The popularization of specialty coffee has managed to raise the level or at least the demand of many customers regarding the quality of coffee. At least that is what is perceived in the face of the proliferation of this type of cafeterias and local roasters. But what about in summer? Is good coffee compatible with adding a couple of ice cubes? How can we make a good cold coffee at home? To clear up doubts, we have asked baristas and experts on the subject.
Because now it seems relatively normal to us to go around asking for an iced latte - and pay a small fortune for this iced latte - but until not long ago, leaving the iced coffee of a lifetime was rare. At least in the north. Much less, by the way, in Portugal where I still remember, more than 20 years ago, ordering a coffee with ice and arriving in a normal small cup in which the waiter dropped an ice with a very strange face.
So the first question is a must: are quality coffee and ice compatible or is it an aberration comparable to adding three tablespoons of sugar to a 3-euro espresso in a trendy place while the barista restrains himself from calling the police?
The answer is a resounding yes. In fact, according to Kim Ossenblok -barista, author of the book Al grano and veteran specialist and trainer in the sector-, specialty coffee is especially suitable for cold preparations. "The more fruity tone of specialty coffee makes it more refreshing when cold."
What's more, the highest quality coffee is the one that best holds up cold. "Tasters seek to see how a cup that has been brewed hot evolves as it cools down to value that coffee," he explains.
Using the best coffee we can find or the budget allows seems like a pretty obvious tip. But is there one origin or type of roast that works especially well? Although the recommendation is to resort to the one we like the most, again the fruity touches and the coffees with a more marked citrus point are a good idea.
"Really any origin is viable to make a good cold coffee and to the taste of each consumer, but we usually recommend that African varieties be used, since they are more exotic and fruity," says Juan Moral, roaster of Café de Finca, pioneers since Castelldefels of the specialty coffee movement in the country.
In addition to the type and quality of coffee, ice also plays an important role when preparing it. Something basic is that the ice is as big as possible. Better from a supermarket than from a homemade ice bucket, especially if it is one of the small ones.
And not only to prevent them from quickly disappearing in the hot coffee - a classic in many bars, where you have to beg them not to skimp on ice - but because it is very important that the coffee cool down as soon as possible after making it.
"You have to use enough ice, the bigger the better, and it is important to prepare the coffee, whether it is filter or espresso, directly on it so that it cools as it falls and thus preserves all the flavor and aroma," recommends Ossenblok.
Yassir Raïs, CEO and Founder of Syra Coffee gives us the precise recipe for those who want to prepare it with filter coffee, with a V60 type system: put a third of the total weight of water in ice and the rest in normal water. That is, if we are going to use 300 grams of water for coffee, we will use 100 grams of ice and 200 of water.
For cold preparations with milk, the same thing: first the cold milk base with ice and the coffee is prepared directly on it. In this case, instead of the aforementioned fruity profile, it is better to bet on origins from Central and South America that will give a more toasted, sweet touch and with notes of cocoa or caramel.
What about using iced coffee cubes? We have seen it in some places and, at first, it did not seem like a good idea. However, from Café de Finca they correct us: “our recommendation is to previously freeze the coffee itself in cubes and add more coffee when drinking it. In this way we try to preserve the full body of the coffee as much as possible.”
In any case, those who are serious about cold coffee have long since added the cold brew technique to their coffee dictionary. As its name indicates, it is about cold infusing coffee for which we will simply need water, ground coffee in a ratio of 1:10 with respect to water, and about 24 hours of waiting.
Then you just have to filter it (if we have not directly used a container to infuse) and that's it. In any case, the typical French plunger coffee maker works perfectly without having to buy a specific container.
“Cold brew is making its way into the market and is becoming more and more one of the favorite methods for cold coffee, even introducing it with new recipes that incorporate other ingredients such as mint and lime or orange. It is also easy and quick to prepare”, indicate those responsible for Café de Finca.
It is also important to use filtered or bottled water, a coarsely ground coffee and keep in mind that due to the type of preparation, the acidity will be reduced. In addition to including other ingredients to the infusion, the possibility of adjusting the intensity is another advantage of this type of cold preparation, as Kim Ossenblok points out.
It is enough to vary the aforementioned 1:10 base ratio and add or put more coffee so that the result is a cold brew with a more or less powerful flavor. It is, without a doubt, the easiest way to have a good cold coffee anywhere because, as you remember, we don't even need hot water.
