Three Ways to Brew Panama Geisha Iced Coffee | Affordable Geisha Coffee with Exceptional Flavor

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We commonly encounter iced coffees such as cold drip, Japanese iced coffee, and cold brew coffee. They appear quite similar—what are the differences?

Cold Drip Coffee

Origin

The invention of cold drip coffee was initially intended to extend the shelf life of coffee by extracting it with cold water. Cold drip coffee refers to using room temperature or below-room temperature ice water to drip-filter coffee over a long period, typically 6-8 hours.

Structure

A cold drip coffee pot consists of three parts: an upper pot holding ice water, a filter assembly containing coffee grounds, and a lower pot collecting the extracted coffee liquid. Sometimes, the front of the lower pot is adorned with a decorative snake-shaped glass tube, allowing the brown liquid to wind its way down.

Extraction Principle

Unlike hot water extraction, cold water extraction yields significantly fewer bitter substances. By completely drip-filtering with cold water, the coffee grounds become 100% saturated and wetted. Through extended extraction time and reduced flow rate, the coffee grounds are fully saturated, extracting more small molecular substances such as floral aromas and fruit acidity. Larger molecular flavor compounds like smoky and roasted flavors are difficult to extract. The result is a smoother mouthfeel, richer aroma, and more prominent sweetness.

Choosing Single-Origin Beans

You can choose coffee beans with more intense flavors, such as Kenyan, Yirgacheffe, Sidamo Guji, and other beans with strong floral and fruit aromas. Coffee extracted this way will have distinctive character.

Brewing Process

Let's make a pot of cold drip using 30g of Sidamo Guji and 30g of Panama Mariposa coffee beans.

1. Coffee-to-Water Ratio

Coffee beans: water: ice cubes, ratio 1:5:5.

We typically prefer a coffee-to-water ratio between 1:10 or 1:12. This ensures the coffee isn't too strong or too weak—just right. If you plan to serve with ice cubes, you can adjust according to personal preference. You might want to make it slightly stronger so that after the ice melts, the coffee concentration remains pleasantly drinkable while enhancing the smooth texture and refreshing quality.

2. Grind Size

Cold drip doesn't have strict requirements for grind size. The coffee grounds for cold drip should be ground slightly finer than pour-over. Adjust the extraction time accordingly based on your grind coarseness.

3. Leveling the Coffee Grounds

First, gently tap the filter cylinder to maintain even coffee ground distribution, then use a flat tamper to gently level the surface. Remember to press gently rather than tamping firmly like espresso extraction. If tamped too firmly, it can cause water pooling in the grounds, preventing coffee liquid filtration. Additionally, our cold drip pot has a filter disc at the bottom, unlike pour-over drippers which have ventilation grooves. This affects gas expulsion when coffee grounds are saturated with water. Without tamping, water flowing down can easily float the grounds, causing uneven extraction throughout the coffee bed.

Place Circular Filter Paper

Remember to place a piece of filter paper on the surface, as the paper's tension helps distribute water evenly for better uniform extraction. Without filter paper, prolonged dripping can create a pit in the coffee bed. Besides being visually unappealing, water drops will flow directly through the pit, bypassing the surface grounds. Within the same extraction time, the upper coffee grounds will extract fewer substances.

4. Pre-infusion (Ice cubes + water, 1:1)

Similar to the blooming process in pour-over, this improves extraction efficiency and consistency. Direct cold dripping might cause uneven saturation, with some coffee grounds over-extracted while others don't participate in extraction at all.

5. Dripping Speed

Drip-filter with ice water at 7 drops per 10 seconds for about 6-8 hours. This long-term, low-temperature extraction method ensures 100% saturation of coffee grounds, effectively removing bitterness and tannic acid. The result is rich, smooth coffee that's not acidic or harsh on the stomach. We recommend refrigerating for 1-2 days of fermentation and aging, which allows different beans' flavors to fully blend, creating mellower, smoother coffee. Natural processed Guji combined with wine-processed Hartman offers rich fermented wine aromas with subtle fruit acidity, suitable for those who prefer stronger flavors.

If you prefer nut, cocoa, and dark chocolate flavors, you can blend Colombian Cauca, Tiger Mandheling, Brazil Queen, and other beans, requiring 3-4 days of refrigerated fermentation for more acceptable flavor. However, after 4 days, flavors will diminish and become very mild.

Japanese Hand-Pour Iced Coffee

Principle

This can be simply understood as iced pour-over, but with different details. By slightly increasing water temperature, using a finer grind than regular pour-over, and increasing the water ratio, you extract more front and middle-section flavors in a short time. Coffee liquid drips onto ice cubes for rapid cooling, achieving a chilled effect.

How to Make Iced Pour-Over

1. Coffee Beans

You can also choose light to medium-roasted beans with fresh flavors, such as washed Yirgacheffe, Sidamo Guji, Kenya Asali, Mariposa coffee beans, West Java, and other fruit-acid aromatic beans. Use 18g of grounds, 100g of ice cubes, and pre-wash and dry the filter paper and dripper. Iced pour-over doesn't require warming cups or servers.

2. Temperature and Grind Size

Water temperature 91-92°C, about 1-2 degrees higher than regular pour-over. Small Fuji at 3 notches, finer than regular pour-over grind.

Why Higher Temperature and Finer Grind?

Because iced pour-over uses a 1:8 coffee-to-water ratio with about 2 minutes extraction time, it extracts more floral and fruit acidity compounds from the front and middle sections while extracting fewer substances from the later sections. The extraction rate is lower than normal pour-over, so we compensate by using higher water temperature and finer grind.

3. Brewing Technique

Use 30g of water to bloom for 40 seconds, stirring with a small spoon during blooming to ensure grounds fully absorb water and expel gas smoothly. Use a small water stream for vertical pouring from appropriate height, slowly circling to 160g, then stop pouring.

Due to the finer grind, filtration will be slightly slower. With a 1:8 water ratio, there won't be over-extraction causing off-flavors. First, small molecular fruit acids and floral aromas from the front section are extracted, followed by bitterness from later sections. This extraction method focusing on front and middle sections maintains overall fresh and bright flavors. After all coffee liquid has filtered through, shake well. At this point, about half the ice has melted, and remaining ice can continue chilling and gradually diluting. As ice completely melts, flavors will weaken, so we recommend drinking before complete melting.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee is steeped overnight for up to 12 hours. Compared to regular hot-brewed coffee, it offers a perfect combination of stronger coffee flavor with significantly less bitterness. This coffee, which sounds quite labor-intensive, is actually much simpler to make than imagined. Simply put, steep coffee grounds in cold water overnight in the refrigerator, then filter to complete.

The principle is similar to cold drip coffee. Cold brew uses long-term cold water extraction, dissolving only small molecules like fruit acids and floral aromas. The result is aromatic, smooth coffee that presents the best original flavor of coffee.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee at Home

1. Grind Size and Water-to-Coffee Ratio

Regular pour-over grind works. Due to long-term low-temperature extraction, grind requirements aren't too strict. If the grind is coarser, you can appropriately extend the time. Use 20g of grounds with a typical water ratio of about 1:10.

2. Water Temperature

0-5°C ice water. If using water at 10-20°C for extraction, physically higher water temperature means more active molecular movement, extracting more substances and creating different flavors. Pour in coffee grounds, stir well, and refrigerate.

3. Extraction Time

Steep for 12 hours. If time is too short, incomplete extraction leads to insufficient flavor. Longer time introduces fermentation notes, though requires patience. After extraction, it can be refrigerated for 5 days. The fermentation process creates different layers of aromatic changes in the coffee flavor. We generally recommend refrigerating the completed cold brew for 1-3 days before drinking for optimal flavor.

4. Filtering

You can use drip filter bags hanging over the cup rim. Alternatively, use V60 filter paper—pour the completed cold brew into the filter bag to separate grounds. Wait for complete filtration, then enjoy!

Comparing the Three Methods

Cold brew coffee tastes brighter, fresher, and cleaner, while cold drip coffee has more obvious fermentation notes. Why is this? In cold brew coffee, ice water extracts substances while fermenting for 12 hours, but fermentation time is short. In cold drip coffee, aerobic fermentation begins during the 6-8 hour dripping process, plus 24-36 hours of refrigerated storage. The coffee liquid achieves full maturation, creating a wine-like aroma.

Have you mastered the methods for cold drip coffee, Japanese iced coffee, and cold brew coffee? Each type of iced coffee has its unique characteristics. You can DIY them at home—why not give them a try?

Mariposa Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Mariposa coffee beans offer full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, they offer exceptional value—a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 85 yuan. Calculating at 15g per cup, one package makes 15 cups, with each cup costing less than 5 yuan. Compared to café prices of tens of yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

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