Iced coffee and cold brew makers

Iced coffee or cold brew?

Both end up as a cold glass of coffee, but they are made in opposite ways. Iced coffee is brewed hot and then cooled, usually by pouring it straight over ice. That keeps the aroma and the fresh acidity of the coffee. Cold brew is never heated: ground coffee steeps slowly in cold water, usually for 12 to 24 hours. The result is milder and less acidic, with a fuller body. An iced cappuccino or iced latte is a third route: espresso with cold milk and ice.

The equipment in this category

• Hario Mizudashi Cold Brew Coffee Pot, 600 ml and 1000 ml: a jug with a filter insert. Put the ground coffee in the filter, fill up with cold water and leave it in the fridge. Mizudashi is Japanese for water brewing.
• Hario Filter-in Coffee Bottle, 750 ml: a bottle with a built-in filter, so you make cold brew in the bottle and pour it straight from it.
• Hario V60 Fretta: a drip filter designed for iced coffee. It cools the coffee as it filters, so you have iced coffee within minutes.
• Hario V60 Iced Coffee Maker, glass VIG-02T, 700 ml: a V60 dripper on a glass server. You put ice in the server and brew hot coffee directly onto it.

Which one suits you?

• You like to make a batch in advance: a Mizudashi pot. Take the 1000 ml for a household of coffee drinkers, the 600 ml if it is mostly for you.
• You want cold brew ready in the fridge door: the Filter-in Coffee Bottle.
• You want iced coffee now, not tomorrow: the V60 Fretta or the V60 Iced Coffee Maker.

Method 1: hot coffee over ice

1. Brew your coffee a little stronger than usual, because the ice melts into it.
2. Fill the server or a glass with ice.
3. Brew directly onto the ice with a V60 iced coffee maker, or pour a freshly made double espresso over the ice.
4. Add cold milk or a dairy alternative to taste for an iced latte.

For espresso over ice, an Italian blend works well, for example one of the illy coffees.

Method 2: cold brew

1. Grind the coffee coarse, roughly as for a cafetière.
2. Use about 1 part coffee to 8 parts cold water.
3. Let it steep for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge.
4. Remove the filter insert, or strain the coffee through a fine sieve or paper filter.
5. Serve over ice, black or with milk.

Keep cold brew in a closed jug or bottle in the fridge, so you always have some ready without brewing each time.

Which coffee to use?

For cold brew you can use any coffee, but fruity coffee beans turn out soft and juicy, while a darker roast gives a chocolatey, rounder cup. Don't have a grinder? Coarse ground coffee works for cold brew; fine espresso grind makes it muddy and hard to filter.