Is Cold Brew Coffee Delicious? Which Coffee Beans Are Best for Ice Water Brewing - Cold Pour-Over Coffee Tutorial

In the past, we've shared Japanese-style iced pour-over coffee with everyone, which essentially involves cooling hot coffee with ice. However, in this article, FrontStreet Coffee will introduce a truly ice water-brewed pour-over coffee. Don't blink!

Can coffee be brewed with ice water?

The brewing time for a regular pour-over coffee is only 2-3 minutes, and only high-temperature hot water can extract the flavor compounds from coffee in such a short time. Using ice water for brewing seems impractical—just look at cold drip and cold brew methods, which require hours of time.

However, this time we're going to deeply analyze the principles of coffee extraction. Basically, the pour-over extraction model we understand is a brewing method derived from a series of brewing theories and practices. For example, someone might tell you that using this water temperature, this grind size, and this pouring technique can brew delicious coffee, and indeed, it can produce delicious coffee.

But if we carefully analyze the relationships within—such as the relationship between grind size and water temperature, the impact of various pouring techniques on coffee flavor—understanding these thoroughly will allow us to discover other delicious brewing methods (the path to success is not unique).

Returning to the question of brewing coffee with ice water, although the extraction efficiency of ice water is far inferior to hot water, friends who understand the relationships between pour-over extraction factors should know that water temperature isn't always better the higher it is, and finer isn't always better for grind size—everything has an optimal point.

FrontStreet Coffee's Ice Water Coffee Brewing Method and Analysis

First, our goal is to brew a refreshing and delicious pour-over coffee using ice water. For bean selection, FrontStreet Coffee chose Costa Rica Strawberry Candy coffee beans. These beans have performed excellently in previous iced pour-overs and cold brews, with light rose floral notes and strawberry candy sweetness that feel very comfortable and delicious.

Next is choosing the brewing filter. Because of the low extraction efficiency of ice water and the tendency for coffee grounds to accumulate, FrontStreet Coffee chose the Kalita Wave flat-bottom 3-hole cake filter. The reason flat-bottom is better than cone-shaped is that it won't block the drainage holes, and this filter itself drains slowly, perfectly meeting our requirements.

Then comes choosing the coffee grind size, mainly considering two factors: whether it will cause accumulation and blockage, and whether it might lead to under-extraction. After multiple tests and adjustments, FrontStreet Coffee decided to use a grind size where 90% passes through a #20 sieve, equivalent to EK43s setting 7.

To prepare for brewing, we also need two pour-over kettles (one with hot water, one with ice water mixture), and a spoon for stirring (to prevent blockage).

Brewing Steps

① Place the filter paper, add 20g of coffee grounds, use 96°C hot water to pour 35ml to wet all coffee grounds, and let bloom for 1 minute 30 seconds.

After multiple verifications, 35ml of water is just enough to wet all coffee grounds while minimizing drip into the lower pot, and the longer bloom time is also intended to increase subsequent extraction efficiency.

② Then use the pour-over kettle with ice water to pour, using a large water flow in circular motions to pour 100ml of ice water, utilizing the impact force of the water stream to agitate the coffee bed.

③ When the water level drops to the halfway point, continue pouring another 100ml of water, then use a small spoon to stir the coffee bed to prevent fine particles from blocking the drainage holes. End extraction when all coffee liquid has flowed into the lower pot, with a total time of 4 minutes 20 seconds.

The freshly brewed coffee is very cold. When tasted, the blueberry fruit flavor is very rich, with a full mouthfeel and no watery texture. It's very refreshing and comfortable for summer drinking.

Can soda water be used to brew coffee?

The always-adventurous folks at FrontStreet Coffee decided not to waste this experimental opportunity, choosing to use soda water as the ice water source to brew iced coffee and see how it tastes.

Double the happiness for baristas

The brewing method and parameters are basically the same as above, with ice water replaced by iced soda water. The bloom water remains regular hot water. Nothing unusual happened until the end of the bloom, but when using soda water to brew coffee, a large amount of bubbles gushed out.

The coffee bed was also lifted higher than usual, and the inside of the coffee grounds became very loose due to the soda water bubbles. Finally, when the coffee liquid flowed into the lower pot, the coffee bed lost its support and collapsed.

Coffee brewed with soda water will have a soda water bitter taste, and the bubbles all dissipate during brewing, so you won't feel any carbonation when drinking the coffee.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473