The cicadas are chirping in the distance, the dog days of summer have just begun, the heat wave is rolling on the streets, and boiling water is flowing from the faucets at home. The long summer has arrived, and it’s impossible to live without a cup of iced coffee.
Cold brew and iced drip sound refreshing and refreshing, so they are the first choice drinks for many coffee lovers. However, when Front Street asked his friends what the difference between them was, some people couldn't answer. So today, let’s take a closer look at what is ice drip coffee, what is cold brew coffee, and how to make a cup of ice coffee at home.
As summer approaches, more and more cafes are putting the option of iced drip coffee back on their menus. The so-called ice-drip coffee is to use a mixture of ice and water, and let the ice water drip down to the coffee powder drop by drop. Since the extraction process of ice-drip coffee is very slow, it usually takes 6 to 12 hours, and the amount of powder used is larger, so the price of ice-drip coffee is higher. At the same time, because the production of ice drops requires equipment, many friends have been discouraged from the idea of making them at home.
The ice drip pot used in Front Street in previous years is mainly divided into five parts: water container, regulating valve, powder cup, snake tube, and coffee liquid container. Each part performs its own duties. The water container is used to load the ice-water mixture, the regulating valve is used to adjust the dripping speed, the powder cup is used to collect coffee powder, the snake-shaped tube is convenient for observing the color of the coffee liquid, and the bottom container is used to contain the extracted coffee liquid.
The specific parameters and operating steps when making ice-drip coffee at Front Street are as follows:
Amount of powder: 60 grams
Powder to liquid ratio: 1:10
Coffee liquid weight: 600 grams
Grinding degree: Chinese standard No. 20 screen pass rate 82%
Time: 6-8 hours
1. Take out the powder cup, moisten the bottom and lay a layer of round filter paper, and use a spoon to make the filter paper stick to it
2. Pour 60 grams of ground coffee powder into the powder cup, smooth the surface and lay a piece of round filter paper on it.
3. Pour in a small amount of room temperature water to completely moisten the coffee powder, so that it can penetrate evenly during formal drip filtering.
4. Add an appropriate amount of ice-water mixture into the water container (fill it with ice first and then with water)
5. Adjust the valve to a speed of 5 to 8 drops of water in 10 seconds.
6. During the drip filtering process, always pay attention to the coffee liquid in the pot, and do not end the extraction until it reaches 600ml.
7. After the extraction is completed, put the coffee liquid into a sealable container and place it in the refrigerator. Leave it to ferment overnight and then you can drink it.
But as mentioned above, iced drip coffee is limited by equipment and cumbersome steps, so instead of making it at home, people tend to go to cafes to drink it. When they don’t want to go out, they choose the extremely simple cold brewing method to achieve the freedom of iced coffee. Next, Front Street will introduce to you how to make cold brew coffee.
The specific steps for making cold brew coffee at Front Street are as follows:
Amount of powder: 60 grams
Pink to water ratio: 1:11
Amount of water: 660g
Time: 8-10 hours
Grinding degree: Chinese standard No. 20 screen pass rate 82%
1. Choose a sealable container
2. Pour the ground coffee powder into the container
3. Pour 660g of room temperature water according to the ratio of powder to water of 1:11, stir evenly and seal
4. Refrigerate for 8-12 hours
5. Take out, stir for a few times, and filter.
6. Seal and refrigerate the filtered coffee liquid for more than 3 hours before drinking.
Compared with the centralized extraction of ice drops, cold extraction is a static soaking of water and powder. The taste is thicker and duller, and sometimes lacks cleanliness.
【About coffee beans】
Since cold brew coffee is coffee extracted at low temperature and for a long time, more small molecular substances in the coffee beans such as floral aroma and fruit acid are extracted, while large molecular substances such as tannic acid and other bitter substances are difficult to extract. In addition, after the extraction is completed, it needs to go through 12 hours of low-temperature refrigeration fermentation, so the flavor has an obvious sense of fermentation and the sweet flavor of the coffee beans themselves, and the taste is thick and smooth.
Therefore, when choosing cold brew coffee beans, Front Street generally chooses single products with acidity and clear aroma, or unique flavors. Among them, Front Street Kenya small tomato coffee beans, Front Street black honey processing·blackberry, Front Street Xijal·Colombia.
Front Street Kenyan Cherry Tomato Coffee Beans
Origin: Thika, Kenya
Processing Plant: Asali Honey Processing Plant
Altitude: 1550 meters - 1750 meters
Variety: SL28, SL34
Treatment method: K72 water washing treatment method
The ice-drip coffee made by Front Street Tomato has the flavor of plum, cherry tomato and caramel. The cold brew is sour and sweet and very refreshing. It is suitable for quenching thirst and fatigue in the hot summer.
Front Street Costa Rican Blackberry Coffee Beans
Production area: Costa Rica Tara beads
Manor:Pilon Treatment Plant
Altitude: 1500 meters - 1700 meters
Breed: Catura
Processing method: black honey processing
The iced drip made with Front Street blackberries has ripe grapes, dark berries and a slight sense of fermentation; while the cold brew has more chocolate flavor, and the taste is strong but not bitter.
Front Street Colombian Hija coffee beans
Origin: Colombian Cymbidium
Manor: Divide Manor
Altitude: 1700 meters
Breed: Cicada
Treatment method: double anaerobic sun treatment
Front Street Xizhao itself has a complex fruity aroma. Making ice drops can highlight the sweet aroma of passion fruit, mango, and peach, while making cold brew coffee can show the characteristics of dried apricots, raisins, and wine-filled chocolate.
【About grinding degree】
Since the water temperature used in cold brew coffee is relatively low, which is quite different from the usual Pour over(V60) coffee of about 90°C, low-temperature water extracts coffee powder. Since the rate of material exchange is greatly slowed down, in addition to extending the extraction time, it is also necessary to finer the grinding degree of the coffee beans, try to increase the contact area between the water and the surface of the coffee powder particles, and extract as much of the ideal flavor substances in the coffee powder as possible.
However, if the coffee powder particles are too fine, too many flavor substances will be extracted, including some unpleasant bitterness; if the coffee particles are too thick, the flavor will eventually be unclear and the taste will be too light. Front Street Coffee has found through many tests that the grinding degree of the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve with a passing rate of 80~82% is more ideal, and is generally about the same thickness as ice hand brewing.
[About the ratio of powder to water]
Everyone has their own preferences for vegetables and radishes. Since every drinker has different needs for coffee concentration, some like it strong and some like it light, there is no standard for it. Front Street is accustomed to looking at the powder-to-liquid ratio when making ice drippings. When making cold brew, the ratio is 1:10. If you like a strong coffee, use 1:10. If you want refreshing coffee, you can use 1:11 or 1:12.
In order to improve the taste, we sometimes add ice to the prepared coffee. Those who want a strong drink should drink it as soon as possible, while those who want a lighter drink can wait for the ice cubes to melt slowly. As the ice cubes get smaller, the concentration of the coffee decreases.
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
