The Origin and History of Cold Drip Coffee: How to Describe Its Flavor Profile and How to Drink It

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 FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

The Difference Between Cold Drip Coffee and Hot Brew Coffee

The difference between cold drip coffee and hot-brewed coffee lies in the extraction method. When using hot water to brew coffee—whether through pour-over, espresso, French press, AeroPress, or other methods—no matter how you adjust the parameters, the resulting coffee will inevitably have some degree of bitterness and astringency.

When we brew coffee grounds with high-temperature hot water or steam, it releases a chemical substance called "tannins," which imparts bitterness to the coffee. Sometimes we don't detect this in pour-over coffee because these substances are significantly diluted, making their presence less obvious. However, in pressurized brewing methods, this bitterness becomes relatively more pronounced.

Cold drip coffee, on the other hand, uses extremely low-temperature water to extract substances from the coffee grounds. Due to the absence of thermal molecular motion, the bitter compounds in the coffee grounds are not easily released. Consequently, the resulting coffee not only completely avoids the unpleasant bitterness but also brings out the inherent sweetness of the coffee itself.

The Historical Origins of Cold Drip Coffee

Cold drip coffee originated in Europe. Because the coffee distillation apparatus was invented by the Dutch, some people refer to it as "Dutch Coffee."

The original reason the Dutch began brewing coffee with cold water was their hope to reduce the acidity in coffee. They believed that the discomfort caused by drinking coffee was due to excessive acidic substances in the coffee, so brewing with cold water could avoid the coffee's sour and astringent taste (because acidic fats in coffee are less soluble in cold water).

Taste Description of Cold Drip Coffee

Without the interference of acidic and astringent substances, cold drip coffee naturally has a much cleaner and smoother mouthfeel. According to FrontStreet Coffee's daily cold drip preparations, using light to medium-light roasted coffee beans results in very rich expressions of both acidity and sweetness in the coffee. There's no bitterness or astringency—the overall experience is clean and refreshing, with a rich and full-bodied texture.

Recommended Coffee Beans for Making Cold Drip Coffee

As mentioned above, extracting coffee with low temperatures doesn't effectively extract the full-bodied, rich substances, so FrontStreet Coffee recommends using coffee beans with prominent acidic and aromatic notes to make cold brew/cold drip coffee. For example, light to medium-light roasted coffee beans or beans processed with special treatment methods are suitable for making cold extraction coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's daily sold cold drip coffee typically uses Honduras Snow Pear coffee beans (fermented wine aroma, vanilla cream, nutty flavors), Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gudingding coffee beans (citrus, honey, green tea flavors), Ethiopia Sidamo Flower Queen coffee beans (mixed berry juice, rose, black tea flavors), Panama Butterfly Geisha coffee beans (white floral notes, citrus, honey, green tea flavors), and Costa Rica Strawberry Candy coffee beans (strawberry hard candy, raisins, fermented aroma). The characteristics of these coffee beans are all rich in aroma with prominent sweet and sour notes, making them very suitable for making refreshing cold coffee in summer.

To make delicious cold drip coffee, you must use freshly roasted coffee beans! When stored properly, coffee beans within 5-35 days of the roast date will have rich aromas and flavors, resulting in cold drip coffee with more complexity and layers. Therefore, all coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within 5 days of roasting, ensuring that our customers receive 100% freshly roasted coffee beans.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473