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Can ice water make cold extract coffee? What is the difference between room temperature water and ice water for making cold coffee?

Published: 2025-12-20 Author:

Last Updated: 2025/12/20, Cold extract ~ Cold extract ~ As the name suggests, it is coffee made with low-temperature cold water. The most common method is to soak the coffee powder in room temperature water (cold boiled water) and put it in the refrigerator, then wait for the cold water to extract the flavor substances, and finally filter to obtain coffee liquid. But in fact, cold-extracted coffee can be extracted with room temperature water, but also made with ice water.

Cold extract ~ Cold extract ~ As the name suggests, it is coffee made with low-temperature cold water. The most common method is to soak the coffee powder in room temperature water (cold boiled water) and put it in the refrigerator, then wait for the cold water to extract the flavor substances, and finally filter to obtain coffee liquid.

But in fact, cold-extracted coffee can not only be extracted with room temperature water, but also be made with ice water, that is, mixing ice cubes with room temperature water and soaking coffee powder together. So the question arises, is the cold extract coffee made in this way better than the regular version?

Two cold extraction practices

In this cold extraction comparison session, Qianjie will make two sets of coffee with normal temperature water and ice water respectively. Other parameters will be kept unchanged as much as possible. Let's see the final effect through the comparison records.

Let's make a normal-temperature water version first. Here, we use Qianjie Colombia navel coffee, weigh 20g and grind it into granulated sugar grains. The sieve rate of the No. 20 sieve is 80%, which corresponds to the scale of the electric bean grinder EK43s of 9.5 grids and the scale of the hand-operated bean grinder C40 of 24 grids. This coffee has a fruity flavor and is not suitable for high concentration. Therefore, Qianjie uses a powder-to-water ratio of 1:12 for soaking.

Prepare a clean and sealable container, pour 20g of coffee powder and 240g of purified water into the pot, stir well, seal, place it in the refrigerator to soak for 12 hours, and finally filter out the coffee grounds with filter paper.

The method of using ice water to soak for cold extraction is also very simple. Grind 20g of navel coffee beans first. Since ice water with a lower temperature is used, the extraction efficiency is low, so the grinding degree is slightly adjusted on the front street. The sieve rate is 82%, corresponding to 9 grids for the EK43s of the electric bean grinder and 22 grids for the C40 of the hand-operated bean grinder.

In addition, considering that the ice cubes used daily in Qianjie are large and have a slow dissolution rate, it is necessary to appropriately increase the proportion of water and reduce the amount of ice cubes. The ratio of powder to water to ice is finally determined to be 1:8:4, that is, 20g Coffee powder, 160g purified water, 80g ice cubes. Also put in a pot and stir well, soak for 12 hours, and filter out the coffee grounds for later use.

Ice water versus room temperature water, who makes cold extract better?

Cold extraction at room temperature: The color is relatively strong. It tastes like blueberry and raisins and the bright acidity of grapefruit. It has a moderate fermentation taste, a thick taste and a slightly bitter finish;

Cold extraction with ice water: Since the ice cubes were not completely melted during the soaking process, small ice particles could still be seen left on the filter paper during filtration, and accordingly, less coffee liquor was obtained. Unexpectedly, this cup of coffee has the rich aroma of grapes, pineapples, oranges and cherries at the entrance. The taste is clear and sweet, and there is almost no bitterness. It is like a mixed fruit juice, which is very impressive.

Why do cold extracts made with ice water taste different?

Temperature plays an important role in coffee extraction, and the first thing it affects is extraction efficiency. The higher the temperature, the faster the release efficiency of soluble substances in coffee; the lower the temperature, the slower the release efficiency. Compared with cold water at normal temperature of 18 - 27℃, the temperature of ice water is 0 - 10℃, which is obviously much more frozen, so the extraction efficiency of coffee powder is slower, which also means that under the same parameters, the cold extraction made from ice water contains less soluble substances.

On the other hand, coffee beans contain hundreds of compounds, each with different dissolution characteristics. Some substances are released quickly, some are released slowly, and some flavor substances are extracted only at a certain temperature.

According to the extraction rule, the release order of coffee flavor substances is acid-sweet-bitter. Some volatile small molecules with pleasant aroma of flowers and fruits are released first, followed by caramel-based compounds that provide sweetness. When the water temperature of the coffee is reduced to nearly 0 ° C, the extraction efficiency is reduced, which also suppresses the precipitation of some large particles of sweet and bitter substances, thus giving the coffee a refreshing and juicy taste.