Cold Drip Coffee Bean Recommendations: Yirgacheffe, Mandheling, Kenya Cold Drip Coffee Beans Flavor and Taste Characteristics

The flavor of pour-over coffee has always been delicious, of course, you need to master some details. Perhaps you should change your taste and try a cup of cold drip coffee! FrontStreet Coffee's cold drip coffee has always been very popular, especially in the hot summer, a cup of cold drip coffee is perfect! Of course, even in this cool weather, having a cup of cold drip is also very refreshing!

The Difference Between Hot and Cold Extraction

Cold drip coffee, as the name suggests, is coffee brewed with low-temperature water. The pour-over coffee we usually drink is brewed with high-temperature water, these are completely different methods! The advantage of high-temperature extraction is that it can quickly extract the flavor compounds from coffee, causing the tannic acid in coffee to quickly decompose into pyrogallic acid, producing sweet, sour, and bitter tastes—this is what FrontStreet Coffee often refers to as the process of releasing coffee flavors. The disadvantage of high-temperature extraction is that it can easily lead to complete release of coffee flavors, then begin to release the woody fiber taste of coffee beans, which is what we often call off-flavors, woody tastes, and other unpleasant flavors.

Low-temperature coffee extraction uses near-zero-degree ice water for extraction, reducing the volatilization of coffee flavors under low-temperature conditions, storing as much coffee aroma as possible in the coffee liquid. When it reaches your mouth, the coffee liquid temperature rises, and the aroma contained in the coffee liquid suddenly bursts out, allowing the coffee drinker to experience intense aroma at the back of the tongue. This sudden aromatic explosion can bring great happiness. The disadvantage is that the production time is longer, and the completed cold drip coffee cannot be drunk immediately—it must be placed in the refrigerator to rest for more than 8 hours, allowing the flavor molecules extracted at low temperatures to fully release.

Origin and History of Cold Drip Coffee

So how did cold drip coffee come about? According to FrontStreet Coffee's understanding, cold drip coffee was invented by the Dutch, so it's also called Dutch drip coffee. Unlike other brewing methods that require hot water, the characteristic of cold drip coffee is using ice water to extract coffee. Low-temperature extraction requires more time to dissolve the aromatic substances from the coffee. Therefore, using a dropper similar to chemical experiments, ice water drops one by one, slowly infiltrating and permeating through the coffee grounds. Traditional cold drip coffee makers commonly seen allow the dripping speed of water droplets to be controlled. Cold drip coffee is also known as water drip coffee, ice-brewed coffee, and is a method of making coffee beverages. Common cold coffee drippers consist of 3-4 layers of glass containers mounted on a wooden stand.

Extraction Principles of Cold Drip Coffee

Pour-over coffee is brewed using specified high-temperature water, time, and coffee-to-water ratio—it's simple and quick. Cold drip coffee, however, is a coffee that develops over time. We know that choosing different water temperatures for brewing will result in different coffee tastes, and under low temperatures, the astringent substances in coffee are less likely to be dissolved. Using ice water for long-term extraction, then placing it in the refrigerator for fermentation after extraction is complete, the slightly fermented cold drip coffee has a light fermented aroma, and the texture becomes more substantial. Since it's not extracted through high temperatures, fewer impurities are extracted from the coffee, and the caffeine content is slightly lower. For friends who are affected by caffeine, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing cold drip coffee—it's gentler on the stomach, has lower caffeine, and offers rich layers of coffee flavor!

Choosing Coffee Beans for Cold Drip Coffee

What kind of coffee beans are suitable for cold drip coffee? We know that pour-over coffee has relatively broad requirements for coffee bean selection—almost any coffee bean can be pour-over brewed, though different roasting levels require slightly different brewing methods. Espresso coffee has certain requirements for coffee beans—for example, it requires darker roasting than pour-over coffee beans, meaning the beans must be medium-dark roasted, otherwise the espresso flavor might be difficult to accept. Of course, if you like light roasts for espresso, that's another story.

What about cold drip coffee? What kind of coffee beans are more suitable? Normally, coffee beans used for pour-over can also be used for cold drip coffee. Actually, FrontStreet Coffee thinks that making cold drip coffee mainly depends on your personal taste preferences. However, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using single-origin beans for cold drip coffee, which effectively removes bitterness and tannic acid, resulting in rich, smooth texture that's not acidic or harsh on the stomach. Sometimes we also use two or more single-origin beans to make cold drip. Compared to cold brew coffee, cold drip coffee has more aroma and a more delicate and subtle taste.

Since cold drip coffee uses longer cold water permeation extraction, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing coffee beans with stronger flavors for cold drip, such as FrontStreet Coffee Kenya, FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, and other beans with strong personalities. The coffee extracted this way will have great character.

FrontStreet Coffee's Cold Drip Coffee Recipes

Below, FrontStreet Coffee shares their frequently made cold drip coffee recipes.

1. Dark Berry Type

60g of FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart. FrontStreet Coffee Mozart beans use anaerobic honey processing and have a very special raisin aroma. When used for cold drip coffee, they show very obvious blueberry, black grape, and wine-like fermented flavors, with a refreshing taste and lingering aroma.

2. Refreshing and Clean Type

60g of FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asalia. Asalia's acidity is very lively, overall like a glass of juice. When used for cold drip coffee, it has the fresh aroma of cherry tomatoes and grapefruit, with a refreshing, light acidity, perfect for summer drinking.

3. Sweet and Delicious Type

60g of FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Golden Mandheling. Few shops use dark-roasted coffee for cold drip coffee. If you haven't tried it, you might think cold drip made with dark-roasted beans would be bitter, but that's not the case. Using FrontStreet Coffee's cold drip method and placing it in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then serving with ice, FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling cold drip coffee performs with sweetness, a hint of chocolate bitterness, overall very clear, with a rich fermented aroma that feels comfortable.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blended Bean Cold Drip Coffee Recipe

To make the flavor of each cold drip coffee more prominent and balanced, baristas usually use two coffees blended together for cold drip. The goal is to make this coffee highlight certain flavor characteristics—one bean provides aroma, one bean provides flavor.

For example:

20g of FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Lychee Lan + 40g of FrontStreet Coffee Geisha Village Red Label

The barrel-treated FrontStreet Coffee Lychee Lan plus natural-processed FrontStreet Coffee Geisha Village Red Label brings light brandy aroma, plum-like acidity paired with maple sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Lychee Lan, brandy barrel-processed, has rich brandy aroma, chocolate aftertaste, and honey finish.

FrontStreet Coffee natural-processed Geisha Village Red Label, with plum, citrus fruit acidity, carrying maple sweetness and creamy smooth texture.

When made into cold drip, you'll feel light brandy aroma, rich fruit acidity leading honey sweetness and creamy smooth texture.

Cold Drip Coffee Making Tutorial

This time, FrontStreet Coffee will use Costa Rica Mirasu Estate's FrontStreet Coffee Geisha blend and Honduras whiskey barrel-fermented FrontStreet Coffee Sherry to demonstrate cold coffee making.

Step 1

Place a circular filter paper at the bottom of the ground coffee chamber, wet it with water to fit the cup wall, add 60g of ground coffee (FrontStreet Coffee uses Chinese standard #20 sieve, 75% pass rate, slightly coarser than pour-over grind), then shake the coffee surface level, or use the tamper's own weight to lightly press the powder layer to make the surface even.

Step 2

Place a piece of filter paper over the coffee grounds layer. Because the filter paper's tension allows water to be evenly distributed over the coffee grounds surface for extraction, without filter paper, long-term water drops would create a pit in the coffee bed.

Step 3

Use ice water for "pre-infusion," evenly moistening the entire coffee grounds layer with ice water. This step is similar to the bloom in pour-over coffee, improving extraction efficiency and finished product consistency.

Step 4

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

Step 5

After completion, pour the coffee liquid into a sealed glass bottle and place it in the refrigerator to oxidize overnight, allowing the coffee flavors to meld together for better taste and easier drinking.

The Importance of Post-Extraction Resting

Pour-over coffee or espresso can be tasted immediately after being made, but is cold drip coffee the same? The answer is: No.

Cold drip coffee must be refrigerated for more than 12 hours after dripping is complete. Why? FrontStreet Coffee believes this is an oxidation process. Just like freshly roasted coffee beans, about 2% of the weight is carbon dioxide, and these large amounts of carbon dioxide are released according to storage environment, equipment, or methods, making the pressure in the packaging higher than one atmosphere. The pressure helps aromatic substances and oils fuse, making all aromatic substances inside the coffee beans reach a state where they can be easily extracted.

The same applies to cold drip coffee. Due to long extraction times, many flavor molecules are extracted but not well released. Therefore, when cold drip coffee extraction is complete, place it in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator to rest for 12-24 hours, allowing carbon dioxide pressure to build inside the bottle and release flavor molecules. This is also why cold drip coffee becomes richer the longer it stays in the refrigerator. Of course, this doesn't mean you can keep it indefinitely. FrontStreet Coffee doesn't recommend keeping cold drip for a week—after all, there are bacteria in the air or bottles, making it difficult to guarantee the state of coffee after long storage. The drinking period for cold drip is recommended within 72 hours. After 72 hours, don't feel it's wasteful to discard it—coffee kept this long might not be good for your health.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473