Comparison of 4 Iced Coffee Types: Iced Americano, Iced Pour-Over, Cold Drip, and Cold Brew - Flavor Differences and Weight Loss Benefits

Exploring the Four Types of Iced Coffee

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The four common types of iced coffee we encounter are iced Americano, iced pour-over, cold brew, and iced drip coffee. Some friends may not be familiar with these four types of iced coffee, so FrontStreet Coffee will attempt to explain their characteristics and differences from several perspectives.

Extraction Methods

In terms of extraction methods, both iced Americano and iced pour-over coffee are made by rapidly cooling brewed hot coffee with ice; cold brew and iced drip coffee are extracted using cold water throughout the entire process.

Iced Americano

Iced Americano is made by extracting espresso with an espresso machine, then adding appropriate amounts of ice water to cool and dilute the coffee. Iced Americano preparation method: Grind 20g of FrontStreet Coffee's Sunflower Warm Sunshine coffee grounds, extract 40g of coffee liquid at a 1:2 ratio over 25-33 seconds. Prepare a 300ml glass, fill with 90g of ice and 180g of drinking water, then pour in the extracted espresso and stir before drinking.

Iced Pour-Over

The iced Americano made with FrontStreet Coffee's Warm Sunshine beans immediately presents rich layers upon tasting, with subtle vanilla and berry notes accompanying creamy smoothness. It's both refreshing and full-bodied, making it incredibly satisfying to drink in summer.

Iced pour-over involves first brewing hot coffee using the pour-over method (slightly stronger than regular serving), then adding ice to cool and dilute it. The detailed preparation method is as follows. Here FrontStreet Coffee uses the light-medium roasted FrontStreet Coffee's Fruity Candy as an example, adopting high-concentration, high-extraction iced brew parameters as follows:

Cold Brew Coffee

Coffee grounds: 15g
10x hot water: 150g
5x ice: 75g
Water temperature: 92°C
Grind size: 83% pass-through rate through #20 sieve (EK43s setting 9, C40 setting 22)
Dripper: Hario V60
Technique: Three-stage pour

First, place 75g of ice in the server, then pour 15g of ground coffee into the filter cup and gently level it. In the first stage, pour 30g of hot water in small circles from the center outward at 3ml/s flow rate for a 30-second bloom; after 30 seconds, use the same technique to pour the second 60g of water, being careful not to raise the liquid level too high, which can cause under-extraction; when the coffee liquid is about to dry up, pour the remaining 60g of hot water at 3ml/s flow rate, ensuring extraction time falls between 1 minute 50 seconds to 2 minutes.

Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water, typically for a relatively long period, then filtering out the grounds before drinking. The preparation method is as follows.

Using FrontStreet Coffee's Strawberry Candy as an example, we use a 1L cold brew pot when making cold brew coffee. Prepare 60g of Strawberry Candy coffee beans, ground to the size of coarse sugar (80% pass-through rate through China #20 standard sieve), with specific coarseness as follows. Then, pour the ground coffee into the pot, add 600g of drinking water at a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio, stir thoroughly with a long spoon, seal, and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Once steeping is complete, remove the cold brew pot, stir thoroughly again with a spoon, then pour through filter paper to separate grounds until all coffee liquid is filtered cleanly, and the cold brew is complete.

Iced drip coffee uses ice water to extract coffee liquid by dripping it drop by drop through the coffee grounds layer. The preparation time is generally quite long, and the filtered coffee liquid needs to be refrigerated before drinking. The specific preparation method is as follows:

Iced Drip Coffee

Similar to pour-over flow rate, but iced drip flow rate is calculated in drops per second. The slower the flow rate, the longer the total time required, and it's more likely to result in over-extraction. FrontStreet Coffee typically uses 7 drops every 10 seconds for extraction, and the flow rate can be adjusted according to personal preference. The coffee-to-water ratio is 1:10. Since FrontStreet Coffee serves iced drip coffee diluted with ice, we use a higher concentration. If making it at home, you can use a ratio of 1:12-1:14 for extraction. FrontStreet Coffee makes iced drip using 60g of coffee beans ground into powder, places a circular filter paper at the bottom of the coffee chamber, pours in the coffee grounds, and finally places another filter paper on top, then moistens the coffee grounds with water, which can save dripping time while avoiding uneven extraction. Fill the upper chamber with an ice-water mixture (1:1 ratio of ice to water) to extract a total of 600g of coffee liquid.

Preparation Time

In terms of preparation time, iced Americano and iced pour-over coffee are relatively quick, requiring only a few minutes to complete; cold brew coffee and iced drip coffee have longer preparation times, with cold brew coffee generally taking around 12 hours and iced drip coffee taking 6-8 hours.

Ease of Preparation for Home

For home preparation, pour-over iced coffee and cold brew coffee are relatively simple methods. Cold brew coffee doesn't have high requirements for equipment - just a sealed bottle will suffice. Iced pour-over equipment is also quite affordable, and generally if you have the habit of brewing coffee at home, you'll already have pour-over coffee equipment.

Iced Americano requires an espresso machine, and the equipment needed for iced drip coffee is somewhat more expensive.

Flavor and Mouthfeel Differences

FrontStreet Coffee would like to first clarify that whether coffee is acidic or bitter, whether it has floral and fruity notes or nutty and chocolate flavors, primarily depends on the flavor of the coffee beans used. The influence of extraction methods is relatively minor. Different brewing methods produce iced coffees with distinct flavor characteristics. These differences are comparative, but regardless of the brewing method, the resulting flavors always stem from the fundamental flavor profile of the coffee beans.

Iced Americano typically features light, refreshing mouthfeel and usually expresses the most basic flavors of the coffee beans. The liquid appears relatively cloudy.

Iced pour-over coffee is characterized by clean, refreshing mouthfeel that easily highlights the primary flavors of the coffee beans, with the liquid appearing clear and bright.

Cold brew coffee is characterized by low bitterness, balanced flavors, and high sweetness. The mouthfeel is fuller than iced pour-over coffee. The liquid transparency is slightly lower than iced pour-over coffee.

Iced drip coffee is characterized by rich fermented flavors, such as alcoholic notes. With the same beans, iced drip coffee exhibits higher bitterness than the other three types of iced coffee, and its mouthfeel is also superior to the other three types of iced coffee.

Important Notice :

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