Did you know you that a drip cone and Chemex aren’t limited to just hot coffee? You can brew fantastic iced coffee using the Japanese Method in your pourover vessel.
The Japanese Method is a simple concept – brew using a pourover, and replace half the water you’d normally use with ice in the bottom of the carafe/cup/brewing vessel. As you brew, the hot coffee will start to melt the ice and cool down the coffee without weakening the final cup. Your ratio of total water to grounds remains the same as it would for hot coffee – you’re just substituting ice for part of the water.
For the full set of instructions read more….
Japanese Method Iced Coffee (Using a Chemex)*
Proportions given yield 2 servings
You will need:
Chemex and filters
Hot water kettle
Coffee grinder (you could do without this, but freshly ground coffee is definitely the most flavorful)
Kitchen Scale (again, you can brew without this, but I’d highly recommend using one to get the proportions correct)
48 grams of freshly roasted coffee beans
Water
Ice
- Gather your supplies and start boiling the water.
- Rinse the Chemex filter with hot water. This helps remove any papery taste that may linger. Dump out any water that falls into the Chemex.
- Add half the amount of water you would normally brew with in the form of ice at the bottom of the Chemex. I typically use a total of 710 grams of water with 48 grams of coffee, so in this case, I put 355 grams of ice in the bottom of my Chemex. Depending on what kind of coffee you use and how fresh it is, you may need to adjust the water/ice to coffee ratio. Put the rinsed filter back in place. Grind your coffee (slightly more coarse than what you’d use for a drip coffee maker) and add the grounds to the filter.
- Pour about 50-60 grams of hot water (just under a boil) over the grounds and wait for about 30 seconds, letting the coffee “bloom.” You’ll see the grounds bubble up as gasses are released.
- Continue pouring hot water over the grounds until you’ve poured in a total of 355 grams. (Making your water plus ice equal the full 710 grams.)
- Remove the filter and pour into glasses, being sure the ice gets evenly distributed between the glasses. Serve and enjoy!
For more information and a video on brewing using a Chemex, click here.
*You can use other pourover tools with the Japanese Method, such as the HarioV60 Drip Cone. Follow the same instructions, but adjust the grind and the amount of coffee, water and ice accordingly.
Want to enjoy a drink on us this week? Visit us at farmers’ markets in St. Charles, Batavia, Aurora, Sugar Grove or Elgin! The first 20 people to stop by at each of those markets from July 11-17 and say “keep it cold” get a drink on us!