Cold Brew, Iced Americano, Iced Coffee… What’s the Difference?

Iced coffee… it’s always a fan favorite, and there are so many ways to enjoy it! From cold brew to iced americanos to a flash-brewed pourover, each iced option brings out new tastes and characteristics in the coffee.

We’re breaking down all the differences in this blog post, plus including some recipes for the home baristas out there.

First up is cold brew! Cold brew is exactly what the name implies: it’s coffee that was brewed cold, not hot. There are lots of different ways to brew cold brew, but it always uses ground coffee and water that is not hot. This combination always slow brews (typically for about twelve hours).

The result of this slow, cold brewing process is a very smooth, very strong coffee concentrate. That’s right: cold brew always produces a concentrate that has to be cut by either water or milk. Many people cut it at a 1:1 ratio, but you can create whatever recipe you like!

We recommend a 1:1 ratio of milk to concentrate and an ounce or two of your favorite homemade syrup.

Out of the three iced coffee options we’re discussing today, cold brew is the strongest; cold brew has a lot of caffeine, and the tasting notes of cold brew often includes a strong dark-chocolatey flavor. The body of cold brew is medium: it can be really smooth, but it’s not as smooth as, say, an iced Chemex.

Next up, the iced americano! An iced americano is a simple drink, and it’s very quick and easy to make. Here’s the recipe: a few ounces of water, a shot of espresso, and ice. It’s important to build the drink in that order because it will save the crema of the espresso. Also, pouring hot espresso straight on to ice shocks the espresso and makes it taste harsh.

This drink holds up well to milk and flavors too! It has the same amount of caffeine as a latte or any other espresso-based drink. And the body is medium: the heavy, syrupy body of the espresso brings a lot of body to the iced americano even though it’s watered down.

We think this is a great choice if you’re not in the mood for a super-strong cold brew; or if you want to try a new espresso but in an iced drink!

The last iced coffee option we’re talking about in this post is an iced coffee. Now, there are so many ways to achieve an iced coffee; we’re only focusing on one way. It’s one of our favorites: a flash-brewed iced pourover.

This one may sound complicated, but it’s not! All you have to do to make this iced coffee is brew your typical pourover recipe over ice! Measure out 100g of ice into the vessel you’re brewing the coffee in, and pour 100g less water onto the grounds than you normally would. When the coffee hits the ice, it instantly chills— hence the name “flash-brewed”.

This is the most delicate of all the iced coffees we’re talking about today. It’s light in body, and we recommend drinking it black. It doesn’t need any milk to mellow it out! Don’t be fooled: it has about the same amount of caffeine as an espresso-based drink. It just tastes way smoother.

We think a flash-brewed iced coffee is perfect on a really hot day! Try it with a light-roast Ethiopian or Kenyan coffee. Yum!

Now you know: three different ways to enjoy your coffee iced, why they’re different, and how to make them!

Stay tuned! We’ll be digging into the differences between more coffee drinks soon.