I recently bought a bag of coffee from one of my favorite European roasters. When I opened the bag I was surprised to discover the coffee was quite a bit darker than I expected. Brewing the coffee revealed a flavor profile to match the color: bitter chocolate, roasted nuts, and — dare I say — ash.
Even though many specialty coffee drinkers prefer a light to medium roast, there’s still a significant number of people who prefer something darker. For them, coffee should taste like, well, “coffee.” And though I will admit my personal preference is for a coffee dropped closer to first crack than second, a good dark roast can be enjoyable if prepared properly. But dark roasted coffee needs to be brewed differently than light or medium roast coffee to get the best results….
Last year we published an Aeropress guide with a rather presumptuous title: “
Last year, the December Dripper emerged on the scene with a simple but revolutionary design. The brewing device uses a silicon gasket to adjust the flow rate with a simple twist. One of the more interesting applications of this design feature is making flash-chilled iced coffee– sometimes called Japanese iced coffee or an iced pour-over.
Iced coffee has never been hotter, but a crowded market place often leads to product confusion, and it seems one needs a degree in coffee studies from UC Davis to navigate all of the iced coffee options on the market these days. While we’re certainly not here to tell anyone how to enjoy their coffee, it helps to know the difference between cold brew and iced coffee before you get an unsolicited lecture from an overzealous barista. More so, each way of making iced coffee has its pros and cons, which is helpful to know before you drop your hard earned cash on that next brewing device.
