Coffee Tips: How To Make Japanese Style Iced Coffee

As Summer rolls around each year, our thoughts turn to iced coffee as a perfect complement to backyard barbecues and just about any get-together. You may want to try the simple, yet effective Japanese Iced Coffee method, which involves brewing a concentration of specially coffee directly onto ice. Melting ice contributes to the total water volume without weakening the final brew.

If you want to learn more about coffee extraction and gain an in-depth understanding of every primary coffee brewing method, check out our Coffee Education Program for a complete list of upcoming coffee classes and barista training workshops.

ABOUT THE BREW METHOD:

Made by brewing a concentration of especially selected coffee directly onto ice, freshly brewed iced coffee can be ready to serve in just moments. Melting ice contributes to the total water volume without weakening the final brew. Immediate cooling from the ice locks in flavors and aromatics that other iced coffee processes allow to escape.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• Hot water (198-203°F)
• A high-quality burr grinder
• A Chemex
• A digital kitchen scale
• A digital timer
• A Bonavita Variable Temperature Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle for controlled pouring and accurate water temperature.
• The proprietary Chemex coffee filters (bleached filters are recommended for best taste)
• An Iced Coffee Container – preferably clear and lidded – is recommended to serve and store the final cold brew. Iced coffee is more temperature stable than other methods of brewed coffee, but should still be consumed within 1 day.

BREWING PARAMETERS:

COFFEE-TO-WATER RATIO:

1.8 grams of coffee per fluid ounce of water

GRIND SIZE:

Comparable to coarse Kosher salt

BREW TIME:

3-3.5 minutes

BREWING WATER TEMPERATURE: 198-203°F

If you are using a Bonavita Variable Temperature Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle, set your temperature to 204 or 205 degrees. The temperature will drop a little bit when it comes into contact with the coffee. If you are using a hot water tower in a coffee shop and use a traditional (non-heated) kettle, such-as the Hario Buono, set the tower to 208 degrees to compensate for the temperature drop that occurs when the water comes into contact with a room temperature kettle. Fill kettle 80% full for best temperature stability.

STEPS FOR BREWING:

1. Use the table above as a reference.
2. Weigh ice. The best way to measure ice is to weigh it! 1 fl. oz water (or ice) weighs one ounce. Weigh appropriate amount of ice to equal one half of the total liquid volume.
3. Measure and grind appropriate amount of coffee just before brewing. This can be done with a scale and a burr grinder.
4. Brew the coffee. Filter and brew according to chosen method directly over ice. Use our Chemex How-To Brewing Guide for detailed brewing instructions.
5. Serve and enjoy. The melting ice contributes to the total water volume without weakening the beverage and the immediate cooling of the brewing coffee helps trap in some aromatics that other iced coffee processes don’t.
6. The drawdown should last for approximately 45 seconds, even slight differences in drawdown times can have major effects on flavor. When the brew bubbles, it’s finished. Remove the top chamber carefully by slowly rocking it in a circular fashion until the seal is broken and it can be lifted free. Now it’s time to pour and enjoy!
7. Be sure to clean your siphon soon after brewing. The cloth filter should be rinsed very throughly with hot water before reuse. We recommend using a filter no more than 7 or 8 times before replacing it.

GOOD PRACTICES:

• Adjust parameters to compensate for individual coffee characteristics.
• Know your coffees! Fresh, aromatic coffees roasted on the lighter end of the spectrum lend themselves to this Japanese iced coffee method. For instance, fruit-forward East African and bright Central American coffees do especially well with this method.

CONTINUE YOUR COFFEE EDUCATION

Texas Coffee School offers a variety of coffee and barista training classes that can enhance your coffee knowledge and brewing skills.

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