or How to Make an Iced Pour Over

As the summer days and nights heat up, we love adapting our pour over ritual for a refreshing iced glass of coffee. On a recent trip up to Sea Ranch — one of our favorite spots in California — we spent some time playing around with some iced pour over recipes we like. One we've developed over time, and one made by Canyon assistant roaster Frank Valerio!

While we made these recipes on Chemex, they're really applicable for any type of pour over device. As a rule, grind a little finer for iced pour overs than you would for regular hot (to account for the dilution of the ice), and grind a little finer for other pourover devices than for the Chemex. Experimenting is the fun part, and if that sounds daunting, don’t worry — we explain exactly how you can experiment below :) As we’ll allude to later, we always stress to our friends, family and customers that you have the power to make adjustments and change how your cup!

Scale or No Scale?

Our recipe is written to work whether or not you have a scale. We think scales are really fun for getting precise with brewing coffee at home, but we know it’s not for everybody — we certainly didn’t start our home coffee brewing journey with one! For that reason, we are big proponents of being able to make amazing coffee without a scale :)

Recipe 1: Iced Pour Over (With or Without a Scale)

Supplies / What you need:

• Chemex or (pour over set of your choice... we love this one!)
• Filter
• Your favorite Canyon Coffee!
• Ice
• Kettle (see: Home Goods)
• Burr grinder (this is the one we've used at home, for years)
• Water (filtered water highly recommended)
• Optional: scale (we love the Hario ones)
• Stopwatch (the one on your phone is perfect!)

  INSTRUCTIONS

• Fill up and start your kettle — stovetop or plug-in! If you have a variable temperature electric kettle, set the temp for 203°F or 95°C
• Weigh out and grind 36 grams of coffee on a medium setting — a little finer than you would for a hot pour over. Thirty-six grams of whole bean equates roughly to 6 level tablespoons, 1/3 cup, or 2 Hario coffee scoops of whole bean coffee.
• Once your water reaches temperature, place a filter in your pourover set and pour hot water through the filter to saturate it and begin the osmosis through the filter
• Lift the filter and discard the hot water (you can set the filter in a cup)
• If you brought your water to a boil on the stove, make sure it sits for a minute before pouring it over coffee!
• Add about 290g of ice (or 2.5 cups) to your Chemex or whatever you’re brewing into, and add filter back in place!
• Pour coffee into filter. If you have a scale, tare it out to zero now.

• Start your stopwatch or timer.
• Bloom the coffee by pouring just enough water to get all grounds wet (about 60g). Let sit for 30 seconds while the coffee blooms!
• After 30 seconds, continue pouring water slowly, from the center of the coffee outwards in circular motions, for a total of 288g of water. If you don’t have a scale, just pour slowly for about 15 seconds.
• You should be done pouring water between 00:55 and 01:05!
• Let the coffee drip completely out. Total brew time should be around 3:00 minutes
• Prep some ice in a glass or vessel of your choice
• Give your finished coffee a good swirl, discard (compost!) your filter and pour the coffee over ice.
• Enjoy black, or pour milk of your choice over the ice and enjoy the show as it cascades over your ice!

Frank's Recipe

Using all the same equipment and protocol as above, here's a different ice-and-water-to-coffee ratio and method developed by Canyon Coffee assistant roaster and barista extraordinaire Frank Valerio! Try it out...

• 40g of finely ground coffee (similar to sand on a beach, or a 15 on a Baratza Encore).
• 600 ml of Water, 60% Hot Water (400 ml / 2 cups) and 40% Ice (200 ml / 1.75 cups).
• Rinse filter with cold water instead of hot water to avoid heating up the Chemex.
• Add 200 ml of ice into Chemex. Add filter and coffee, and start timer. Pour a 80 ml bloom and wait until timer reads 50 seconds (larger bloom means increased coffee extraction).
• When 50 seconds hits, stir bloom twice and then begin pouring hot water in a slow circular motion until you reach 400 ml. Stretch pour to 2:30-3 minutes if possible. After you finish pouring, stir the brew to avoid any clumping. 
• Brew time should be anywhere between 5-6 minutes since you are using finer ground coffee. Stir Chemex to melt any remaining ice.
• Pour coffee into an ice-filled glass and enjoy!

HOW TO EXPERIMENT

One thing we always try to convey to our friends, family and customers is that you have a lot of control over how your coffee tastes! So, when you taste your coffee, if it’s not completely to your liking, it’s time to try an adjustment to make an improvement on your next batch. Over time, this is how you will perfect your own recipe.

Here are some common responses to taste/flavor, and our recommendations for adjustments to make:

TOO “WEAK” / DILUTED / SOUR

• Grind the coffee slightly finer, and/or
• Make sure your water is hot enough! Don’t pour boiling water (this will make the coffee bitter), but don’t let it sit for more than 2 minutes after boil, and/or
• Use less ice (try 1.5 cups or even 1 cup), and/or
• Use less water — go with 220g or stop pouring at 00:50 seconds

TOO “STRONG” / BITTER / MUDDY 

• Grind the coffee slightly coarser, and/or
• Use more water (pour to 2:30 or longer before stopping!)