I thought that iced drip coffee was only a summer favorite, but I didn’t expect it! Even on this cold day, ice drops on Front Street are in short supply.
So when the ice drops are sold out, customers and friends who come to the store will ask if they sell cold brew coffee. Cold brew coffee is, in addition to ice dripping, another type of black coffee made using low-temperature extraction methods, but there are still some differences between them. So today Front Street will share with you the differences between them~
Same principle, different production methods
Ice drop coffee refers to coffee obtained by dripping coffee powder with ice water for a long time at room temperature; while cold brew coffee refers to coffee obtained by directly mixing and soaking room temperature water and coffee powder, and then placing it in the refrigerator to refrigerate. Both of them also obtain coffee through low-temperature extraction. The difference is that one uses the drip method and the other uses the immersion method.
Their inventors can no longer be traced, but according to inspections by professionals in the foreign coffee industry, this low-temperature extraction method was originally invented by the Dutch during maritime trade!
In the 17th century, a cargo ship loaded with coffee beans set out from Batavia, Indonesia (then a colony). These beans would be taken by the Dutch for trade around the world. However, when sailing at sea, hot water cannot be used to make coffee at any time. Therefore, the Dutch on the ship racked their brains to satisfy their appetite, and then they came up with the idea of using cold water instead of hot water to soak the coffee powder for a long time to obtain high-concentration coffee.
At first, I just tried it out of luck. I never thought that the coffee produced in this way would have such a full and thick flavor, and it was not even as bitter as those usually brewed with hot water. Very good, people were immediately obsessed with this low-temperature brewed coffee.
Then, this production method was spread to Japan in the Edo period along with the trade footprints of Dutch merchants, and the Japanese soon became captives of this unique coffee. Therefore, with the continuous use, improvement, and modification by the Japanese over the years, the coffee soaked in cold water gradually evolved into the ice-drip coffee obtained by drip filtering, which is also called "Kyoto coffee" by the locals!
Both cold brew and ice dripping are low-temperature extractions. Compared with contact with hot water, they tend to release small molecules with sweet and sour flavors, making the coffee taste soft and refreshing. Therefore, it is best to buy medium-light roasted beans such as Front Street Oiran, Front Street Blackberry, Front Street Strawberry Candy, and Front Street Flower Butterfly. Cold brewing will have the characteristics of floral and fruit tea, while iced dripping will highlight the taste of fruit wine and chocolate.
So which one of them tastes better?
When using the same beans, their completely different production methods will not affect the taste of the beans themselves, but will only change the main characteristics of the final cup of coffee! The taste of delicious drink varies from person to person, just like mineral water. You like Farmer, I like Yibao. Everyone has their own preferences~
For example, Front Street uses lightly roasted Ethiopian Santavini, and extracts different coffees (cold brew, ice drip) in the same proportion. The coffee flavor obtained by cold brewing will be closer to the taste of the coffee beans themselves, full of tropical juice, with a slight red wine fermentation. Then, because there are not many variables that affect extraction, and the water and coffee beans are soaked together throughout the entire process, its taste will be relatively mellow!
The coffee obtained through ice-drip extraction has a very clean taste because the ice water and coffee powder are not in full contact! Bright and round pineapple juice, highly sweet guava, and a more intense red wine fermentation after overnight fermentation.
Although there is a difference between the two, it is actually not too obvious. If the same beans are not used for detailed tasting, it is still a little difficult to distinguish cold brew from ice drip. Finally, the front street practice is attached with a link to the production process. Interested friends can eat it by themselves~ "How to make ice drip" and "How to make cold brew coffee".
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
