Special Cold Brew Coffee Method - Cold Brew Coffee Features a Full-bodied, Smooth Taste Without Bitterness, With a Rounded Flavor

There are many coffee brewing methods, with cold drip being one of them. Cold drip coffee is also a type of iced coffee, and during summer, iced coffee becomes the favorite among coffee enthusiasts.

Cold drip coffee, naturally, is not brewed with hot water but with low-temperature water, which is quite different from our usual pour-over coffee. It's relatively simpler but takes much longer time. If you want to have a cup of cold drip coffee at a café, you might need some luck!

In 1699, during the Dutch colonial period in Indonesia, when the Dutch cultivated a lot of coffee on Java island, Dutch immigrants there invented the method of making cold drip coffee. At that time, they believed that coffee caused stomach discomfort due to its acidity, and making coffee with ice water reduced the acidity, making it more preferable to drink this way.

What is Cold Drip Coffee?

Cold drip coffee, also known as Dutch Coffee, distilled coffee, or water-drop coffee, is called Dutch-style drip coffee. Cold drip coffee relies on the natural compatibility between coffee and water, primarily using condensed natural water pressure, taking about 8 hours, extracting drop by drop. The characteristic of cold drip coffee is that it uses ice water to extract coffee, requiring longer time at low temperatures to dissolve the aromatic substances in the coffee. Therefore, using something like a dropper from a chemistry experiment, ice water drips drop by drop, slowly soaking through the coffee grounds. Traditional cold drip coffee makers commonly allow the speed of water drops to be controlled. Cold drip coffee is also known as water-drop coffee and ice-brewed coffee, and is a method of making coffee beverages. Common iced coffee drippers consist of 3-4 layers of glass containers mounted on a wooden stand.

The Extraction Principle of Cold Drip Coffee

Pour-over coffee uses specified high-temperature water, time, and coffee-to-water ratio for brewing. It's simple and quick. 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 pyrrolic acid, producing sour, sweet, and bitter tastes - which is what FrontStreet Coffee often refers to as the process of releasing coffee flavors. The disadvantage of high-temperature extraction is that it easily leads to complete release of coffee flavors, followed by the release of woody fiber flavors from coffee beans, which are what we commonly call unpleasant tastes like off-flavors and woody flavors.

Cold drip coffee, on the other hand, is a coffee that is developed over time. We know that choosing different water temperatures produces different coffee flavors, and at low temperatures, the astringent substances in coffee are less easily extracted. Using ice water for long extraction, and after extraction, placing it in the refrigerator for fermentation, the slightly fermented cold drip coffee carries a light fermentation aroma, and the mouthfeel also tends to be thicker. Because it's not extracted through high temperatures, relatively fewer impurities from the coffee are extracted. Due to the longer production time, the finished cold drip coffee cannot be consumed immediately. Although the flavor molecules extracted at low temperatures are completely released, they haven't been properly released. Therefore, when cold drip coffee extraction is complete, it should be placed in a sealed bottle and stored in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours, allowing carbon dioxide pressure to build up in the bottle to release the flavor molecules. This is the best time to taste it.

The caffeine content in cold drip coffee is slightly lower. For those friends who are sensitive to caffeine, FrontStreet Coffee thinks you can choose cold drip coffee - it's less harsh on the stomach, has lower caffeine, and offers rich layers of coffee flavor!

Making Cold Drip Coffee

Making cold drip coffee is similar to making siphon coffee - you must have specialized equipment - a cold drip pot.

Steps to Make Cold Drip Coffee:

1. A standard cold drip coffee pot consists of three basic units: an upper pot, a middle pot, and a lower pot. The upper pot holds ice water mixture, and the middle pot is the coffee grounds cup. First, close the water control valve at the bottom of the upper pot, and fill it with pure cold water or ice water mixture.

2. Place the clean lower pot under the middle pot to catch the extracted coffee liquid.

3. Place a filter paper flat at the bottom of the coffee grounds cup, put an appropriate amount of ground coffee in it, tap gently to level the coffee grounds, and then place another filter paper flat on top.

4. Open the water control valve at the bottom of the upper pot and adjust the dripping speed. Generally, we control the speed at 40-50 drops per minute. To obtain 1000 ml of cold drip coffee, it takes 5 to 8 hours.

5. When the water in the upper pot is used up, we can remove the lower pot.

6. If you want the cold drip coffee to present its best flavor, you can bottle the extracted cold drip coffee and store it in the refrigerator. The coffee flavor is at its best from day 3 to day 7, showing complex and elegant flavors like wine, which is why it earned the reputation of "cold drip wine coffee." Its longest drinking period can be close to half a month.

Of course, this doesn't mean it can be kept indefinitely. FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend keeping cold drip coffee for a week, as there are bacteria in the air or bottle, making it difficult to guarantee the state of coffee stored for too long. The recommended drinking period for cold drip coffee is within 72 hours. After 72 hours, don't feel it's wasteful to throw away coffee that has been stored for so long, as drinking it might not be good for your health.

Cold Drip Coffee Recipes from FrontStreet Coffee

Here are some cold drip coffee recipes that FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) often makes:

1. Deep Berry Type: 60g of Costa Rica Mozart. Mozart coffee beans use anaerobic honey processing and have a very special raisin aroma. When used for cold drip coffee, it shows very obvious blueberry, black grape, and wine fermentation flavors, with a refreshing mouthfeel and lingering aroma.

2. Clean and Refreshing Type: 60g of Kenya Assalia. Assalia's acidity is very lively, and overall it's like a glass of juice. When used for cold drip coffee, it carries the fresh aroma of cherry tomatoes and grapefruit, with a refreshing and light acidity, very suitable for summer drinking.

3. Sweet and Delicious Type: 60g of Indonesia Golden Mandheling. Few shops use dark roast coffee for cold drip coffee. If you haven't tried it, you might think that cold drip made with dark roast beans would be bitter, but this is not the case. Using FrontStreet Coffee's cold drip making method and storing it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before adding ice cubes, Golden Mandheling cold drip coffee performs as sweet, with a hint of chocolate bitterness, overall very transparent, and a rich fermentation aroma that feels comfortable.

Adjust the dripping speed, using cold water to slowly drip through, extracting at a low temperature of 5°C for 8 hours, allowing the original coffee flavor to naturally reproduce, which is truly praiseworthy.

Characteristics of Cold Drip Coffee

Advantages of water-drop coffee: Not sour or astringent, doesn't harm the stomach, can be kept for up to a week (especially best on the third day), and has lower caffeine. Because coffee grounds are 100% soaked at low temperatures, the extracted coffee tastes fragrant, smooth, and rich, which is praiseworthy; the flavors it presents are outstanding. Especially in summer or when having a cup first thing in the morning, it instantly refreshes you.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions:

Whether it's pour-over, cold drip, or espresso, as long as it's a flavor you like, it's good coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that any brewing method requires fresh coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans has a great relationship with coffee flavor, so the coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all roasted within 5 days. The principle of FrontStreet Coffee's roasting is "freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when they receive it. The coffee bean resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's at its best flavor.

For friends who need ground coffee, FrontStreet Coffee would like to kindly remind you: if coffee beans are ground in advance, there's no need for a resting period, because during transportation, the pressure of carbon dioxide inside the package can also make the coffee flavor mellow, so you can brew a cup right away when you receive the ground coffee. However, ground coffee needs to be brewed promptly, because coffee grounds oxidize quickly after exposure to air, meaning the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly, and the coffee flavor won't be as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding them fresh for each brew, so you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

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