Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista divides the process into two stages. In the first stage, 30 grams of water is poured for blooming, with the purpose of allowing carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds to be properly released. Freshly roasted coffee beans often contain a large amount of carbon dioxide, and excessive gas can hinder the contact between water and coffee grounds, so the first stage of pour-over usually uses a small amount of water to release the gas.

In the second stage, water is poured directly until reaching a total of 150 grams, using a gentle circular pouring motion to extract sufficient flavor compounds. Throughout the brewing process, the water temperature is controlled at 90 degrees Celsius, the grind size is slightly finer than hot pour-over, with a passing rate of about 85% through a 0.85mm standard sieve, and the total extraction time is about 1 minute and 30 seconds.

After extraction is complete, the coffee liquid is poured into a container holding 100 grams of ice cubes, and the barista shakes it to thoroughly mix the coffee liquid with the ice. This serves two purposes: on one hand, it allows the coffee liquid from the beginning, middle, and end stages of extraction to blend evenly; on the other hand, it uses the ice to dilute and cool the coffee, rapidly bringing its temperature down to a sufficiently low level.

Iced Americano

The approach to making iced Americano is fairly similar to iced pour-over—both involve first extracting a more concentrated coffee liquid, then adding ice to dilute it. The difference is that iced Americano uses espresso extracted from an espresso machine. Espresso was originally a drink for Italians to quickly replenish caffeine; it is simple and fast to make, and its 1 to 2 ounce volume can be finished in two or three sips. Americano, on the other hand, adds a large amount of water to espresso, making it easier to drink.

Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista uses an espresso machine when making iced Americano. The ingredients for Americano are relatively simple—just espresso, water, and ice. The coffee beans used are Front Street commercial blend coffee beans; this bean has rich crema and roasted aromas, making it suitable for making all kinds of espresso drinks. Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista adjusts the espresso extraction parameters daily based on the condition of the beans, typically extracting 40 grams of coffee liquid from 20 grams of coffee grounds, with an extraction time of about 26 seconds.

Afterward, 300 grams of ice-water mixture is added, with a ratio of ice water to espresso of 7.5 to 1.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee and iced drip coffee differ from iced Americano and iced pour-over in that they rely entirely on ice water or a low-temperature environment for long-duration extraction. The low-temperature, gentle extraction method reduces the volatilization of flavors and aromas.

Although Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) store currently does not offer cold brew coffee, Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) baristas are also very fond of cold brew coffee. When making cold brew, we use 50 grams of coffee grounds, add 500 grams of ice water, with a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10, a coarser grind size, and a passing rate of about 75% through a 0.85mm standard sieve.

To make cold brew coffee, you need to prepare a container with sufficient capacity—for example, to make 500 grams of cold brew coffee, you need a bottle of 600 milliliters or more. Place the ground coffee and water into the container, mix thoroughly, and let it sit in the refrigerator. The recommended low-temperature extraction time is 24 hours. Low-temperature, long-duration immersion extraction is the core characteristic of cold brew coffee, capable of extracting relatively full-bodied coffee flavors, while the low temperature gently extracts the taste and reduces aroma volatilization.

Iced Drip Coffee

Iced drip coffee is similar to cold brew coffee in that it also uses low-temperature, long-duration extraction. Its layered complexity and full-bodied mouthfeel have made iced drip coffee quite popular in the domestic market.

Unlike cold brew coffee, making iced drip coffee requires an iced drip coffee maker capable of producing water droplets. The extraction of iced drip coffee relies on ice water dripping down drop by drop, so a dedicated iced drip maker is essential. Common iced drip coffee makers on the market usually include the following structures: an upper chamber holding the ice-water mixture, a valve controlling the flow rate, a powder cup holding the coffee grounds, and a lower chamber receiving the coffee liquid, etc. Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) store currently uses the Tiamo HG2713, which includes the above structures and also has an additional spiral coil.

When making iced drip coffee, Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista uses 60 grams of Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee beans. This is a Geisha blend combining beans from two producing regions, Costa Rica and Panama. The resulting iced drip coffee is sweet and delicious, with a slight floral aroma and a sweet-and-sour preserved fruit note—a very distinctive flavor.

In terms of ratio, Front Street uses a 1:10 coffee-to-liquid ratio, meaning 60 grams of beans ultimately yield about 600 milliliters of iced drip coffee. The grind size is slightly finer than pour-over coffee, with a passing rate of about 85% through a 0.85mm standard sieve. The finer grind and lower coffee-to-water ratio produce a rich, full-bodied iced drip coffee; the reason for this is that ice will be added for dilution when serving. The ice-water mixture ratio is 1:1, and the valve controls the flow rate at 7 drops per 10 seconds. The entire extraction process lasts about 6 to 8 hours. The finished iced drip coffee is placed in a bottle and chilled for 12 hours before drinking.

The extraction time for iced drip coffee is extremely long. Front Street Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) barista has to start preparing it early every morning and can only finish by the afternoon. The long time required for iced drip coffee is due, on one hand, to the slow dripping speed of the ice water—it takes a long time to collect enough coffee liquid; on the other hand, extraction efficiency is extremely low at low temperatures, and like cold brew coffee, it requires extending the extraction time to increase the coffee's flavor.

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