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How to Drink Cold Drip Coffee, What Coffee Beans to Use? The Taste Characteristics of Cold Drip Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style) Although the extraction speed is slow at low temperatures, in terms of flavor, high temperatures are more likely to cause tannic acid in coffee to decompose into pyrogallic acid, producing acidity and bitterness. Cold-extracted coffee is comparatively more mellow and popular in flavor. Common cold brew coffee, iced American coffee

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The Charm of Cold Brew Coffee

Although extraction is slow at low temperatures, in terms of flavor, because high temperatures more easily cause the tannic acid in coffee to decompose into pyrogallic acid, creating acidity and bitterness, cold-extracted coffee is comparatively more mellow and popular. Common cold brew coffee, iced Americano, and iced drip coffee, while all cold products, have completely different processes and flavors.

Cold Brew Coffee

The concept of cold brew coffee is similar to cold-steeped tea. The extraction process involves first grinding coffee beans, adding cold water, and steeping them in a low-temperature environment for at least about 12 hours. Before drinking, simply filter out the coffee grounds.

This cold-steeping method amplifies the various flavors and aromas of coffee while reducing acidity, making the flavor cleaner and purer. Cold brew coffee has the characteristic that the colder you drink it, the better the flavor. It's perfect without dilution or adding ice cubes. In America, it's more popular to add equal parts coconut water, which brings out a purer coffee sweetness and aroma. Each establishment has its own secret recipe with unique flavors.

Iced Drip Coffee

Iced drip coffee uses an ice-water mixture below 5°C, allowing ice cubes to naturally melt and, through valve control, drip into coffee grounds at a controlled speed. The ice water slowly dissolves the coffee's flavor from the grounds, dripping out drop by drop to extract the liquid. The complete extraction time takes about 2-8 hours. To obtain better flavor, it then needs 12-48 hours of refrigerated fermentation time. Each extraction yields very little (usually 30-60 ml), and when no ice is added, the concentration is extremely high. If the coffee liquid is too concentrated, add ice cubes to dilute according to personal taste. Because the process is slow, iced drip coffee is relatively expensive, but the taste is exceptional.

Factors Affecting Cold Extraction

The flavor of coffee extracted at low temperatures changes according to factors such as coffee roast degree, water amount, water temperature, dripping speed, and coffee grinding coarseness. The perfect ratio requires time and experience to adjust. Cold-extracted coffee has a mellow taste, lower acidity, and mellow bitterness. After fermentation, it gains more complexity, but at the same time, it's more likely to lose special flavors that are only released at high temperatures. Therefore, the selection of bean varieties and roast degree also requires special consideration.

Cold Steeping Methods

There are many methods for making cold brew coffee, but they are mainly divided into two major categories - cold brew and iced drip coffee. To make cold brew coffee, you need a kettle with a filter. Add ground coffee beans (coarse grind) and water, and let it steep for 12-24 hours. Brewing iced drip coffee requires a coffee tower device, allowing coffee to filter through ice cubes, dripping down drop by drop.

The difference between these two methods is that the coffee flavors are completely different. Coffee made by the cold brew method has a deep chocolate color and is suitable for pairing with milk, while iced drip coffee can produce many different flavors depending on the type of coffee beans you use.

Cold-extracted coffee has a mellow taste, lower acidity, and mellow bitterness. After fermentation, it gains more complexity, as intoxicating as aged wine.

The Experience of Cold Coffee

Delicious iced coffee, while its aroma when smelled may not be as uplifting as hot coffee, once in the mouth, various good tastes, aromas, and textures come one after another, enriching our palate and satisfying our hearts. But this isn't just iced coffee with ice cubes added, but cold brew coffee slowly extracted with cold water or ice water, subverting the general imagination of coffee, allowing us to enjoy the mellow flavor like tasting wine and the pleasure of coolness.