Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. One of the great things about our favorite morning beverage is that it can be brewed a variety of different ways. There are also a few ways to brew cold coffee, which is great for the spring and summer months when it gets a little too hot for a cup of hot coffee.

Cold brew is one of the most popular ways of drinking cold coffee. It is available at coffee shops around the world, where it is brewed in big batches. It is also possible to make cold brew at home, but another way of brewing cold coffee is by making a pour-over over ice. One benefit of using this method is that it is ready right away, while brewing cold brew takes over 12 hours, sometimes as often as 16 or 24 depending on the method used.

A cold coffee alternative to the cold brew method is making an iced pour over. Making a pour-over over ice is a fast and easy way to get a great-tasting cup of coffee at home. 

Brewing an Iced Pour Over

Pour-Over Dripper

A pour-over doesn’t refer to a particular brewing device necessarily, as is the case with a Chemex or an Aeropress. There are lots of different kinds of pour-over drippers, made of different kind of material. Some are made of stainless steel, like the Kalita Wave. Others are made of ceramic or glass. This is the first piece that is needed. 

Gooseneck Kettle

A gooseneck kettle also makes pouring the water much easier. If one isn’t available a regular kettle also does the trick. The last things needed are the filters that to match the pour-over dripper and the coffee. A kettle also helps get the coffee to the proper temperature. Some electric kettles get the coffee to a particular temperature. 205 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature for making a pour over. Otherwise, let the water heat to a boil and then wait a few minutes for it to cool down.

Digital Scale

A scale is also important. In order to brew coffee correctly, it’s important to know how much coffee and water is being used. Without a food scale or another way to know how much of each is being used, the ratios could be wrong, and it will produce either a watered down or an overly strong cup of coffee.

Choose a Coffee 

This is one of the most exciting parts about brewing a cup of coffee at home – deciding on what coffee to use. Grocery store coffee isn’t going to do the trick. Do yourself a favor and pick up some coffee from a local roaster. If you don’t know of any, we have some coffees here at US Roast that make fantastic pour-overs. Our Ethiopia Guji is a fruity coffee and a lighter roast. The Colombia is a chocolatey medium roast and comes out tasting like a brownie. Either one of these choices would be great for a pour-over at home.

Brewing Measurements 

The first step of brewing a pour-over is knowing how much coffee to use. A basic ratio is 1:15, meaning use 1 parts coffee for 15 parts water. 21 grams of coffee would yield a 315-gram cup of coffee, or about 11 ounces.  When brewing coffee for one person this is a good place to start, or more coffee can be used to make coffee for 2 or more people. Just multiply the amount of coffee by 15 to get a balanced cup of coffee.

What makes an iced pour-over different from a regular, hot one is the ice. Before pouring the water on, zero out the scale with the coffee on top and add several cubes of ice to the mug, glass, or carafe that is being used. Now the ice is counted as part of the water being used. The hot coffee will slowly melt the ice, but not fast enough for it to be hot when it is does brewing. Thus, the final result will be an ice-cold cup of coffee.

When pouring the water onto the coffee, it’s important to let the coffee “bloom” before all of the water is poured on. Fresh-roasted coffee needs to let gasses release, or they will affect the flavor of the coffee. 10% of the water will do the trick, so begin pouring from the center and work outwards in a spiral until all of the coffee is saturated and let the coffee “bloom” upward.

After 30 seconds the rest of the water can be poured on. For best results the pouring process should take less than 4 minutes.  

Enjoy!

It may seem like a complicated process, but after a few times, making a pour over will seem like second nature. If one is not new to drinking black coffee, they can add cream or whatever else they like in their coffee. But since a pour-over produces one of the best-tasting cups of black coffee, it is a great way to start trying black coffee for the first time.