With the Cold Brew technique, the yield tends to be more chocolaty, less acidic—which is helpful for individuals that have stomach issues, less bitter, and a smoother mouth feel. Cold Brew steeping does take time: recipes usually take between 12 to 24 hours depending. Cold Brew coffee even has its own day: April 20. Our family is fueled by cold brew and there is always a growler with the constant ebb and flow of said delicious elixir. Enter another contender: Japanese Flash Brew.
The Japanese Flash Brew method allows manual brewers to experience the variations of notes and attributes that become hidden with cold brewing. Hot water extracts the coffee while the ice slows the extraction process. Using equal parts hot water and ice will produce an amazing ending yield. And this method doesn't take hours but minutes. Any pour over brewer can be used and the recipe can be tweaked to become your own concoction. This is an Abide family favorite method.
While there are different brewing methods using the Japanese Flash Brew method, this is our preferred method at Abide Culture Coffee Roasters:
Laundry List:
Abide Culture Coffee: whole bean coffee [25g]
Manual Pour Over Brewer
Cone filters [#2 or #4]
grinder•
gram scale
gooseneck kettle
decanter
hot water [600g](off-boil, around 195°F-200°F)
ice [250-300g]
timer
•a burr grinder allows the grind to be more consistent.
measure out 25g of coffee [dose] and grind it fine: about 400µm .
NOTE: the hot water needs to sit on the coffee bed for a longer extraction so the grind needs to be finer.
NOTE: if using the origami brewer, grind around 300-350µm.
NOTE: when using a lighter roast—for better extraction—grind a little finer and lower your water:bean ratio. if using a 16:1, try a 15:1 or 14:1.
Step 2
place preferred manual brewer of choice onto the decanter. using the filter needed for said choice of preferred manual brewer: unfold and set it inside the top of the brewer. rinse the filter using hot water: in a circular motion, starting in the center, outward. this is important because it rinses the paper flavor and heats the decanter. dump the water. place decanter on scale and tare the scale. weigh 200 grams of ice in the decanter. place the manual brewer onto the decanter.
Step 3
pour your ground coffee into the center of the wetted filter, leveling it out with a little shake to create a flat bed. tare—or zero—the scale. start your timer and begin the pour, from the center outward, careful not to pour on the filter. pour 50-75g of water and stop, allowing the coffee to "bloom", or expand. the bloom should last about 45-55 seconds. the coffee will not bloom a second time.
NOTE: first pour water amount should be between double to triple the amount of your coffee dose.
the kubomi method: the kubomi method is an old brewing technique which is used to create a downward spiral divot in your coffee dose to help evenly saturate the coffee grounds during the bloom. after the filter is rinsed, the filter is properly dosed, and the coffee bed is flat; using either a chopstick or glass stir stick [we prefer the glass]: vertically place the bottom of the utensil into the coffee and gently press down to the bottom of the bed. careful—as to not rip through the filter—slide the utensil to the side brewer [preference: left or right] using a circular counter/clockwise [again, preference] motion to the center of the bed. once in the middle of the spiral, remove the utensil. this is the kubomi method.
Step 4
begin the second pour, following the same pouring pattern, center outward; avoid pouring on the filter.
Step 5
continue your pouring process until you finish at 200g of volume on the scale. the whole pour process should take about 2 minutes.
Step 6
allow the water to drip through the coffee entirely. once finished, discard the filter and coffee grounds.
TIP: instead of throwing away used coffee grounds, we like to add them into our compost mixture.
Step 7
add the rest of ice into a favorite cup and pour your coffee yield over the ice.
Step 8
swirl. sip. share. enjoy.