What is the taste profile of cold drip coffee? Production method, process, time, water-to-coffee ratio, and parameters

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What is Cold Drip Coffee? Why is Cold Drip Coffee So Expensive?!

With the popularization of specialty coffee culture, more and more people have fallen in love with the pure flavor and taste of coffee. Coffee shops also offer various extraction methods for black coffee, such as Americano, pour-over coffee, cold brew coffee, cold drip coffee, etc., with different prices. Especially cold drip coffee, which is always much more expensive than other iced coffees! Is this because it has a nice name? Of course not, it's more because its production process is lengthy and requires constant attention.

Unlike other iced coffees, cold drip coffee is extracted using ice water in a drip method. Since it requires dripping, making cold drip coffee requires a special cold drip coffee maker. Durable cold drip coffee makers are usually quite expensive. Compared to cold brew coffee, which only needs a clean, sealed container, cold drip coffee already adds an additional cost in terms of equipment. Besides equipment, the higher price is mainly due to the long production time. Depending on the maker and quantity, production time typically ranges from 4-12 hours, and each batch produces a limited amount, but it's truly delicious!!!

What Makes Cold Drip Coffee Special?

The most appealing aspect of cold drip coffee is that because it uses low-temperature extraction, the astringent substances in coffee are not easily dissolved. Additionally, it uses a drip method, and the coffee liquid is filtered through filter nets/filter paper layers before dripping out. Therefore, regardless of the coffee beans used, cold drip coffee will exhibit a rich yet non-astringent, mellow yet non-bitter round mouthfeel, making it very suitable for those who enjoy high body coffee but worry about bitterness and astringency.

Structure of Cold Drip Coffee Makers

Currently, cold drip coffee makers on the market are divided into two types: one is an ice container + coffee grounds container + coffee pot, and the other is an ice container + coffee grounds container + coiled tube + coffee pot. FrontStreet Coffee uses the latter for daily cold drip coffee production, while the former is generally suitable for home use. The difference between having and not having a coiled tube is that the coiled tube can further precipitate tiny particles (powdery texture) from the extracted coffee liquid, resulting in a cleaner final coffee taste.

The ice container holds the ice-water mixture but has a small hole to control the dripping speed. Some ice containers have adjustable valves, allowing users to adjust the dripping speed according to their needs. FrontStreet Coffee suggests that when making cold drip coffee daily, the dripping speed should be approximately 7-8 drops per 10 seconds. During the production process, you must constantly watch for whether the dripping gets blocked by small impurities in the water, and also pay attention to the ice melting situation and add ice promptly to ensure the dripping water remains ice-cold.

The coffee grounds container holds the ground coffee powder and comes in two types. One type requires placing a circular filter paper at the bottom, while the other has built-in filter nets. For those that need filter paper, you first need to place a filter paper, wet it with water, use a tool to fit the paper to the filter cup, then place another dry circular filter paper to increase support and prevent the first filter paper from being pressed up and losing its filtering effect when coffee powder is poured in.

Regardless of the type, after pouring in the coffee powder, you need to make the powder layer surface as even as possible (not compacted), then place a circular filter paper on the surface to distribute water flow and avoid uneven extraction of powder layer particles. For cold drip coffee powder grinding, FrontStreet Coffee recommends medium-fine grinding (granulated sugar size/Chinese No. 20 standard sieve 75% pass rate) for light-medium roast coffee beans, and medium grinding (white sugar size/Chinese No. 20 standard sieve 70% pass rate) for medium-dark roast coffee beans.

The coffee pot is where the extracted coffee liquid is stored. The coffee pot part should be kept as clean and oil-free as possible, and the pot should be at room temperature when in use.

FrontStreet Coffee's Cold Drip Coffee Making Guide

1. FrontStreet Coffee's cold drip coffee uses a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:10, meaning 60 grams of coffee powder extracts 600 milliliters of coffee liquid.

2. Place a circular filter paper at the bottom of the powder cup, wet it with water to fit the cup walls, add the ground 60g coffee powder (raw sugar size), then shake to level the coffee surface. You can also use the weight of the tamper itself to lightly press the powder layer to make the surface even.

3. Remember to place a piece of filter paper on the powder surface. Because the filter paper's tension allows water to be distributed evenly, without filter paper, long-term water dripping would create a pit in the powder bed.

4. Use ice water for "pre-soaking," which is actually similar to the blooming process in pour-over coffee. This can improve extraction efficiency and consistency of the final product. If you directly drip with ice, it might cause uneven wetting of the powder layer, with some coffee powder being over-extracted while other parts don't participate in the extraction at all.

5. Place a 1:1 ice-water mixture in the water container, adjust the valve to approximately 7-8 drops per 10 seconds.

6. After completion, pour the coffee liquid into a sealed glass bottle and refrigerate overnight to ferment, allowing the coffee flavors to meld together, resulting in better taste and easier drinking.

Cold Drip Coffee Bean Recommendations

Because low-temperature extraction makes it difficult to extract mellow substances, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using coffee beans with sweet and sour notes. For example, lightly roasted coffee beans from Africa and Central and South America: Ethiopia Guji coffee beans (berry juice notes) sold by FrontStreet Coffee, Panama Finca Deborah Geisha Natural Blend (floral tea notes), and Costa Rica Mozart coffee beans (preserved fruit notes) are all very suitable for cold drip coffee production.

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

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473