How much ice is appropriate in the process of iced American coffee? What coffee beans do you recommend for American coffee?

Earlier, a friend asked Qianjie, "how much ice and how much water do you add to your iced American coffee?" Qianjie would like to take this opportunity to talk about the proportion of iced American coffee.

Iced American coffee consists of espresso, water and ice, so adding water and ice actually changes the concentration of coffee. Although the extraction rate and concentration of American coffee is similar to that of hand-brewed coffee. But unlike hand-brewed coffee, it does not need to take into account both extraction rate and concentration at the same time as hand-brewing.

In the part of extraction rate, we only need to grasp the extraction rate of espresso. Generally, according to the proportion of espresso at 1:2, the extraction rate of the extracted coffee liquid will be 19-20%, and the concentration is between 9-10%. At this time, the extraction rate of the coffee has been fixed, and the rest is to dilute the concentration of the coffee liquid by adding water. In fact, there is no very accurate statement about how much water should be added and what concentration it should be diluted to.

Qianjie to do a test, by mixing different proportions of water to test the concentration of coffee and taste it. Espresso liquid uses Qianjie sunflower sunflower mix, Qianjie extraction method will get the extraction rate of 19-20%, the concentration of 9-10% espresso, because different coffee beans and different extraction rates will produce different results (explained below), so we still need to discuss on this basis.

In the first group, the water added to Qianjie is 180ml, that is, the proportion of 1 4.5, which is the proportion of hot American products in Qianjie. The measured concentration is 1.67%, which is ultra-high according to the standard of gold cup.

The second group, Qianjie added 240ml water, that is, the proportion of 1:6, this is according to Qianjie to belong to the mainstream of one of the American proportion, the measured concentration of 1.34%, hit the gold cup standard.

In the third group, the water added to the front street with 320ml, that is, 1:8, measured a concentration of 1.05%, which was relatively low.

In terms of concentration, the 1:6 ratio is more scientific in American coffee. But Qianjie finally chose the ratio of 1RV 4.5, because we are drinking coffee, and the actual sensory feedback is also very important. Through continuous comparison, Qianjie found that the proportion of American coffee with warm sun coffee beans was 4.5%. The flavor of wine, vanilla cream, chocolate and brown sugar was the best. Although the concentration indicated by the data was quite high, it did not feel too strong in the actual senses.

The 1:6 ratio is mainly applicable to the Italian coffee beans, which are conditioned by nut chocolate. The main flavor of these coffee beans is bitter, the concentration is controlled in a range acceptable to the public, the drink is not too dense, not too light, the coffee flavor is enough, everything is just right, to achieve a balanced, popular American coffee.

The 1:8 ratio is suitable for deeply roasted traditional espresso beans, which extract espresso with a bitter flavor and require more water. In fact, the proportion of 1:8 was also the proportion commonly used in American coffee in the past, but later it began to pay attention to flavor, the quality of beans became more and more exquisite, and the parameters of concentrated extraction also changed slowly, resulting in a series of chain effects. This proportion is relatively rare (some chain brands may still use this ratio).

The difference between making iced American coffee and hot American coffee is that ice melts into water over time, which makes the coffee lighter. Therefore, the idea of making iced American coffee in Qianjie is not only to ensure the taste of iced American coffee, but also to keep it cold for a long time.

Therefore, Qianjie chose a larger piece of hard ice, which can slow down its melting rate. In the proportion of water, there will be less water than in the hot American style, so that the concentration of the ice will drop after it melts slightly.

In the actual amount of coffee added, the former street uses warm sun beans to make espresso as an example, 40g espresso, plus 120ml water and 100g (4) large ice cubes. The ratio of coffee to water to ice is 1: 3 / 2. According to the observation of Qianjie, many guests will leave about 2 ice cubes after drinking. Of course, this proportion is not absolute, you can also according to a flavor attribute of the coffee beans you use, understand the way of thinking in front of the street to get your favorite proportion.