Cold Brew Coffee
Cold brew uses an immersion technique, mixing coffee and water, which is left to ‘brew’. The process is coffee grounds steeped in temperature-controlled cold water for an extended period, until desired extraction is achieved. It is a simple and cheap way of making large quantities and actually the way most coffee shops and specialized cold brew producers make it. However things like temperature, filtration, bottling and storage all have an effect on the final product.
Cold Drip
Cold drip is another way of cold extraction which produces an even better cold extracted coffee, but the process can be quite tedious to make sometimes. Cold drip coffee, sometimes called Dutch Coffee or Kyoto style cold brew, requires timed contact with water and coffee, controlled by a slow drip and grind size. Ice cold water drips from a container over coarsely ground coffee and the delicious coffee drips to a carafe at the bottom. There’s plenty of room for variation, too. Like with anything coffee related, there are always different brew ratios. You can set up a cold dripper with a coarser grind and faster drip to achieve something a bit lighter and fresher, as opposed to the intensity of something slower.
Is it worth it?
Cold water gently caresses the coffee in a cold drip apparatus and the result is a coffee that is complex, smooth, has a fuller body and enhances the flavors in a coffee. Much more than with the simple soak-and-rest method. The second benefit of using a dedicated cold drip maker is efficiency. Cold drip coffee needs much less coffee to produce an amazing cold extracted coffee. Lastly, it takes just a few hours to make a pot of coffee with the cold drip method, which is quite a difference from the 12 to 24 hours with the steeped cold brew.
Each method has its pros and cons, but the bottom line is; cold extracted coffee will definitely LIFT up your day!
Reference list
https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/cold-brew-or-cold-drip-coffee
https://www.goat-story.com/blogs/news/cold-brew-or-cold-drip