The Taste Difference Between Cold Brew and Iced Drip Coffee: Which is Better?

The Rise of Cold Brew and Drip Coffee

In recent years, cold brew coffee and ice drip coffee have gained tremendous popularity among coffee consumers! Especially during summer, these cold brew/ice drip coffees often become the "king of kings" among iced coffees in cafés. This is due to their unique texture that cannot be replicated by iced pour-over or iced Americano, and because of their lengthy preparation time, many are offered in limited daily quantities. Although the production time is long, making these two types of coffee is not difficult～In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will teach everyone how to make ice drip/cold brew coffee at home.

Different Extraction Principles

Although both are iced coffees, they have completely different extraction principles compared to pour-over coffee/Americano. Pour-over coffee/Americano typically uses high-temperature hot water to quickly extract soluble substances from coffee grounds. This extraction method has an unfriendly drawback – it tends to extract the bitter flavors of coffee. If water temperature, pouring rate, or grinding degree are not properly controlled, and extraction time is too long, the coffee will taste less balanced and clean.

Cold extraction can effectively solve this problem because substances that cause coffee bitterness are difficult to release at low temperatures, allowing only the sweet and sour substances in coffee to be extracted. The drawback is that without heat to drive the movement of water molecules, coffee extraction often requires 6-12 hours. So waiting for a cup is quite testing.

Cold Brew vs. Ice Drip Coffee

However, delicious food often requires time for "cooking," so the wait is worth it! Why are cold brew coffee and ice drip coffee classified as two types when both use cold extraction? The reason is that the former extracts coffee flavors through immersion, requiring only clean, sealable containers; the latter extracts coffee flavors through dripping, requiring a special ice drip coffee pot for preparation.

Ice drip coffee uses ice-water mixture below 5°C. As ice cubes naturally melt, the valve controls the speed at which ice water drips into the coffee grounds. Ice water slowly dissolves coffee flavors as it drips through the coffee grounds, extracting liquid drop by drop. The complete extraction process takes about 6-8 hours. For better flavor, it then needs 8-12 hours of refrigeration fermentation time.

Cold brew coffee follows the same principle as cold brew tea. The extraction process involves grinding coffee beans, adding cold water, and steeping in a low-temperature environment for at least 12 hours. Before drinking, simply filter out the coffee grounds. Because it's immersion extraction, no additional refrigeration fermentation is needed after filtering.

Both cold-extracted coffees have their own unique characteristics. Ice drip coffee offers richer flavors with more delicate layers, while cold brew coffee has a fuller body. Both have their own appealing qualities. Therefore, for those who don't want too much hassle at home, you can try cold brew coffee; if conditions allow, you can purchase an ice drip pot to make ice drip coffee.

How to Make Cold Brew Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a 1:13 coffee-to-water ratio for making cold brew coffee. Grind the coffee to the consistency of coarse sugar, then add ice water at a ratio of 1g coffee to 13g water, and stir to ensure all coffee grounds are immersed in water. Next, seal the container and place it in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. After that, filter out the coffee grounds and it's ready to drink.

How to Make Ice Drip Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee also recommends using a 1:13 ratio, but this time it's coffee-to-liquid ratio, meaning 1g of coffee should yield 10g of coffee liquid. After grinding the coffee to the consistency of coarse sugar, place it in the coffee grounds container of the ice drip pot, then level the surface of the coffee layer and place an appropriately sized circular filter paper to ensure water drops distribute evenly across the coffee grounds surface rather than gathering in the center.

Next, prepare an ice-water mixture in the upper pot at a 1:1 ratio. If you can adjust the dripping speed, set it to 7 drops every 10 seconds. After dripping the appropriate proportion of coffee liquid, transfer it to a clean, oil-free, sealable container for 8-12 hours of refrigeration fermentation before tasting.

Why Does Ice Drip Coffee Need Refrigeration Fermentation?

Actually, rather than calling this step fermentation, it's better to describe it as an oxidation process. Just like freshly roasted coffee beans, which contain about 2% carbon dioxide by weight. This large amount of carbon dioxide is released according to storage environment, equipment, or methods, causing the pressure in the packaging to exceed atmospheric pressure. This pressure helps the fusion of aromatic substances and oils, putting all aromatic substances inside the coffee beans in a state that can be easily extracted.

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