How to make cold drip coffee

Have you ever wanted to make cold drip coffee but aren’t sure how?

Cold drip coffee has two obvious differences. It is brewed without heat and the equipment used is a drip style filter. Cold drip has a shrouded history. It is thought to have had its start in south-east Asian colonies of the 1600’s due to the intense heat putting people off hot coffee. Using this method taps into the immense flavour potential of the coffee, and allows the barista to control the drinks final flavour. Depending on the rate of the drip, the coffee produced can either be deep and rich or the lighter fruit notes in the coffee can be brought front and centre.

A barista course will teach you that the equipment used to make this coffee is a gravitational filter system, called a cold drip tower. It is a glass structure with three main parts that connect vertically to create a streamline dripping system.

The structure

• Top Chamber – the top part of the system is a cylindrical dropping funnel with an attached stop valve. This holds the water and allows you to adjust your rate of flow.
• Middle Chamber – this section is made up of a Buchner funnel with a section for coffee grounds. It has a filter that sits in its base where it connects to a glass coil tube ending with a drip that leads into the bottom portion of the system.
• Bottom Chamber – this part is the carafe that the drip leads into. It catches and collects the coffee ready to serve or be added to a larger drink.

The parts of this cold drip tower can come in varied styles and shapes. This is to meet each shop or barista’s needs, both in product outcome and aesthetic.

How to utilise the cold drip tower:

1: If you have not already set up your cold drip tower then set up now. Make sure all parts of your tower are clean and functioning (e.g. clear filters, working stop valve, etc.)

2: Place the filter in the middle chamber, and add the chosen amount of coffee into the designated part of the middle chamber.

3: Add a little water to the grounds and stir until lightly moist.

4: Wet a paper filter and place it on top of the grounds, to disperse water and holes in the grounds that could lead to uneven extraction.

5: Place the carafe in place to catch extracted coffee drippings, then fill the top chamber with water and ice.

6: With everything in its place open the valve on the bottom of the top chamber, setting it to drip at your chosen rate (e.g. 3 seconds). Once you have collected enough coffee pour into a cup and serve.

Do you want to learn more about elaborate coffee equipment? Let our Barista Pro course take you to the next level.