Latest Introduction to Drip Coffee: How to Make and Drink It? The Difference Between Drip and Cold Brew Coffee

Can coffee only be brewed with hot water? NONONO! Cold water can also make delicious coffee. Since the 1960s, a method using special, chemistry-like ice drip coffee makers has been popular in Japan. By controlling the speed at which ice water drips through the coffee grounds, it extracts rich, full-bodied coffee liquid without any unpleasant bitterness.

Because cold water lacks thermal molecular motion, the coffee extraction time is relatively long, typically requiring 6-8 hours. During this time, you need to constantly monitor the ice melting degree and supplement with ice in time to ensure the dripping water remains at low temperature. Additionally, because each batch produces a limited quantity, ice drip coffee is more expensive than other regular coffee products.

However, ice drip coffee equipment is expensive. In an era when not all coffee equipment was fully普及, it was too costly for ordinary households to make ice drip coffee at home. So people started directly steeping coffee grounds in cold water and then placing it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours. The coffee extracted this way might not be as clean in texture as ice drip coffee (because fine grounds cannot be filtered out), but the overall coffee is still very full and balanced without unpleasant bitterness.

The Difference Between Ice Drip and Cold Brew

So the most fundamental difference between ice drip coffee and cold brew coffee is that the former uses ice water to drip-filter coffee liquid, while the latter uses ice water to steep coffee liquid. In terms of taste, the former will be rich and refreshing, while the latter will be full and balanced.

What's the Difference Between Cold Water and Hot Water Extraction Coffee?

Because cold water lacks thermal molecular motion, large molecules (bitter substances) in coffee are not easily released, only extracting sour and sweet flavors. Therefore, the extracted coffee tastes cleaner, but the disadvantage is slightly weaker aroma. Hot water can more fully extract various aromatic substances from coffee, and hot steam carries the coffee aroma upward, so you can smell more coffee fragrance.

How to Make Ice Drip and Cold Brew Coffee?

For making low-temperature extracted coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using coffee beans with obvious sweet and sour characteristics / prominent flavors, such as the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe natural processed red cherry coffee beans currently sold by FrontStreet Coffee, which have rich berry juice notes, citrus-like acidity, soft fruit fermentation aroma, and black tea-like aftertaste.

If you don't like too obvious sourness, you can try the Costa Rica Musician Series Mozart raisin coffee beans, which have rich raisin aroma, gentle sweet orange acidity, slight fruit fermentation aroma, and caramel-like sweetness.

In this article, FrontStreet Coffee uses freshly roasted Mozart coffee beans to make both ice drip and cold brew coffee. Only freshly roasted coffee beans can extract coffee with rich flavors, so all coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within 5 days after roasting, and the optimal tasting period for coffee beans is 4-35 days after roasting.

Ice Drip Coffee Method:

In terms of grind size, FrontStreet Coffee generally chooses the same grind size as ice hand-pour. Because low-temperature water reduces extraction rate, we grind the coffee finer to improve its extraction. For this bean, we chose an 85% passing rate through China's No. 20 standard sieve, which according to FrontStreet Coffee's store grind size is 9 scale grinding on an EK-43S grinder.

First, we calculate the extraction parameters, using a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:10, extracting 600g of coffee liquid from 60g of coffee. The ratio of ice water mixture is 1:1, and the valve flow rate is controlled at 7 drops per 10 seconds. It usually completes dripping within 6-8 hours. (Usually ice drip ratio is between 1:10-1:12, everyone can adjust according to their own taste.)

At the bottom of the middle pot, use a circular filter paper to adhere with water. Then grind the coffee beans into powder and pour them in, making sure to level it for even extraction. Place another circular filter paper on the surface of the coffee bed to prevent water drops from scattering the coffee grounds. Before dripping, you need to moisten the coffee bed with cold water first, which can save extraction time and avoid uneven initial extraction.

Place the powder cup on the stand and start filling with ice water mixture, usually half ice and half water. Adjust the valve flow rate to control at 7 drops/10 seconds, mainly ensuring the dripping water drops align with the coffee liquid filter position. After dripping is complete, pour the liquid from the bottom pot into a sealable container. Like FrontStreet Coffee, we use glass bottles and place them in the refrigerator to ferment for more than 12 hours. Usually, it can be consumed the next day.

Cold Brew Coffee Method:

The coffee grind size used for cold brew coffee is also the same as for ice drip. Then when making it, you just need to prepare a clean, sealed container, using a 1:11 coffee-to-water ratio for extraction, meaning 1 gram of coffee grounds added to 11g of cold water. Next, use a tool to stir so that the coffee grounds fully contact with water, then seal and place in the refrigerator's cold storage compartment. After low-temperature extraction for 12-16 hours, use filtering tools to separate the coffee grounds before drinking.

How Many Days Can Cold Brew Stored in the Refrigerator Last?

FrontStreet Coffee noticed that many friends who seek convenience will soak a large pot of coffee at once and store it in the refrigerator, pouring it out whenever they want to drink. This also leads to situations where if not marked, it's easy to forget how many days the coffee has been in the refrigerator and whether it has spoiled.

First, the fermentation process of low-temperature extraction cannot be interrupted; refrigeration only delays the coffee's fermentation speed. As time progresses, the substances dissolved in water continuously change, eventually leading to spoilage. Additionally, every time we open the bottle cap, it actually allows the coffee liquid to contact with air, which not only causes aroma dissipation but may also introduce bacteria into the container.

To understand the impact of storage days on cold brew flavor, FrontStreet Coffee conducted records on two pots of cold brew, tasting them respectively when freshly made, after 1-2 days of refrigeration, 3-4 days, 5-6 days, and 7-8 days. Finally, it was found that the coffee taste was best within the 1-4 day refrigeration period. Generally, considering flavor experience and health safety, whether it's ice drip or cold brew, for any extraction method performed in low-temperature environments, FrontStreet Coffee recommends everyone to finish drinking within 5 days (counting from the production day).

If you follow the operation method from FrontStreet Coffee's past articles, using warm water to quickly make cold brew, the tasting period will be shorter. Because higher water temperature leads to greater release rate of flavor substances, compared to cold brew made with room temperature water, the warm water version of cold brew is more likely to breed microorganisms in the refrigerator. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes it's best to finish drinking within 2 days to avoid causing intestinal discomfort.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473