A Delicious Contradiction
When the warmer months are upon us, with them comes the craving for a cold, refreshing libation. Cold brewed coffee, which can be brewed in everything from the Hario Mizudashi to a mason jar, typically takes center stage this time of year—and for good reason. Its abundant richness and syrupy texture of cold brew typically come from a long period of immersion and extraction, making for a singular coffee experience.
But, if you're looking to add a bit of variety to you cold coffee game with something quite a bit faster, look no further than the lightness, brightness and nuance of the Iced Pour Over—or most popular among our roasters, the "Cold Chemex."
In practice, brewing an iced pour over is quite simple: just substitute a portion of your brewing water with an equal portion of ice, which is then placed in your brewing vessel. By doing so, you'll end up with less hot water to pour onto the grounds, so use finer ground coffee to ensure the remaining water has adequate contact time to extract the coffee.
Here are a few ratios to get you started. We'll use a Chemex recipe for reference, but this can work with any pourover brewer. We've been enjoying this recipe with Ethiopia Ardi Natural—a fruit-forward single origin coffee— as well as our signature Cold Brew Blend.
The Recipe
Recommended Coffee to Water Ratio: 1:15 (light & nuanced)
What you'll need
- Chemex brewer, or the pourover brewer of your choice)
- Fresh coffee (40g / 1.4oz), ground finer than your usual pour over
- Ice (250g / 8.8oz)
- Hot Water (350g / 12.3 oz)
- Clock (or timer)
Prep
To get started, place your ice (roughly 40% of your normal amount of brewing water) in the bottom of your brewing vessel. Between the ice and the hot water, you this recipe involves a total of 600g of water.
Place your grounds in your brewer with a standard filter, just as you would for a standard hot brew.
Brew
The remainder of your brew will be the same as a hot pourover, but pay special attention that the vessel you are brewing into has enough volume to receive both the hot water and the melted ice.
We find the Chemex (preferably the 8 Cup or larger) to be ideal to use here, especially when making a batch of cold coffee for two or more. For the timing of each pour, feel free to consult our Chemex brew guide.
