Does Cold Brew Coffee Have Less Caffeine? How to Drink Cold Brew Coffee? Cold Brew Coffee Making Methods

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Coffee has become an indispensable part of everyone's work and life, especially in today's fast-paced, high-pressure environment, where we need a cup of coffee to wake up even more in the morning. However, this isn't ideal for friends who are sensitive to caffeine, as after drinking coffee, you might spend the entire night counting stars. Of course, there are also decaffeinated coffees available on the market now, but FrontStreet Coffee thinks that ice drip coffee might be a great choice!

Ice drip coffee, as the name suggests, is not hot. Unlike pour-over coffee that uses hot water for brewing, ice drip coffee is brewed with cold water or room temperature water. FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned to everyone that coffee brewed at different water temperatures will have different flavors. For pour-over coffee, FrontStreet Coffee also suggests that tasting at different temperatures will provide different experiences!

What Exactly is Ice Drip Coffee?

Ice drip coffee originated in Europe. Since the coffee distiller was invented by the Dutch, some call it Dutch Coffee, distilled coffee, or water drip coffee. Ice drip coffee leverages the compatibility between coffee itself and water, mainly relying on condensed natural permeation water pressure. The production time is very lengthy. Generally, ice drip coffee is made through an ice drip pot, which is a coffee device divided into upper pot (ice water), middle pot (coffee grounds), and lower pot (coffee liquid). Ice water from the upper pot drips drop by drop into the coffee grounds in the middle pot, slowly extracting coffee liquid that flows into the lower pot. The general production time is 6-8 hours.

Extracted drop by drop, it's a coffee that's brewed with time. The taste of coffee brewed with different water temperatures will vary, and at low temperatures, the astringent substances in coffee are less likely to be dissolved. Long-term extraction with ice water, after extraction is complete, it's placed in the refrigerator for fermentation. Slightly fermented ice drip coffee has a faint fermented aroma, and the texture tends to become richer.

How to Enjoy Ice Drip Coffee

Pour-over coffee can be consumed immediately after brewing, but can ice drip coffee be consumed immediately? FrontStreet Coffee doesn't recommend drinking it right away. Because ice drip coffee hasn't undergone a heating process, and with long extraction times, many flavor molecules are extracted but not well released. Therefore, when ice drip coffee extraction is complete, put it in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, allowing carbon dioxide pressure to build up inside the bottle to release flavor molecules. This is also why the longer ice drip coffee stays in the refrigerator, the richer it tastes when consumed.

But you can't leave it indefinitely either - there's a specific time frame for consumption. FrontStreet Coffee doesn't advocate keeping ice drip for a week, as it's difficult to guarantee the state of coffee after extended storage due to bacteria in the air or bottles. The recommended consumption period for ice drip is within 5 days. Ice drip that's been more than 5 days shouldn't be consumed just to avoid waste - coffee that old provides no benefits when drunk.

Does Ice Drip Coffee Have High Caffeine Content?

Many people think that because ice drip coffee is extracted with cold water, the caffeine content will be low; others say that since ice drip coffee sits for so long, the caffeine content can't be low either. FrontStreet Coffee believes: both arguments can be correct. Ice drip coffee uses cold water to extract coffee because the lower the water temperature, the less likely caffeine is to dissolve (caffeine dissolves at minimum temperatures above 80°C Celsius). However, the small amount of caffeine extracted by cold water accumulates over long extraction times and shouldn't be underestimated.

Of course, when it comes to caffeine content, FrontStreet Coffee thinks it actually has a lot to do with the coffee beans themselves, such as whether it's Robusta or Arabica - the caffeine content is different. Additionally, different coffee beans used by cafes, water drip intervals, and total extraction times result in vastly different caffeine content. Therefore, for people sensitive to caffeine, instead of drinking ice drip coffee, it's better to drink decaffeinated coffee. FrontStreet Coffee has Colombian Swiss water processed decaffeinated coffee available.

FrontStreet Coffee's Ice Drip Coffee Production Process:

1. FrontStreet Coffee's ice drip uses a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:10, meaning 60 grams of coffee grounds to extract 600 milliliters of coffee liquid.

2. Place a circular filter paper at the bottom of the grounds cup, wet it with water to adhere to the cup wall, add 60g of ground coffee (coarse sugar size), then level the coffee surface. You can also use the tamper's own weight to lightly press the grounds layer to make the surface even.

3. Remember to place a filter paper on top of the grounds. The tension of the filter paper allows water to distribute evenly. Without filter paper, long-term water dripping would create a hole in the grounds bed.

4. Use ice water for "pre-soaking" - this is actually similar to the blooming process in pour-over coffee, which can improve extraction efficiency and final consistency. If you start dripping ice directly, it might cause uneven moistening of the grounds layer, with some coffee grounds being over-extracted while other parts don't participate in extraction at all.

5. Place a 1:1 ice-water mixture in the water container, adjusting the regulator valve to approximately 7 drops per 10 seconds.

6. After production is complete, pour the coffee liquid into a sealed glass bottle and place it in the refrigerator to ferment overnight, allowing the coffee flavors to meld together for better taste and easier consumption.

Tasting FrontStreet Coffee's Ice Drip Blend:

20 grams of FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Lychee Lan + 40 grams of FrontStreet Coffee Gesha Village Red Label

The barrel-processed Lychee Lan combined with natural-processed Gesha Village Red Label creates a faint brandy aroma, plum-like acidity paired with maple sweetness. The brandy barrel-processed Lychee Lan has rich brandy aroma, chocolate aftertaste, and honey-like finish.

FrontStreet Coffee's natural-processed Gesha Village Red Label offers plum and citrus fruit acidity, carrying maple sweetness and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel.

When made into ice drip, you'll experience a faint brandy aroma, with rich fruit acidity leading to honey-like sweetness and creamy smoothness.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations:

No matter what coffee you brew, fresh coffee beans are essential. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans is a crucial part of brewing. All coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is fine too. But FrontStreet Coffee must remind you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for further resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide buildup in the packaging can also help the coffee flavors become rounded. So you can brew a cup immediately upon receiving the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because coffee grounds oxidize quickly when exposed to air, meaning the coffee flavors will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee won't taste as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better appreciate the coffee's flavors.

There are many ways to brew coffee. Nowadays, people's love for coffee is no longer limited to tasting it in coffee shops - more people are enjoying the pleasure of brewing coffee at home. FrontStreet Coffee has over fifty different single-origin coffee beans from various regions, each with different flavors, offering everyone different sensory experiences!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473