You’ve never prepared slow drip cold brew coffee at home, then? It makes sense that way. The brewers cost a lot of money and appear difficult. Spending the entire day making coffee wouldn’t be beneficial.
But if you like your coffee cold, I’m here to tell you that using a slow dripper to make it is a fantastic use of your time and money. Only this cold brewing method can maintain the subtle richness of the best specialty coffees. Making coffee with this technique doesn’t require much work, but patience is a must.
Keep reading to discover just how tasty a cold brew can be.
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How to Make slow drip cold brew coffee
You could be excused for believing that slow drip cold brew coffee requires a sophisticated technique only suitable for experienced baristas when you see the towering piece of equipment needed.
And coffee businesses are glad to accept your money and support the perpetuation of that notion. In actuality, though, it’s easier than many other brewing techniques because that fancy-looking brewer will handle all the labor on your behalf.
Are you prepared to begin? Okay, let’s proceed and prepare a wonderful cup of coffee for us.
1. Measure and grind the coffee
Weigh the quantity of coffee the maker suggests. The quantity can vary depending on the brewer’s unique design, your preferred level of coffee intensity, and your personal preferences, but the normal range is between 50 and 70 g.
So follow the manufacturer’s directions for your first effort, but don’t be afraid to experiment in the future with different water-to-coffee ratios.
How should you grind coffee for a slow drip brewing?
Coffee should be ground using a burr grinder, and any grinds that might become stuck inside the grinder should be emptied out. A consistent amount of coffee being fed into the grinder is the optimum outcome. The output of the coffee grinder can also be weighed if the coffee bean hopper is already filled.
Use this chart to see what that looks like if you’re unsure. You do not need to use a coarse grind, as you would for French Press coffee or a typical cold brew, even if this is a slow brewing technique because it is not an immersion technique.
Don’t be tempted to use your blade spice grinder if you don’t have a burr coffee grinder. Blade grinders produce very inconsistent grind results; part of the coffee will still be in huge pieces while some will be very finely ground.
In other brewing processes, like an electric coffee maker, you might be able to get away with it, but the long steeping time in cold brew makes it very obvious.
2. Add the coffee to the coffee maker
The fresh coffee grinds should be added on top of the coffee filter at the bottom of the coffee that has been ground chamber to create the coffee bed.
You can use a paper or metal filter to make slow drip cold brew coffee, and both will result in a somewhat different brew. Paper filters will provide a cup that is cleaner and lighter in the body than you would get with a pour-over.
On the other hand, a metal filter allows all of the coffee oils and some particles to pass through, producing a more robust cup that tastes more like French press coffee.
3. Measure and add the water
Using the manufacturer’s recommended ratio, calculate how much water you need. According to weight, this will probably fall between a ratio of 5:1 and 10:1 for water to coffee. Your drip coffee maker’s water chamber should now contain water. Ice should then be added to the chamber to the top.
4. Start the brewing process
A valve that manages water flow is located at the bottom of the water chamber. The drip-rate increases with the number of openings. You might wish to experiment as altering the drip rate is the main technique to regulate the flavor of the cold coffee you brew. Naturally, how long coffee takes to brew is also influenced by the flow rate.
The drip rate, kind of brewer, amount of coffee being brewed, amount of water utilized, and coffee-to-water ratio all have an impact on brew time. Some brewers can complete their labor in 4 hours, whilst others may need up to 24.
While brewing using this method is mostly hands-free, it is not completely hands-free as a normal immersion-style cold brew. To make sure the drip rate is constant while brewing, you might want to come back a few times.
5. Dilute and enjoy a great coffee
A coffee concentrate is produced by the slow drip method in a manner similar to that of a more conventional immersion-style cold brew. The concentrate will then be diluted to produce a cup of coffee with standard strength.
Depending on the brewing ratio you used, you can adjust the amount of dilution of your concentrate by adding cold, filtered water to taste. The usual method for serving coffee after diluting it is to pour it over ice in a coffee cup.
According to the professionals at Perfect Daily Grind, slow drip cold brew coffee is renowned for producing a crisp and refreshing cup with cleaner tastes than you would anticipate from a typical cold brew.
Traditional immersion-style cold brew is frequently praised for having a moderate flavor and little acidity. Still, slow drip cold brew coffee is for drinkers who value the sharp, acidic characteristics of specialty coffee. These delicate flavors are preserved by this brewing method.
What ratio for slow drip cold brew?
We prefer to use a ratio of approximately 1:9 for a flavorful and light ready-to-drink cold brew. However, you can raise the coffee ratio if you’d like a cold brew with a greater body or want to concentrate. A medium-coarse grind that falls between a pour-over and a French press coffee is ideal.
How strong is slow drip cold coffee?
As made, slow drip cold brew coffee has a robust flavor. It is made as a concentrate, just like traditional immersion-style cold brew, with the intention that you will dilute it. The flavor profile and extremely high caffeine concentration of the concentrate make it unsuitable for drinking. Contrary to what you might believe, using hot water does not reduce the amount of caffeine that is extracted. Cold brew is equally as caffeinated because of the longer brewing period.
Final Thoughts
It is not the quickest, cheapest, or most practical method to brew iced coffee in the Japanese slow drip method. But it isn’t the reason you ought to be doing it. To extract characteristics from your coffee that you would lose using other cold brew techniques, you should instead make slow drip cold brew coffee. The fact that any brunch guests will be impressed by the towering glass brewer is just a welcome bonus!You can read our best post for detailed instructions on how to prepare one gallon of cold brew coffee.
FAQs for slow drip cold brew coffee
How much coffee do I need for 1 Litre of cold brew?
For one liter of coffee, grind 83g, and for three liters, grind 250g. We always mix coffee and water in a 1:12 ratio for cold brew. The grind size should be comparable to coarse sand or pour-over or filter coffee. Gently combine the grinds with either one or three liters of water.
Can you make cold brew in 4 hours?
Almost anything in the kitchen may be used to make slow drip cold brew coffee; all you need to do is let it steep for 12 to 18 hours.
How does slow drip compare to cold brew and iced coffee?
Slow drip is comparable to cold brew but has a more complex flavor profile. While slow drip does not, cold brewing frequently mutes the acids and more vibrant tastes of a coffee, muddying its “high” overtones.
Because iced coffee is brewed hot and then chilled, the hot brewing water pulls different flavor components from the beans than cold water does.
