Visual Tutorial: How Cold Drip Coffee Is Made

Yesterday we showed you how to make cold brew coffee, so today let's take on the challenge of cold drip! Compared with cold brew, the cold drip method is more intricate and demands more effort and time. Follow along with the pictures and text here, then adapt it to your own equipment and preferences~

Preparation Before Making

Cold drip tower, room-temperature drinking water, ice cubes, round filter paper for cold drip, your favorite coffee beans, and a sealed bottle. (This tutorial uses a coffee:water:ice ratio of 1:6:6—50g of coffee beans, 300g of water, and 300g of ice.)

(Tip: If you don't have cold drip filter paper, cut regular pour-over filter paper into a round shape that fits the cold drip powder bowl.)

Step 1: Grind Coffee Beans into Coffee Powder

(For reference: FrontStreet Coffee used Honduras Sherry beans this time, ground on an EK43s at setting 9—the setting usually reserved for iced pour-over.)

Step 2: Line the Cold Drip Powder Bowl

Line the powder bowl of the cold drip tower with a round filter paper, moisten it with water, then pour in the coffee powder and spread it evenly.

Step 3: Cover and Moisten Coffee Powder

Cover the evenly spread coffee powder with another round filter paper, then use room-temperature water to moisten the grounds. (Tip: make sure every bit of powder is moistened—this shortens the drip time and ensures the bed is penetrated evenly.)

Step 4: Add Ice and Water

Pour the ice and water into the top chamber of the cold drip tower above the drip-speed valve.

(Note: close the drip-speed valve before pouring, or the ice water will rush down in a torrent.)

Step 5: Control Drip Speed

Set the drip valve to 7 drops per 10 seconds, then wait for the dripping to finish.

(This takes quite a while, so check the drip speed occasionally to make sure it hasn't drifted.)

Step 6: Refrigerate

Once dripping is complete, pour the coffee into a sealed bottle and refrigerate it for 8 hours.

(Note: refrigerate! Don't freeze!)

Step 7: Enjoy!

All that preparation and waiting finally pays off. Enjoy the reward of this long, patient process! (It tastes even better over ice!)

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui

One of the biggest stars of the specialty coffee market in recent years, the FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is defined by striking tropical fruit aromatics—strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, even lychee. Sweetness is prominent, bitterness is minimal, and the cup is smooth and juicy, which is why drinkers call it "the coffee that least resembles coffee." For anyone put off by traditional coffee bitterness, it's a revelation.

FrontStreet Kenya Cherry Tomato

This Kenyan washed coffee comes from the Thika region at 1,550–1,750m, built on the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties and graded AA TOP. Its 72-hour double-washed fermentation unlocks vivid fruit while keeping the cup impeccably clean, and FrontStreet's light roast preserves the lively acidity. Expect dried cherry tomato and floral notes in the dry aroma, bright cherry tomato and dark plum in the sip, fresh pear and black plum mid-palate, and a clean finish of golden sugar and faint green tea—a superb match for iced brewing.

FrontStreet Colombia Pink Bourbon

Grown at 1,650–1,800m at Finca La División, this champion-variety lot uses double anaerobic natural processing with a medium-light roast. Jasmine and citrus lead the dry aroma, followed by a juicy blend of passion fruit, blueberry, grape, and apricot, gentle bright acidity, a whisper of spice mid-palate, and a lasting cocoa finish. Besides pour-over and espresso SOE, it shines in cold drip—where its fresh, grape-juice smoothness really stands out.