Stopped in at Drumroaster Coffee in Cobble Hill, British Columbia (on the way to Chemainus theater for “Fiddle on the roof…”) and had a solid hour or so to talk story with coffee wunderkind Carsen Oglend – son of Geir and Pat Oglend.
Click on the photo at left for the zoomed in view
Had this rare Kenyan over ice (will fill in the details later on preparation).
This was, without hesitation, the best cup of iced coffee I have ever had. I have been drinking coffee, loyally, since the late 70’s and, as iced coffees go, this was extraordinary… other-Worldly… emotionally moving.
The cup was so full of spice and citrus that I would have thought that something was added – but no. It was traditionally prepared filter coffee, served black and on ice – brewed somewhat strong so that as the ice melts, the coffee assumes the proper concentration. Carsen offered to send me the exact details for making a similar iced coffee – just remember folks, you have to brew your coffee traditionally before assembling the “ice brew”. I have had some spectacular iced teas in my life – and this was the first in what will, no doubt, be an evolution of amazing iced coffee beverages.
I brewed a hot Hario pour over of this coffee today — a tad on the fast side – and got a result that was very fragrant, floral with notes of jasmine, strawberries and black tea. Was very un-coffee like with some pretty big citrus notes poking through.
Click on the little photo at left for the much bigger photo!
Geir and Pat were running an errand downtown so Carsen held the fort and chatted with us as time permitted. At some point during the visit, Tamper man Reg Barber appeared out of thin air as he often does. And then vanished again…
Carsen explains the technique for making the best iced coffee with this bean…
I like to use a coffee with a higher acidity and a more fruit forward flavor profile like an Ethiopia, Kenya or northern Guat. I find that brightness cuts through better in the cup.
Start by getting out your pour-over setup. Use the normal 60g/L brew ratio. I tend to do my brews with 30g/500ml.
The trick to the iced brew is to use half of your brew volume with ice, then the other half with hot water. Put the ice into your brewing vessel, and do your normal pour over routine with the bloom, etc., just use 50% of the normal amount of water.
Make sure you’re brewing directly onto the ice, adding ice to a double-strength brew doesn’t work.
Here’s my recipe: 30g ground coffee – 250g small cubed ice (big cubes aren’t as good). You can experiment with up to 300 grams of ice…doesn’t seem to make a huge difference in strength. – 250g hot water
Note the key tip above: Brew the coffee directly onto the ice! It’s key.
Carsen regaled us with a fascinating dialog on the coffee scene in London, England – and San Francisco (where we will be heading for a week in August…) Carsen needs to have his own audio podcast on the subject of coffee and travel – I could have listened to him for hours.
As I said to Carsen prior to leaving for Chemainus… “There is so much in this iced coffee serving that I did not expect… fruit, citrus and the sense that the brew has been extended with the addition of Botanicals or herbs and spices – much in the same way you would infuse a mash in the gin distillation process.
More on this subject soon!