Japanese Iced (Flash Brew)
Japanese iced coffee, also called flash brew, is a regular hot pour-over brewed straight onto ice. Part of the brew water is swapped for ice, so the coffee is brewed strong, then chilled and diluted to normal strength right away. You get the bright, aromatic flavours of hot extraction in a cold drink, ready in about three minutes instead of overnight.
Water by roast: light 96 °C · medium 93 °C · dark 90 °C
Steps
- PrepRinse the filter with hot water and discard the rinse water
- PrepPut 165 g ice in the carafe, set the dripper on top, add 30 g coffee
- 0:00Bloom with 30 g water, wetting all the grounds
- 0:30Pour in circles to 100 g
- 1:00Pour to 200 g once the level has dropped about 1 cm
- 1:30Keep pouring every 30 seconds until you reach 335 g
- 3:15Drawdown done, swirl to melt the last ice and pour over fresh ice
Variations
Iced Filter CoffeeJames Hoffmann
Keep a normal 65 g/L brew strength but swap about 40% of the brew water for ice in the carafe. Grind a bit finer and bloom longer.
32.5 g · 300 g water · 95-100 °C · slightly finer than your usual pour-over
- PrepPut 200 g ice in the carafe, rinse the filter, add 32.5 g coffee
- 0:00Bloom with about 65 g water
- 0:45Pour the rest of the hot water up to 300 g in a few pours
- 3:00Drawdown done, swirl until the ice has melted, serve over fresh ice
Hot Over IceBlue Bottle Coffee
Fast three-pour recipe onto just 75 g of ice. Short brew, bright cup.
24 g · 200 g water · 93-99 °C · medium-fine, slightly finer than regular pour-over
- PrepPut about 75 g ice in the carafe, set the dripper on top, add 20-27 g coffee
- 0:00Spiral pour to 50 g, finishing within 10 seconds
- 0:40Spiral pour to 120 g
- 1:10Spiral pour to 200 g
- 2:00Drawdown done (1:45-2:15), pour over a glass of ice
Iced CoffeeLa Cabra
Small, light single cup with only 60 g of ice for a bright, tea-like iced coffee.
18 g · 180 g water · 96 °C · medium-fine
- PrepRinse the filter but don't heat the pitcher, add 60 g ice to it
- 0:00Pour 60 g water to bloom
- 0:45Pour another 60 g (120 g total)
- 1:30Pour the final 60 g (180 g total)
- 2:30Drawdown done, serve over a glass of ice
Fix your cup
| Taste | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sour, thin | Under-extracted | Grind finer, use hotter water, bloom longer |
| Bitter, dry | Over-extracted | Grind coarser or pour faster |
| Too watery | Too much ice, or extra ice melted in the glass | Use less ice in the carafe, or brew stronger |
| Still warm after brewing | Not enough ice | Add 20-30 g more ice next time |
| Tastes muted | Coffee too dark or too cold to taste | Try a lighter roast, let it warm slightly |
Tips
- Weigh the ice. It's part of your total water, so treat it like an ingredient.
- Grind a little finer than you would for hot pour-over. You're using less hot water, so you need a bit more extraction.
- Light and fruity coffees shine here. This is the method to use for them instead of cold brew.
- Ice from a home freezer is colder than ice-machine ice, so you may need a little less of it.
- Swirl the carafe at the end until the ice in it has melted, then pour over fresh ice in the glass.
- Don't preheat the carafe. You want it cold.
Common mistakes
- Pouring hot coffee over ice after brewing a normal-strength cup. That just makes weak coffee.
- Using the full normal water amount as hot water and adding ice on top.
- Forgetting to subtract the ice weight from the hot water.
- Preheating the carafe out of habit and melting the ice before you start.
What you need
- Pour-over dripper (V60, Kalita Wave or similar)
- Paper filter
- Carafe or server
- Scale
- Gooseneck kettle
- Ice