This post comes to us from Peter Giuliano, Director of Coffee and Co-owner of Counter Culture Coffee. Read on to learn his favorite way to make iced coffee.
The first-time traveler to Japan is often surprised by an unexpected element of Japanese cuisine: the iced coffee. Now, iced coffee is enjoyed in many countries, but in Japan, “Aizu Kohi” approaches an art form. Elegantly served in tall glasses with heavy cream and simple syrup on the side, Japanese Iced Coffee was a flavor revelation to me. Crisp, refreshing, aromatic, and full of coffee flavor… As a coffee taster, I became obsessed with the secrets of Japanese Iced Coffee preparation. Luckily, I had a connection: Mr. Hidetaka Hayashi, of the Hayashi Coffee Institute of Japan, is a good friend and mentor. Mr. Hayashi gleefully gave me the grand tour of Japanese Iced Coffee, and I wound up learning a simple trick that has transformed the way I think about this simple, refreshing beverage.
Are you ready for the secret? Here it is: iced coffee is best prepared hot, but must be chilled instantly. And I mean instantly. In Japan, they design special brewers to achieve this task, where coffee is chilled immediately upon leaving the brewer basket. Through experimentation, I discovered that this principle is easily duplicated in my kitchen.
Photo credit: Counter Culture Coffee
Here’s how: Simply brew coffee double-strong, using half as much water as you normally would. In the coffeepot, put enough ice to replace the missing water. As the coffee brews, the double-strong coffee chills immediately upon hitting the ice, and the melting ice dilutes the coffee to perfect drinking strength. This is the important part: the coffee must drip directly onto the ice– this chills it right away, capturing all of the aromatics of freshly brewed coffee. Serve over more fresh ice, and accompany with heavy cream and simple syrup in the true Japanese style. Light-roasted coffees are particularly delicious brewed this way, creating a refreshing, light, crisp beverage. It’s the perfect summertime morning drink, whether you live in Tokyo, New York, or pretty much anywhere.
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Comments ( 2 )
Odd that the illustration above shows the ice in a carafe on the side — not directly under the brewing cone, as the instructions emphasize as being so important.
J Knodell added these pithy words on Jul 23 10 at 2:49 pm With a method like this you need to be very careful to avoid splashing any of the hot coffee onto the glass directly or else you run the risk of shattering! You can do something similiar with Ice'd greek coffee by making the coffee in the ibriki and pouring it in a glass over ice directly after the second foam, i would caution that i always use a plastic cup for this I had a mug shatter once. Notfun
Paul Rj Muller added these pithy words on Jun 08 11 at 8:02 am 
