COFFEE TUTORIAL: FLASH BREWED ICED COFFEE
Summer is here! Let’s cool off.
“Cold brew” has become synonymous with iced coffee, and of course there’s a time and place for it. But it often requires twelve to sixteen hours of patience, a filter bag, and a spot in the fridge.
Instead, we’ve long favored flash brew, one of the simplest brewing techniques we’ve been able to scale across all of our cafes, and one that started at home with one of our favorite filter methods: the Hario V60.
What is flash brew?
Flash brew (sometimes known as Japanese-style iced coffee) is a concentrated pour-over brewed directly onto ice. The rapid chill locks in the coffee’s aromatics before they have a chance to fade, giving you a cup that’s surprisingly nuanced, the kind of thing that makes people ask what you did differently.
When hot water hits your grounds and extracts aromatic compounds, they’re at their most expressive. Pour that brew into a cup and let it sit? They drift off. But let it cascade through a bed of ice? They stay right where you want them.
The result is cold coffee that actually tastes like the coffee. Floral notes, fruit, sweetness, and acidity all present and accounted for.
The Recipe
35g coffee / 250g ice / 250g water
The theory here is simple: equal parts ice and hot water. You’re brewing at effectively double strength so that by the time the hot coffee mixes with the melting ice, you land right back at a balanced concentration. Trust the math.
Rinse your filter with hot water and discard the rinse water.
Weigh 250g of ice directly into your server or cup and place the V60 on top.
Grind 35g of coffee slightly finer than your usual V60 grind. Since you’re brewing with less water, extraction needs a little help.
Tare your scale and begin the bloom: pour 60g of water (around 205°F). Allow it to bloom for 30 to 35 seconds.
Continue pouring in slow, steady circles up to 175g.
Reach your target weight of 250g by 1:30. The last drips should fall around 2:30 to 3:00.
Remove the dripper, give the coffee a gentle swirl, and drink immediately. No waiting required.
What we love most about flash brew is the clarity and acidity, qualities that are often muted in traditional cold brew recipes. This method lets you extract vibrant flavor from your coffee and lock it in with the rapid chill.
Of course, we’d encourage you to experiment with different ratios and coffees to dial things in to your preference.
Looking for a coffee that shines over ice? We’ve linked a few favorites below!