Maven's Brew: Brewing Coffee over Ice Japanese-style

By Valorie King, Owner & Coffee Maven

Japanese-style? What does that even mean? With all the hype and popularity of cold brew coffee, there is another method for brewing cold coffee: Coffee over ice Japanese-style. Instead of the slow steep (aka immersion) or drip of cold water over ground coffee, you start brewing coffee hot directly over ice. Periodically I try cold brewed coffee just to see if anything has changed. No, I still do not enjoy cold brew. This week, I compared the 2018 Anniversary Blend cold brewed vs Japanese-style. Over ice Japanese-style won hands down!

The beauty and simplicity of brewing over ice is it can be done with most any brewing method! In your regular drip brewer, Clever Coffee Dripper, any pour over method or the Aeropress. I cannot think of a way to do this in the French Press. If you have a recipe or process for the French Press, I would love to hear it.

Brewing coffee directly over ice immediately cools down the coffee and highlights some flavor nuances you would not taste drinking hot coffee. The ice locks in flavors and aromatics. I prefer this method over cold brew. That's another day's blog. I most commonly brew this method in the Chemex. Some things to remember:

• You will need to brew coffee stronger by adding more ground coffee, grinding your coffee a little finer or using less water. Most often, I use less water or a combination of more coffee and less water.
• You will need to factor in your ice as a part of the water equation. Brewing coffee really is a blend of art and science. Yes, we do weigh everything when using a manual method of brewing coffee.

​Basic 40 oz Chemex Over Ice Japanese-style is:

• Ratios: H2O 16 gm to Coffee 1 gm:
  • H2O 500 gm to Coffee 65 gm over 200 gm ice (most common here Lamppost Coffee Roasters) or
  • H2O 250 gm to Coffee 33 gm over 100 gm ice
• Gather your Chemex brewing supplies: 40 oz Chemex, Chemex paper filter, coffee grinder, fresh roasted coffee, kitchen scale, timer, electric kettle or stove top for hot water, coffee grinder, kitchen scale, timer, cold filtered water and ice
• Measure water by weight per ratios given above. Add water to an electric kettle and heat to 204°F or 30 seconds off boil on stovetop.
• While water is heating up, place the filter inside the Chemex, lining up the multiple folds with the spout. Pre-rinse with hot water to seal the filter and rinse out the paper flavor. Discard the rinse water. Coffee Maven tip: Rinsing your paper filter prior to brewing eliminates both paper dust on the filter as well as rinses out the paper taste. I find I need to rinse my filters three times before brewing.
• Set the Chemex on the scale. Lift filter up and zero or tare the weight.. Add the appropriate amount of ice to bottom of Chemex per ratios given above. Large cubes are preferable to crushed ice. Return filter.
• Grind coffee per ratios given above. The coffee grind should be about as coarse as kosher salt. Coffee Maven tip: Remember, you can experiment with amount of coffee and grind to find your perfect ratio.
• Pour ground coffee into filter. Make divot in center of grounds. Return the Chemex to kitchen scale and zero out or tare the weight again.
• Set timer for 4:30 minutes. I use a countdown timer. Press start on the timer as soon as you begin to pour the hot water. Pour 50 g water to saturate the grounds and let it bloom for 30 seconds. The fresher the coffee, the greater bloom you will see.
• Next, after the bloom and when the countdown timer reaches 4 minutes, add to 150 grams of water for the first pour, evenly pour water in a spiral over the coffee bed and slowly fill to the top of the brewer.
• Continue to evenly pour water in a spiral over the coffee bed in the filter cone slowly filling to the top of the brewer.
• Continue to add water periodically until the brewed coffee reaches the desired weight of coffee, 250 or 500 grams depending on the water to coffee ratio being used. Coffee Maven Tip: At the end of your pour and before all the water had filtered through the coffee, give the coffee a quick stir to make sure the water fully saturates all the grounds. This will ensure even brewing.
• After all the water has drained through the coffee and filter or when the countdown timer reaches 0, whichever comes first, discard filter and spent coffee grounds.

Serve coffee in a glass of cubed ice. Another little twist is to use a little less water still and add a splash of cold selter water to the glass for sparkling coffee over ice.

Or using the same ratios, brew coffee over ice using your Chemex Ottomatic. It is so much simpler!

​Enjoy!