Summer is almost over and so is the season for iced coffee. Before we bid it good-bye, I wanted to share a very successful method for making iced coffee Japanese style. I’ve used this all summer long and it’s been a great summer of iced goodness.
Before we begin, it’s important to note that iced coffee and cold brew are two unique and very different coffees. Iced coffee is made hot then cooled down whereas cold brew is brewed with cold water. The resulting taste makes cold brew less acidic but also less dynamic. Cold brew takes many many hours (potentially overnight) brewing so a lot more planning is involved.
Now on to the Japanese style iced coffee. It’s coffee brewed using the pour over method, but cooled immediately over ice.
1. Setup your pour over equipment, except with ice in the carafe.
2. Start the timer and brew as you would normally brew a manual pour-over.
3. Remember the concentric circles and keep an eye on time and amount of water that has gone through.
4. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?
5. Once you reach desired quantity, allow 5-7 seconds for final drip to go through.
6. There you have it. Surprisingly, most of the ice don’t melt. If you stay indoors, it won’t melt for 30-40 minutes.
Some tips-
1. Add twice as much coffee as you normally would for hot coffee
2. Measure equal parts by weight of ice and water
3. Use bright coffees – Africans are great with this method, some of the Central Americans too. Avoid the Indonesian coffees.
Grab a book or your iPad and enjoy the summer heat while it lasts!