How Do You Make Ice Drip Coffee From Ground Coffee?

Ice drip coffee is made by wetting the coffee grounds with ice water and letting the water drip through slowly, so extraction happens at low temperature. The result is a rich, smooth, full-bodied cup that is neither sour nor astringent and causes little stomach irritation. Flavor depends mainly on which beans are used.

Dark roasts such as Mandheling, Huilan and Cerrado give low acidity, strong aroma and a sweet aftertaste, while light roasts bring floral and fruity sweet-and-sour layers without bitterness. A standard setup uses a cold brew pot set and about 60g of grounds, with attention to the coffee bed, drip speed and refrigerated oxidation.

Cold brew coffee is extracted through the slow drip filtration of ice water, presenting a rich, smooth, and full-bodied taste, and because of the low-temperature extraction, it is neither sour nor astringent and does not irritate the stomach. Coffee beans of different roast levels bring completely different flavor expressions: dark-roasted Front Street Mandheling, Front Street Huilan, and Front Street Cerrado are suitable for making cold brew with low acidity, strong aroma, and obvious sweet aftertaste; light-roasted Front Street Flower Queen, Front Street Strawberry Candy, and Front Street Little Tomato can present a non-bitter and richly layered floral and fruity sweet-and-sour profile. This article will also introduce in detail the standard method for making cold brew coffee, including equipment preparation, coffee bed handling, drip speed control, and refrigerated oxidation and other key steps, to help coffee lovers make a cup of outstanding cold brew coffee at home.

The production principle of cold brew coffee is to first wet the coffee grounds with ice water, and then control the water drip flow rate so that it drips slowly, thereby completing the extraction. The coffee liquid obtained in this way has a rich, smooth, and mellow taste, while the specific flavor depends on the type of coffee beans selected.

One major advantage of cold brew coffee is that the finished product is not sour or astringent and causes little irritation to the stomach. If dark-roasted beans are chosen, such as Front Street Mandheling (with caramel and spice notes), Front Street Huilan (black chocolate and maple syrup flavors), and Front Street Cerrado (nut and cocoa notes), the cold brew coffee produced has relatively low acidity, a prominent aroma, a full body, and an obvious sweet aftertaste, making it especially suitable for drinking with ice cubes.

If light-roasted beans are used instead, such as Front Street Flower Queen, Front Street Strawberry Candy, and Front Street Little Tomato, the cold brew coffee produced not only has no bitterness, but also has quite rich flavor layers. When drunk with ice cubes added, one can feel elegant floral notes and fruity sweet-and-sour flavors, among which Front Street Flower Queen cold brew also has a sweetness similar to black tea.

The standard method for making cold brew coffee

Materials needed: one cold brew pot set, 60g Front Street Flower Queen coffee beans, 300g drinking water, 300g ice cubes

1. Grind 60g Front Street Flower Queen coffee beans to the coarseness of fine granulated sugar, corresponding to a sieving rate of 80% on the Chinese No. 20 standard sieve.

2. Place a round filter paper at the bottom of the powder cup, wet it with water so that it adheres to the cup wall, then pour in the 60g of ground coffee, gently shake to make the surface of the coffee bed flat, and you may also use the weight of the tamper itself to lightly press the coffee bed so that the surface is more even.

3. Place another sheet of filter paper on top of the coffee bed. The tension of the filter paper helps the water droplets disperse evenly onto the surface of the coffee bed for extraction; if the filter paper is omitted, long-term dripping will wash out a depression in the center of the coffee bed.

4. Wet the entire coffee bed with ice water. This step is similar to the blooming stage in pour-over coffee and can improve extraction efficiency and consistency of the final product.

5. Add ice and water to the dripping bottle in a 1:1 ratio, and adjust the dripping speed of the water. Front Street recommends controlling the drip rate at about 7 drops per 10 seconds.

5. After production is complete, pour the coffee liquid into a sealed, clean container that is free of water and oil, and place it in the refrigerator for oxidation and aging, allowing the flavor molecules of the cold brew coffee to be fully released before drinking.

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