I believe everyone here has had iced coffee. Generally speaking, as long as the quality of the beans is online, the extraction parameters are correct, and a certain proportion of ice cubes is added while ensuring a moderate concentration, the coffee produced will often have a good iced taste. But Front Street still often hears some friends asking questions such as "how to add ice", "how much ice to add", "add ice first or last" and other questions.
So today, Front Street will continue to talk to you about the use of ice in coffee~
The main function of ice cubes
As a supporting role in drinks, ice cubes may seem colorless and tasteless, but they play a big role in frozen coffee, which pays attention to low temperature to bring a stimulating taste. If used correctly, it can be the icing on the cake; if used incorrectly, it may become "ashtray water" in minutes.
As more and more players enter the industry, almost all common coffees on the market have iced versions. There are already many ways to make them, and the various parameters are even more dazzling. But in fact, everything remains the same. As long as we understand the principle behind it, there will be no problem in adding ice.
1. Rapid cooling
Looking at the menus in coffee shops, it is not difficult to find that in addition to cold brew and ice dripping, the vast majority of iced coffee is extracted by contacting high-temperature hot water with coffee powder. Therefore, the freshly made coffee must be the most fragrant, but it is also hot on the mouth. If you want to turn it into a cold drink, adding ice directly is undoubtedly the fastest and easiest way to cool down.
But everyone knows that ice cubes achieve cooling purposes by absorbing heat and melting. Therefore, in order to prevent the ice cubes from turning into a puddle of water before the coffee becomes cold, we must leave a certain "space" in the concentration for the ice cubes to work. In other words, the coffee must be strong enough and flavorful enough before it cools down to withstand the washing of ice cubes.
2. Lock in coffee aroma
If we feel that a cup of coffee is bitter, we can weaken the bitter taste by adding sugar and milk, but only in small amounts, otherwise the coffee will be diluted or become overly sweet. By adding ice, you can not only suppress the bitterness, but also lock in the aroma of the coffee by quickly cooling it down.
3. Keep the temperature low
According to research, human taste has temperature characteristics, and the intensity of the taste we experience is affected by temperature. When we drink iced coffee, the tongue's sensitivity to bitter taste will decrease, because the cool temperature can neutralize and reduce the bitter taste, making the coffee easier to drink. At the same time, the tip of the tongue is temporarily paralyzed and is less sensitive to bitter taste.
However, as the iced coffee gradually warms up from ice to room temperature, the taste buds' ability to perceive bitterness increases, and the coffee will begin to taste bitter or even astringent. Therefore, if you want to have a better coffee drinking experience, maintaining a low temperature is particularly critical.
Based on the above three points, when we decide the usage and amount of ice cubes, it depends on whether it can quickly chill the hot coffee and maintain the drink at a low temperature. At the same time, it will not melt too fast and cause the coffee to become watery. In other words, making delicious iced coffee requires not only considering the issue of more ice and less ice, but also the quality of the ice.
What's so special about ice cubes?
The ice cubes currently on the market can be roughly divided into solid ice and hollow ice. According to the shape, they can be divided into square, spherical, crescent-shaped, snowflake-shaped, etc. Many milk tea shops will give priority to square and crescent-shaped ice. Square ice is mostly hollow, with small particles, and melts faster; crescent ice is solid, has a higher hardness, and melts more slowly in water.
The ice-making grinding tools used in our homes are usually spherical and square. Because they use static freezing, they are all solid ice. In the same form, the larger the volume, the slower the melting speed, but the corresponding freezing time is also longer. In addition, refrozen ice has a higher hardness and has a better cooling effect when put into coffee than freshly frozen ice. (Front Street has done comparative experiments before. There is not much difference between coffee brewed with ice first and ice brewed later, so it will not be discussed separately here.)
For those who like to drink iced coffee at home, Front Street recommends that when buying ice trays, try to choose a slightly larger model, or a single large spherical mold to make stronger ice. If the ice cube tray you are using is too small, you can unmold the ice cubes in advance and store them in a clean container to maintain a higher hardness.
How to add ice to different coffees?
Once we understand the purpose of using ice and understand the influencing factors of ice quality, we can find the corresponding amount of ice based on the actual situation. For iced coffee that is first heated and then cooled, Front Street's production idea is to not only ensure the aroma and concentration of the coffee, but also maintain a low temperature for a long time, so ice cubes account for a large proportion, and refrozen large ice cubes are preferred;
Priority is given to Italian blending, with Front Street Classic blend and Front Street Black Cocoa blend being the first choices, which are suitable for beginners.
Ice American: 40g espresso + 120ml water + 100g large ice cubes, the ice cubes are 2.5 times the coffee liquid;
Iced latte: 40g espresso + 180ml low-temperature fresh milk + 80g large ice cubes, the ice cubes are twice the amount of coffee liquid;
For Pour over(V60) coffee, single-origin beans are preferred, and grain beans with the highest cost performance are preferred, such as Front Street Yirgacheffe with floral and citric acidity, and Front Street Mandheling with herbal and woody tones;
Ice hand brewing: 15g powder/150ml hot water/75g ice cubes, ice cubes are 5 times the amount of coffee powder;
Considering that the coffee liquid extracted at low temperature is cold itself, there is no need for additional cooling. However, because Front Street is accustomed to making it at a slightly higher concentration ratio, a small amount of ice cubes are needed to slightly dilute the coffee liquid:
For making cold brew and ice dripping, medium roasted flavored coffee beans are preferred. Front Street Xizhao, Front Street Mozart, and Front Street Strawberry Candy are recommended.
Cold brew and ice drip: 180ml coffee liquid + 30g large ice cubes, the coffee liquid is 6 times that of ice cubes.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
