The Difference Between Pour-Over and Cold Brew: Cold Brew Extraction Principles and How Water Temperature Affects Coffee Extraction

FrontStreet Coffee noticed that many friends purchase a bag of coffee beans and make pour-over or cold brew coffee at home. These are indeed the most convenient extraction methods, requiring no elaborate equipment. Some friends have raised a question: Why does the same coffee bean taste different when made as cold brew versus pour-over coffee?

The Difference Between Pour-Over and Cold Brew

First, the biggest difference between pour-over and cold brew is that pour-over coffee uses high-temperature extraction, while cold brew coffee uses low-temperature extraction.

Pour-over coffee, including both hot and iced versions, uses high-temperature hot water that contacts coffee grounds at room temperature to extract soluble substances from the coffee. High temperatures lead to faster extraction rates and rapid changes in flavor, requiring prompt consumption.

Iced pour-over reduces the coffee-to-water ratio compared to hot pour-over, using less hot water to brew a more concentrated coffee, which is then cooled with ice to create a chilled beverage.

Cold brew coffee, also called cold-drip coffee, is made by steeping coffee grounds in room-temperature or ice water in a low-temperature environment like a refrigerator for 8-24 hours of slow extraction, resulting in iced coffee after filtering the grounds. Cold brew coffee prepared at low temperatures can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days, with flavors developing fermented characteristics as storage days increase.

Different Brewing Methods, Different Coffee Flavors

FrontStreet Coffee selected a light-roast, washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb coffee bean to compare flavors across three different brewing methods: hot pour-over, cold brew, and iced pour-over.

Hot pour-over presents complete front, middle, and back notes, allowing one to taste jasmine and honey sweetness, bright acidity of lemon and citrus, with a lasting green tea aroma in the aftertaste. As temperature decreases, flavor changes can be perceived, creating rich layers.

Cold brew Gedeb coffee, after fermenting overnight in the refrigerator, develops a thin layer of oil on the surface. The aroma appears weaker, with berry and citrus sourness upon entry, sweet taste, and an iced fruit tea sensation, though the flavor layers are relatively simple.

Iced pour-over, also a cold beverage, uses finer grounds and extracts more concentrated coffee liquid with high-temperature hot water, thus dissolving more substances than cold brew. Although the flavor isn't as full and rich as hot pour-over, the flavor profile isn't significantly different. Additionally, the cooling effect of ice adds a sweet, sour, and refreshing quality to the coffee.

Dissolution of Flavor Compounds at Different Temperatures

Coffee contains quinic acid, amino acids, tannins, caffeine, oils, and other substances. During extraction, water and coffee undergo a series of chemical reactions, with water temperature directly affecting the extraction rate of different components in coffee.

During coffee brewing, fruit acids (small molecules) emerge first, followed by sweet molecules, and finally bitter compounds (large molecules). As temperature increases, extraction speeds up, and various variables can affect coffee taste, requiring careful control of extraction rates during pour-over.

In low-temperature environments, significantly fewer bitter compounds are extracted compared to high-temperature extraction. To increase extraction rates, the contact time between coffee grounds and water is extended.

However, even with improved extraction rates, low temperatures often cannot release the rich flavor molecules that high-temperature water molecular movement provides. The richness and body of coffee largely derive from bitter compounds. Coffee lacking these bitter substances tastes thin and lacks fullness.

Before introducing any coffee bean, FrontStreet Coffee first conducts cupping tests to evaluate quality, using 94°C hot water to stimulate various aromatic compounds in the coffee, then describes these flavors on labels. All flavor descriptions are based on high-temperature extraction, while low temperatures only extract some flavor compounds, which is why cold brew coffee doesn't have the aromatic intensity and saturation of pour-over coffee.

Choosing Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned in previous articles that light to medium roast, fruit-forward coffees are more suitable for cold brew than dark roasts. This is because if dark roast coffee isn't ground to the appropriate coarseness, it can easily become only bitter under the influence of ice.

If you want to keep a bag of coffee beans at home for both pour-over and cold brew brewing while enjoying more diverse flavors, FrontStreet Coffee suggests choosing specialty processed coffee beans with distinctive flavor profiles, such as Honduras Sherry, Costa Rica Musician Series, Colombia Flower Moon Night, Ethiopia Dorothy...

This way, you can enjoy the rich, full aroma of pour-over coffee while also experiencing the cool, mellow taste of iced coffee.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat (FrontStreet Coffee), WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

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