Summer is definitely here, and these warm temperatures are having us experiment with iced versions of all our favorite methods! Did you know you can “ice” virtually any coffee brewing method? Here are our top tips for you:
Taste your ice! High-quality, great tasting ice, made from Spring or filtered water is essential for a tasty cold drink. You can very easily - and unknowingly - ruin a perfect brew with ice that has any mineral, metallic, or off-flavors from your freezer.
Weigh your ice! Remember it will become “extra” water as it melts, and dilute your drink. Our standard technique is to reduce the amount of water used by half (i.e. 30 g of coffee in 250 mL of water instead of the standard 500 mL you’d normally use). Keep in mind, you normally need at least 250 mL of water for proper extraction, so you may need to double the amount of coffee you use in our brew for a single serving (this way there will be “enough” water to extract properly… otherwise it is very likely you’ll get an under-extracted, weak, probably acidic cup). For example, we normally do 15 g of coffee for every 250 mL in our hot drip and pour-over brews. For our iced brew, we would use 30 g of coffee for the same 250 mL of hot water - which would then be poured into 250 grams of ice, for a resulting 500 mL drink. This method works well for both drip and pour-over methods. Espresso drinks -due to their concentrated brewing nature- are even easier, and natural fit for iced drinks. Simply add ice instead of water to your espresso shot, or half the amount of milk if you don’t normally add any water.
Cool immediately & keep cold! It is very important that you ice your drink as soon as you finish brewing (this will keep all those special “fresh brewed” aromas and flavors in your brew) - and if possible, brew your espresso shot or pour-over directly over ice. In our experience, iced brews keep well for 2-3 days if iced immediately after brewing and kept under refrigeration.
Beyond grateful and excited for one more summer, Brewing Greatness with you!
💛 Jolian & Lisbeth
P.S. Your roastery will soon be powered by the sun ☀️! We’re planning to install solar panels this Summer, projected to generate ~110% of our electric needs (the excess will be automatically donated to the City of Lakeland)… we’ll do updates in our IG/FB stories (@ethosroasters) as the project advances!
