Want to enjoy a chilled cup of brewed iced coffee but got no time for brewing? Well, search no more; the simple answer is Japanese Iced Coffee!
Japanese iced coffee seems to be taking the world by storm. The reason for its popularity lies in its simple brewing method. Coffeeholics often prefer cold brew coffee because of its intense and wholesome flavor.
Still, Japanese iced coffee steadily seems to be replacing cold brew iced coffee. The richness of its taste, most straightforward brewing technique, and the instant scrumptious outcome make it a strong competitor of cold brew iced coffee. Japanese iced coffee can be prepared in just a matter of minutes, giving you extra time to relish the flavorsome texture and rich aroma.
What Is Japanese Iced Coffee?
If you’re a staunch coffee drinker, then you must have come across the name of this coffee type several times. But what exactly is it?
Japanese iced coffee is actually a brewing method that gives a perfect amalgam of vibrant flavor and sumptuous aroma. Often coffee drinkers who are alien to Japanese iced coffee question whether this coffee type is hot or cold. The answer is both!
Japanese iced coffee is obtained by pouring hot coffee over ice, allowing the boiling coffee to cool once in contact with ice. Its flavor is highly unique. A complete package as the coffee drinker gets to experience a blooming, intricate, vibrant, and smooth taste all at once. The delicate combination of the flavor distinguishes Japanese iced coffee from the remaining coffee types.
Brewing Method And Icing Technique
Japanese iced coffee is brewed in the same way as one would typically brew hot coffee. The coffee beans are roasted or heated at high temperatures, either with boiling water or constant flame heating. Once the coffee beans or grounded coffee is brewed, it is poured over a cup or container packed with ice.
The coffee beans’ hot brewing technique extracts out all the nutrients and flavorful essentials that give a robust caffeinated taste and intense aroma. The pouring on the ice operation helps to trap the extracted flavor. The ice packed in the cup ensures that none of the nutrients become volatile and prevents oxidation, ensuring that all the essentials are locked in the cup for the coffee drinker to admire.
The ice also compensates for the necessary coffee to water ratio, bringing out the true essence of the coffee while considering the optimum caffeine concentration.
Time Consumption
Japanese iced coffee hardly takes 10-15 minutes for its preparation. This is the go-to coffee for folks who have packed schedules but are a sucker for delicious coffee. Due to the speedy process of assembling Japanese iced coffee, it’s also termed as ‘Flash brewed coffee’ because it’s brewed and served in a flash! All you need is boiling water, some coffee beans, and loads of ice!
Although Japanese iced coffee may sound very fancy by its name, it does not require any costly equipment for its making. It just needs the same old equipment which every coffee maker already owns. Japanese iced coffee is brewed by using a Chemex.
Chemex is an hourglass-shaped flask lined with considerably thin filters that trap the coffee oils. Other unnecessary coffee dumps when grounded coffee or coffee beans are placed in it. Japanese iced coffee is light, giving the coffee drinker an energy boost and no nauseous sensation. Japanese iced coffee is undoubtedly going to be a summer kicker!
Why Is Japanese Iced Coffee So Trendy?
Coffee trends are the highlight of every season. Summers are always hard for the Coffeeholics since drinking hot coffee in the scorching sun can really be a challenge. Fortunately, there is an alternative!
Japanese iced coffee does a fine job of replacing hot coffee in summers. It’s light, refreshing, and makes up for the caffeine hit for the coffee drinkers. Although the Japanese iced coffee trend is spreading like wildfire, many coffee addicts are unaware that this coffee is not new.
Japanese iced coffee has been delighting the taste buds of coffee drinkers since the last 1940s. Considering the historic affiliation associated with Japanese iced coffee, this type of coffee has served as the heat escape remedy in the burning sun for more than 60 years!
Simple And Tasty
Another reason why Japanese iced coffee is becoming trendy is because of its simplicity. The preparation of this coffee does not require hours or costly equipment, not even some expensive add ons. The most straightforward technique and equipment can prepare a nice cup of iced coffee to beat the heat. Making Japanese iced coffee does not require you to be a pro. If you know how to boil water and pour hot coffee on ice, then you are good to go!
Often coffee drinkers have the misconception that the combination of the hot and cold techniques can lead to a dead coffee in flavor. However, this is not the case. Japanese iced coffee is full of flavor. The coffee drinker can themselves experience multiple exchanges of flavors occurring in every sip, giving them a refreshing sensation in the hot sun.
Since Japanese iced coffee requires the instant interaction of the hot and cold elements, a fresh serving is made every time someone is craving for one. It can not be reused or stored like cold brew coffee or even hot coffee. The coffee drinker has to fix a fresh cup every time, allowing no compromise on the flavor. And since Japanese iced coffee requires only a couple of minutes for its prep, you can enjoy the burst of flavors in each cup on the go!
Experiment With Textures
Japanese iced coffee has become a new sensation on the internet for coffee lovers. A primary reason contributing to its popularity is that the coffee drinker can experiment with different textures and caffeine concentrations. The layering of ice can do this.
There is no fixed rule that the ice must be composed of water for Japanese iced coffee. It’s completely flexible and versatile in nature. If you like your coffee extra caffeinated, you can use some coffee cubes obtained by freezing leftover coffee. And if you are craving some creamy texture, you can use milk cubes instead. The choice is entirely yours.
How To Make Japanese Iced Coffee?
Now coming to the question you must have been looking most forward to. How to make Japanese iced coffee?
The making procedure of Japanese iced coffee is as simple as boiling an egg. It does not require any chef skills nor any special equipment. As we mentioned earlier, you can make it on the go, so you don’t need any fancy counters to enjoy a delicate and refreshing cup of iced coffee.
Choose Your Favorite Beans
The first thing you will need is obviously, coffee! You can take any coffee beans of your preference and weigh them according to your serving. You need to note that you do not want excess coffee beans since Japanese iced coffee can not be stored and is prepared fresh for each cup. Japanese iced coffee is distinguished for its uniquely elaborative flavor. It will be lost if you will be using stored or an old batch of brewed coffee.
Ground The Beans
The next step is to ground the coffee beans. It will help if you ground them up into a fine powder by using your grinder. Grinding your coffee beans is necessary if you want to enjoy the rich taste and aroma the Japanese iced coffee is famous for.
By finely grinding the beans, you are basically extracting out the flavorsome and aromatic compounds from the bean and making it easier for them to be mixed instantly with water.
Take Out Your Chemex
Next up, you will need to bring out your Chemex. Chemex is lined with comparatively thinner filter papers, ensuring that the unwanted coffee compounds and nutrients are filtered out to leave only the commendable product behind. It also allows water to mix with the coffee grinds and brew it comprehensively thoroughly.
Once the coffee is prepared, you can take out the upper portion of the Chemex and enjoy the serving! If you don’t have a Chemex at home, then no need to worry. You can still enjoy this soothing drink by using your traditional dipper and filter paper. You will need to add an extra server in this case.
Brew Your Own Japanese Coffee
Now that you have your setup ready, it’s time to brew. Boil some water and pour it in the Chemex such that it passes through the filter paper and comes in contact with the coffee grinds. You can also use plain filter paper for the water coffee intermix.
Once the intermix occurs, you will instantly experience the strong aroma and bubbling of the coffee grinds. This indicates that the coffee is now brewed and ready to be served. Next up, pour this hot, bubbling aromatic mixture on top of the ice. The ice will not only cool the brewed coffee but will also enrich the flavor.
Enjoy it!
And the final step, sit back and relax while you enjoy the cup of your very own Japanese iced coffee!
What Do I Need To Consider While Brewing Japanese Iced Coffee?
Japanese iced coffee can be brewed and serves in just a matter of 10 minutes. But what happens if you make one or two mistakes? How can you cherish the same dense flavor every time? We have got your queries covered!
Fresh Coffee Beans
There are multiple factors you need to take into consideration while brewing Japanese iced coffee. One of those most important aspects is the freshness of the coffee beans. If you want to experience the same delicious iced coffee taste every time you make one, you need to ensure that the coffee beans you are using are fresh and crisp.
Soggy or worn-out beans can result in the coffee’s bitterness, thus ruining the original, refreshing essence of Japanese iced coffee. To keep your beans fresh and firm, you need to store your coffee beans in an airtight container at room temperature. Avoiding frequent air contact can prevent the beans from getting excess moisture and losing their nutrients.
Try to keep your beans in a dry and cool spot, if possible. You need to maintain an optimum temperature for their storage, neither too hot nor too cold.
Consistency Of Coffee Beans
You also need to consider the consistency of the ground coffee beans. A firm powdered grind ensures a thorough blend of the coffee and water, thus getting the ideal brew every time. As mentioned above, grinding the coffee beans releases all the aromatic and tasteful nutrients from within the coffee bean, guaranteeing you the perfect coffee as if you are drinking it in Japan!
Next up, to get the perfect refreshing cup of Japanese iced coffee, you need to instantly pour the hot bubbly coffee on top of the ice. The immediate pouring makes sure to lock the nutrients and aromatic essentials before they become volatile and disappear into thin air.
You can evaluate this yourself by conducting a small experiment; pour hot brewed coffee at different time intervals into the ice. You will observe that the coffee cup prepared at the shortest time interval bears the best result.
Take these minor factors into consideration every time you fix yourself a cup of Japanese iced coffee. We can guarantee you that you will experience the same versatile and vibrant flavor every time with each sip!
How Is Japanese Iced Coffee Different From Cold Brew Coffee?
Cold brew coffee has definitely been every coffee lover’s most adored coffee type for a long time, mainly due to its storage feasibility. But people are getting bored now, and multiple cold brew passionate coffee drinkers have also termed it as ‘dull.’
Brewing Time Difference
When we compare the two coffee types, Japanese iced coffee holds the victory. The prime reason for this triumph lies in the time taken for the brewing process. Cold brew coffee can take up to 12 to 24 hours to get the optimum coffee rich in flavor and taste. But on the other hand, Japanese iced coffee can promise to deliver an even better sensation in just 10 minutes! The difference in the brewing temperatures is another notable difference.
Cold brew coffee is brewed in ice-cold water, whereas Japanese iced coffee is brewed with hot boiling water and then topped on ice. The temperature differences are highly accountable for the difference in flavors of the coffee types. Japanese iced coffee is brewed absolutely fresh, thus constituting the coffee beans’ crispiness and freshness and providing a pleasing coffee drinking experience.
On the other hand, cold brew coffee loses its spark over time. The beans become soggy and bitter and exhibit a too-boring end product, which tastes more like a medicine than it does like a coffee. Japanese iced coffee holds the trophy here as it is full of drama due to the ice cubes and is free of dull accusations.
Fresh And Crisp Taste
The prolonged-time period of cold brew’s storage in the refrigerator makes the coffee concentrate too soggy and bitter. As for the caffeine concentration, in cold brew coffee, you cannot spice up the caffeine by adding more coffee beans. They will also require a minimum of 18 hours for their brewing. But in Japanese iced coffee, you can level up the caffeine concentration by adding some coffee cubes.
Texture Difference
Cold brew coffee pretty much gives the coffee drinker the same texture every time, either served hot or cold. However, Japanese iced coffee allows the coffee drinker to experiment with the flavors and texture of the coffee to their own liking.
Japanese iced coffee can provide you with the same spur of excitement in taste with every cup you drink because it is made fresh. Cold brew coffee does not have this vital factor as it creates a muted impact on the coffee.
When it comes to beating the heat, our vote is with the Japanese iced coffee. Not only it refreshes and soothes the body, but it also gives you a radiant glow that lasts all day!
In conclusion, Japanese iced coffee’s reign over the world has made it quite apparent that soon it will become the most wanted coffee in all cafes and coffee shops. But here’s the catch. You can experience the same enlightening flavor and electric aroma by taking just 10 minutes out for your coffee. Trust us; it’s worth it!