Flash brew (Japanese iced coffee) with Kati AA

Here's our go-to flash brew recipe for those hot days when you want a refreshing, bright cup in under five minutes.

First, for an introduction, or refresher, a flash brew is a method of making iced coffee by brewing hot coffee directly over ice. The coffee is chilled instantly as it drips onto the ice blocks. It originated in Japan in the late 80s to 90s as a way to preserve the complexity of coffee for an iced cup.

Flash brews are different from cold brews in a few ways:

Cold brew is made by steeping coffee grounds in room temperature or chilled water over 12 - 24 hours. 

Flash brewing maintains the refreshing brightness and acidity in coffees that can be muted in cold brew. Cold brew tends to produce a smooth, sweet, heavy-bodied coffee, with muted acidity and brightness, so you can see the appeal for some.

Now for the recipe.

This is suited for a V60 pourover with an ending 1:16 ratio of coffee to water. 

Kati AA works well given the acidity of this light roast.

 

What you need

200g Kati AA light roast coffee
200ml hot water (197 - 202 degrees Fahrenheit)
120g ice cubes
Coffee grinder
V60
Filter paper
Scale
Server or carafe to brew into

 

Brew method

Weigh out and grind your coffee. Medium coarseness or a similar grind to your pour over would work.

Add 120g of ice to your server/carafe.

Rinse filter paper by placing it in V60 then wet completely with the hot water. Pour out rinse water. Place the entire setup, V60 and server, on your scale.

Pour 20g of ground Kati AA into V60.

Bloom: Pour 40ml of hot water over the grounds in a slow spiral. Wait 30 - 45 seconds. You'll see the coffee bubble and expand as COâ‚‚ from the freshly-roasted coffee is released.

Pour the remaining water in spirals, keeping the water level consistent. Total brew time should be about 2:30 - 3:00 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Tip: You can dial in the cup to your liking. For example, grind the coffee finer to extract more body, use lower temperature water to reduce brightness or change the ratio of ice to water.

 

Try it out and reach out with any questions or feedback on how your brew went.

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