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In the coffee industry, iced coffee is extremely popular, especially in the hot summer, when its popularity feels like fans surrounding their idol. When it comes to iced coffee, besides the simple pour-over iced coffee, there's also cold drip coffee that requires patience and time to extract. The principle behind cold drip coffee is simple: ice cubes and water are mixed in a certain ratio, and then the drip rate of the ice water is controlled to perform low-temperature extraction. The extraction usually takes 6 to 8 hours, and it also needs refrigeration and fermentation, so the whole process requires a certain amount of patience. Therefore, a good cup of cold drip coffee is worth the wait. Have you ever wondered about the origin of cold drip coffee? Next, Front Street will tell the story of cold drip coffee, along with bean selection and brewing methods.

History of Cold Drip Coffee

The story of cold drip coffee begins with the Netherlands. At that time, the Dutch were colonizers of Indonesia. Besides transplanting coffee trees to Indonesia and promoting coffee cultivation there, the Dutch also invented this cold drip coffee.

In 1699, because the Dutch often went on long sea voyages, they could not regularly make hot coffee on board. Coffee was also not easy to preserve, and they believed the acidity in coffee made them feel unwell. Under these circumstances, they began looking for ways to reduce the acidity in coffee. Since hot water was the reason coffee's acidity was extracted, they tried using ice water to brew coffee, hoping to reduce the acidity. Because ice water does not easily dissolve the acidic fats in coffee, it can effectively reduce the extraction of coffee's acidity, and the oxidation rate of the coffee slows down, allowing it to be preserved for a longer time. This cold-water brewed coffee was invented on the island of Java in Indonesia.

Cold-water brewed coffee has another advantage: during the dripping process, the low temperature is not conducive to the release of aroma, so it does not give off an obvious aroma like hot-water brewing does. This allows the aroma in the coffee to be retained in the liquid, and when we taste the coffee, the temperature of the mouth and chemical reactions with proteins release the aroma from the coffee. The English translation of cold drip coffee is "Dutch Cold Water Coffee," and "Dutch" in the English translation is the general term for the Dutch people.

　　Coffee Bean Selection

　　The choice of raw materials for cold drip coffee depends on individual requirements for coffee flavor. If you want floral and fruity aromas with a light, clean mouthfeel, you can choose washed coffees, such as Front Street Flower Butterfly, Front Street Fruit Ding Ding, and Front Street Kaffa Forest. If you want nutty and chocolate flavors with a rich, smooth mouthfeel, you can choose medium-dark roasted coffees, such as Front Street Colombia Huila, Front Street Bird of Paradise, and Front Street Queen's Estate.

There are also the fermented-process coffees that have become popular in recent years, such as Front Street Sherry Wine Barrel and Front Street Sidra. These coffees have a rich fermented wine aroma. If you like this flavor profile, you can choose them. It is best to ask clearly about your personal needs when buying in-store, so as to avoid buying beans you do not like. So here are several coffees with different taste profiles for your reference!

　　Floral and fruity aroma, bright acidity, light and clean mouthfeel - Front Street Yirgacheffe Washed, Front Street Kenya Little Tomato, Front Street Panama Geisha (all light roast)

　　Nutty, chocolatey, rich mouthfeel - Front Street Brazil Cerrado, Front Street Colombia Huila (both medium-dark roast)

　　Balanced sweetness and acidity, light fermented aroma, fruity - Front Street Costa Rica Baja, Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Ethiopia Natural Red Cherry (all medium-light roast)

　　Rich wine aroma, distinctive flavor - Front Street Honduras Rum Barrel Sherry, Front Street Colombia Rose Valley, Front Street Big Belly, etc.

　　Extraction Principle

The working principle of cold drip coffee is to use the slow extraction characteristics of ice water. Ice cubes mixed with filtered water will slowly melt at room temperature. By controlling the dripping speed and number of drips of the resulting ice water, the ice water slowly drips through the coffee grounds. Through long soaking, the flavor substances in the coffee grounds are dissolved and brought out. This is why cold drip coffee takes 8-12 hours to make.

　　Equipment Combination

　　1. Water container: a container for holding ice cubes and water

　　2. Adjustment valve: used to adjust the dripping speed of the ice water

　　3. Coffee grounds container: a container for holding coffee grounds

　　4. Liquid container: a container for holding the brewed coffee liquid

　　5. Coffee stand: placement positions for the different containers

　　Next comes the brewing. Take Front Street's [Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain] as an example to make a pot of delicious cold drip coffee.

　　Front Street Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Diamond Mountain

　　Region: Boquete

　　Altitude: 1500-1600 meters

　　Variety: Geisha

　　Processing method: Washed

　　Brewing Parameters

　　Coffee dose: 60g, coffee-to-water ratio: 1:10, ratio of water to ice cubes 1:1, total coffee liquid volume: 600ml, grind size: slightly finer than caster sugar

　　Brewing Method

　　First place a filter paper at the bottom of the coffee grounds container, moisten it with water, and then press it firmly with a stirring rod so it fits more closely. Then put freshly ground Front Street Diamond Mountain coffee grounds into the coffee grounds container, shake it to level the surface of the grounds, then place another filter paper on top of the grounds and put it into the stand. Put the proportional ice cubes and water into the water container and stir to combine. Adjust the adjustment valve so the water first quickly moistens all the coffee grounds, similar to a blooming process. After everything is fully moistened, adjust the valve again so the drip rate is controlled at 5-7 drips per 10 seconds, then wait for the coffee liquid to finish dripping. Once dripping is complete, pour it into a sealed bottle, put it in the refrigerator to ferment for 2 days, and it is ready to drink.

　　Flavor: floral, berry fruit aroma, low acidity, delicate and light mouthfeel, clean with no off-flavors, smooth

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

Front Street Coffee single-origin coffee beans and espresso blend coffee beans are now available for purchase on Tmall's "Front Street Flagship Store," with 60 kinds of coffee beans from around the world, freshly roasted and shipped within 24H.

Tmall link: https://qianjieshipin.tmall.com

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