What makes cold brew specialty coffee so smooth?

Cold drip coffee is made by slowly dripping ice water through ground coffee, giving a rich, smooth, full-bodied cup that is neither sour nor harsh on the stomach. Dark-roasted beans such as Mandheling, Huilan or Cerrado produce low acidity, strong aroma and a pronounced sweet aftertaste that works well poured over ice.

Light roasts also work for cold brew. Flower Queen, Strawberry Candy and Little Tomato drip into layered, floral and fruit-forward cups without bitterness, and Flower Queen even shows a black tea sweetness. A standard recipe uses 60g of coffee, 300g water and 300g ice, dripped at about 7 drops per 10 seconds.

Cold drip coffee is made by saturating ground coffee with ice water and allowing it to slowly drip through by adjusting the drip rate. The resulting brew has a rich, smooth, and full-bodied flavor, with variations depending on the coffee beans used.

The advantages of cold drip coffee are that it is neither sour nor harsh on the stomach. This is because the coffee beans selected for this method can be dark-roasted Front Street Mandheling (caramel, spices), Front Street Huilan (dark chocolate, maple syrup), or Front Street Cerrado (nuts, cocoa). Cold drip made from these coffees has low acidity, intense aroma, full body, and a pronounced sweet aftertaste, making it ideal for drinking with ice cubes;

You can also use light-roasted Front Street Flower Queen, Front Street Strawberry Candy, or Front Street Little Tomato. Cold drip made from these is not bitter at all, but rather layered and complex. When enjoyed with ice cubes, it offers delicate floral notes and fruity sweet-tartness. Front Street Flower Queen cold drip even has a black tea-like sweetness.

Standard Method for Making Cold Drip Coffee

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

1. Grind 60g of Front Street Flower Queen coffee beans to a fine sugar-like consistency, corresponding to an 80% passing rate through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve.

2. Place a circular filter paper at the bottom of the powder cup, wet it with water so it adheres to the cup walls, add the 60g of ground coffee, then shake to level the coffee surface. You can also use the weight of a tamper to lightly press the coffee layer, making the surface even.

3. Place a piece of filter paper on top of the coffee grounds. The tension of the filter paper allows water to distribute evenly across the surface of the coffee bed for extraction. Without filter paper, prolonged dripping would create a pit in the coffee bed.
   

4. Use ice water to moisten the entire coffee bed. This step is like the blooming process in pour-over, improving extraction efficiency and consistency of the final product.

5. Add a 1:1 mixture of ice and water to the dripping bottle, and adjust the drip rate. Front Street recommends a drip rate of 7 drops per 10 seconds.

5. After making it, pour the coffee into a sealed, clean, water-free and oil-free bottle and place it in the refrigerator to oxidize, allowing the flavor molecules of the cold drip coffee to be released before tasting.

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