Like all coffee lovers, I love all kinds of coffee, but I have a real soft spot for cold drip iced coffee. Why? Because it tastes amazing. If you haven’t tried this type of brewed coffee, you are missing out on a major chunk of a coffee experience. Let us tell you about what cold drip coffee is.
Cold drip is different from regular coffee as it is a percolation coffee brewing method, which means that the water travels through a bed of ground coffee rather than being buried in it, as is the case with ordinary drip coffee. Let’s talk about where this kind of cold-brewed coffee originated.
The History of Cold Drip Coffee
The cold drip style of iced coffee originated in Japan and has been used as a traditional method of cold brewing coffee for generations.
This technique of extraction is unusual in that the coffee grounds are never in touch with hot water, resulting in a coffee brewed with an entirely new chemical profile and highly distinct flavor characteristics.
Aside from the distinct flavor profiles, cold drip iced coffee is often less acidic than hot extracted equivalents, owing to the solubility of coffee constituents (caffeine, fatty acids, and oils) at lower temperatures. Let’s go ahead and make some cold drip iced coffee.
Preparing a Cold Drip Coffee
Now we’ll teach you how to prepare a cold drip coffee at home in case you plan to have your cold coffee at home. Here’s what you need to do.
Things You Need
- Cold Drip Tower
- Coffee filter
- Large mason jar
- Coffee beans/ Ground coffee
- Room temperature filtered water
Here are the steps to make the cold drip coffee!
1 Grinding The Coffee Grounds
While I advocate using a single origin bean for this procedure, you may certainly use a mix. If you’re using a single origin bean, you’ll need 55 grams of coffee; if you’re using a mix, you’ll need 45 grams.
The reason for this is that blended coffee has more than one type of bean in the mix, which means that each bean has a varied chemical composition, resulting in diverse flavors being extracted and a more rounded body.
If you use too much coffee with a mix in cold drip, the flavor will be washed off (more on this later).
After you’ve weighed your coffee, if you have a grinder at home, it’s probable you have it in whole bean form – we want a medium to coarse grind.
If you don’t have a grinder, simply ask your barista to grind the beans for you when you buy them, and be sure to inform them that you intend to use the ground coffee for cold extraction.
2 Adding Coffee To The Beaker
- To begin, ensure that the ceramic filter is at the bottom and flat.
- Fill the center beaker on top of the ceramic filter with coffee.
- Shake the beaker to ensure that the freshly ground coffee is nice and level.
- You must now pre-wet the ground coffee. It will be much easier if you have a filtered water jug with a spout.
- Start carefully pouring water into the beaker by placing your finger on the hole at the bottom. Begin in the center and work your way out in circles, attempting to get as much of the ground as possible.
3 Using The Filter Paper
- Hold the center beaker while doing the following step.
- After you’ve properly prewet the ground coffee bed, place a paper filter on top. This ensures that the water is distributed evenly as it falls down.
- To prewet your filter, run it under running water.
- Fold it in half, which can be difficult with one hand.
- Place it on top of the coffee in the beaker, with the center of the paper filters in the center.
- Allow one side to fall and settle before slowly lowering the other. Ideally, it should have settled, filling the whole diameter of the coffee; if not, gently tweak it with your finger until it does.
4 Begin The Brewing
It’s now time to fill the water beaker. To begin, ensure that the valve is in the ‘off’ position. Fill the water beaker on top with exactly 1 Litre of room temperature water.
It’s time to start the brewing! Open the valve a small bit at a time, aiming for 1 drip of water every 1.5-2 seconds. This may require some experimentation; try to get as near as possible – too slow or too fast will change the flavor character.
Once you accomplished this step, all that remains is to wait! Your coffee will be ready in around 4 hours.
The Final Step To Your Delicious Cold Drip Coffee
When you’re satisfied with the brew, pour yourself some in a mason jar and save the rest of the cold brew concentrate in the fridge for later.
Finally, the most important part: serve your strained coffee and enjoy!
There are several methods to enjoy your cold brew coffee; but, as a general guideline, it is always served cold over ice in a mason jar. Some people like to add brown sugar to taste.
Tip: First and foremost, sample some of the extract to check how it tastes. Depending on the bean you used and how strong you prefer your coffee, you may need to dilute the extract somewhat.
If you do need to dilute it, we recommend using a 1:2 coffee: water ratio and adding slightly to taste to your iced coffee. Do you want to know why cold drip coffee is better?
Why Is Cold Drip Coffee Better Than Hot Brewed Coffee?
The cold water removes fewer fatty oils and acids from ground coffee, resulting in a less acidic and harsh flavor than hot coffee. This produces a brew with around one-third the amount of acid present in hot brewed coffee.
Another good news is that once you have the extract, you can pretty much add anything you want to your cold drip coffee. Simply add milk to make an iced latte! You may keep your cold drip coffee simple or experiment with other flavors.
You can also make a big batch and keep using it for an extended period of time. That is someone that you cannot do with regular coffee (unless you save coffee ice cubes)
Most coffee enthusiasts will say that yes cold drip coffee is the better coffee and I would have to agree with them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The next time you go to a coffee shop or wish to brew some coffee on your own then go for the cold drip coffee as your own cold brew. I promise you, you won’t regret it.
Not only will it taste less harsh but will also give you a taste of a less bitter coffee. I hope this blog helped you serve and enjoy a cold drip coffee.