Iced Coffee the Japanese Way

For many of us, it’s the height of summer heat now, and iced drinks bring refreshment like nothing else. Today ROASTe moves to the voting phase of our Summer Recipe contest. We urge you all to participate and enjoy some of the enticing ways to make delicious iced coffee drinks that will help beat the heat - and then cast your vote for the winning recipe. Iced coffee is also on the minds of others in the coffee media, such as Erin Meister. She recently published a feature – an article and a slideshow – on cold-brewing coffee over ice the Japanese way. Though simple, this method is quite different from the usual brewing methods, so you might want to give it a try. Once you’ve tried it, you may never want to brew coffee the normal way again. This method starts differently in that ice cubes, in an amount that makes up half the total water needed, are placed in the bottom of a carafe. A funnel filter cone and paper filter are then placed over the carafe. Use 1.8 grams of coffee grounds of a strong coffee (Kenyan is good) per ounce of the desired amount of brewed coffee. For 16 oz of coffee, that means about 29 grams of grounds. Pour the hot water, in an amount equal to the volume of the ice, through the grounds, making sure it pours directly onto the ice. Pour slowly enough so that most of the ice melts. The secret of the Japanese method is that both hot water and ice are used in the brewing. That way the coffee gives off flavor characteristics noted for both cold brewing and hot brewing, creating a more “dynamic” flavored brew. The melting cubes lock in the flavor as they chill the coffee. Watch the slideshow by clicking on the image above for more details, and enjoy a Japanese iced coffee today! Brew cool.