About Cold Drip Coffee Ratios, Time, and Brewing Methods: Which Coffee Beans Are Best for Cold Drip and Cold Brew?

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During the scorching summer days, iced coffee serves as one of the refreshing beverages to beat the heat. When you walk into a coffee shop, you might wonder why cold drip coffee commands a significantly higher price than regular iced coffee. Cold drip coffee is not just iced coffee with a more appealing name—its time-consuming extraction process and exceptional sweet, mellow flavor profile are what make it so valuable.

What is Cold Drip Coffee?

Cold drip coffee is a coffee extraction method that uses ice water for drip filtration. Different water temperatures produce different tasting coffees. At low temperatures, the astringent compounds in coffee are less likely to dissolve, resulting in a rich yet non-astringent, mellow yet non-bitter rounded mouthfeel, making it the preferred choice for brewing iced coffee.

The Origin and Principles of Cold Drip Coffee

First, we need to clarify the differences between three terms:

Cold drip coffee;
Cold brew coffee;
Dutch Coffee.

Simply put, Dutch coffee is a general term, and both cold drip coffee and cold brew coffee belong to the Dutch coffee brewing method, both originating from Dutch coffee. The definition of Dutch coffee is: using cold water to brew coffee grounds.

"In the 1600s, Dutch sailors transporting coffee from the then-colony of Indonesia back to Europe devised cold drip coffee because there was no hot water on the ships and they couldn't drink hot coffee. The coffee extracted with cold water had a smooth and pleasant taste with a delightful aroma, loved not only by the sailors but also by the general public."

The above is a commonly heard origin story of cold drip coffee in the market, but it was actually fabricated by Japanese coffee industry professionals to promote cold drip coffee towers, serving as one of their marketing tactics.

In fact, in Western countries, including the Netherlands, the primary method is not the Japanese drip-style (where ice water drops one by one for extraction), but rather the so-called "cold-brew" immersion method (soaking coffee grounds in cold water for an extended period). Moreover, the West doesn't have what's called "Dutch Coffee"—it was later coffee industry professionals who applied this term to marketing after hearing the Japanese-style cold drip coffee origin story.

Basic Principles of Cold Drip Coffee Towers

Cold drip coffee is a coffee that is consumed after cold storage and maturation, thus it's also known as "the mellow wine among coffees." The upper, middle, and lower containers sequentially hold ice-cold water at zero degrees, coffee grounds, and the dripped coffee liquid, belonging to a continuous multiple coffee extraction method.

Even cold drip coffee extracted under the same conditions will have significantly different flavors due to different maturation periods. During the maturation process of cold drip coffee, the molecules of coffee components become larger, making it smoother than when first extracted. Cold drip coffee extracted under the same conditions, when left to mature for one day, one week, or ten days respectively, will have different flavors and aromas depending on the maturation time, and individual preferences for maturation periods also vary.

The Optimal Tasting Period for Cold Drip Coffee

According to FrontStreet Coffee's daily experience in making and selling cold drip coffee, the best flavor of cold drip coffee is within 24-72 hours after completion and refrigeration. Generally, after exceeding 72 hours, although the coffee's mouthfeel may improve and become fuller, the aroma becomes progressively weaker. Therefore, we recommend consuming within 72 hours after extraction is complete.

Recommended Coffee Beans for Making Cold Drip

Cold drip is a coffee extracted at low temperatures. Low-temperature environments inhibit the release of heavy molecular substances. Some dark-roasted coffee beans that are rich and sweet when extracted with high-temperature pour-over become thin and bland when made into cold drip coffee. Therefore, the production of cold drip coffee is more suitable for using light-medium to medium roast coffee beans.

Coffee beans of these roast levels typically retain more small to medium molecular acidic and sweet substances. Extended low-temperature extraction allows these substances to be released more fully, resulting in coffee that is fresh and clean in flavor while also having a very full and rich mouthfeel.

FrontStreet Coffee stores typically use freshly roasted coffee beans to make cold drip coffee. Only freshly roasted coffee beans have richer flavors and aromas. All coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within five days of roasting.

For making cold drip coffee, we recommend using the light-roasted "FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Natural Guji" coffee beans, which exhibit饱满的混合莓果汁感、pleasant sweetness, slight wine-like fermentation notes, and tea-like aftertaste.

Alternatively, you can use the medium-roasted "FrontStreet Coffee Panama Geisha" coffee beans, which showcase the fragrance of white flowers, clean citrus acidity, caramel sweetness reminiscent of roasted sweet potatoes, and green tea-like aftertaste.

Steps to Make Cold Drip Coffee at Home

1) Place coffee grounds into the middle pot

Since cold drip coffee cannot extract the large amount of aromatic compounds from coffee grounds using high temperatures—especially the large molecular aromatic compounds prominent in medium-dark roasts that are difficult to dissolve in ice water—it's typically recommended to use light to medium roast coffee beans with rich floral and fruit aromas, noticeable acidity, or wine-like notes.

Therefore, the coffee grounds should be ground to a medium-fine consistency (75% passing through a China No. 20 standard sieve, similar to fine sugar size). After adding the coffee grounds, remember to place a circular filter disc on the surface to help distribute water flow.

2) Place ice cubes in the upper pot

Use an ice-water mixture below 5°C for drip filtration. Special reminder: before starting the drip, the coffee grounds should be pre-moistened completely to avoid channeling, which prevents water droplets from passing evenly through all coffee grounds.

3) Control the drip rate of water droplets

Controlling the drip rate is a crucial aspect in making cold drip coffee. If the water drips too quickly, extraction will be insufficient, resulting in weak coffee with no aroma. Conversely, if the flow rate is too slow, the coffee will ferment, producing sour or wine-like flavors. Based on experimental results, FrontStreet Coffee suggests adjusting the cold drip coffee tower's flow controller to the optimal rate: 7 drops every 10 seconds.

4) The extraction ratio for cold drip coffee

The water-to-coffee ratio for cold drip coffee is about 1:8~1:10. If using 100g of coffee grounds, the weight of ice cubes + water mixture in the upper pot should be approximately 800-1000g (recommended ice:water ratio = 1:1).

5) Wait for extraction

The biggest characteristic of cold drip coffee is the long waiting time. Depending on the amount of coffee grounds and ice cubes, you'll generally wait 3.5-12 hours!

6) Refrigerate and store

After the cold drip process is complete, the coffee liquid is typically placed in a clean, sealed glass jar with a tight lid and stored in the refrigerator for a period. This process enhances the coffee's aroma, sweet notes, and fermentation characteristics.

Important Notice :

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