Summer is here, and I often get this question: with the same bag of beans, how exactly should I choose and brew iced black coffee versus iced white coffee? In fact, black coffee and white coffee are two completely different paths, and if you pick the right beans and dial in the parameters, you can make cafe-level iced drinks at home. Black coffee is the way of drinking without milk, pour-over, cold brew, drip bags, French press and moka pot drunk straight all fall into this category, and the core is to present the flavors of the beans themselves; white coffee is the way of drinking with milk, lattes, cappuccinos and flat whites all belong here, and the focus is on the sweetness and body after the espresso and milk blend.

For iced black coffee I usually take two routes. One is iced pour-over, tightening the coffee-to-water ratio slightly and using ice cubes to replace part of the hot water to cool and lock in the aroma. Specifically, take 15g of coffee grounds, a V60 dripper, water temperature 90 to 93°C, bloom for 30 seconds first, control the total extraction time to about two minutes, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, but the amount of water poured must deduct the weight of the ice cubes in the cup. The coffee brewed this way is refreshing on the palate, with bright acidity, especially suited to single-origin beans. Qianjie Kenya Small Tomato is one I love very much, 72-hour double washed process, light roast, the dry aroma brings dried cherry tomato and floral notes, the palate shows cherry tomato and smoked plum flavors, the acidity is solid and full, bursting open in the iced cup like freshly squeezed juice. The other route is making cold brew directly, low-temperature long soaking, the result is rounder and more transparent, coffee-to-water ratio 1:10 to 1:12, refrigerate for 12 to 18 hours. Qianjie Costa Rica Tarrazu washed beans are very suitable, citrus acidity and clean sweetness, the mouthfeel is especially transparent, and it is ready to drink after a night in the fridge.

The method for iced white coffee is completely different. It pours espresso over iced milk, letting the crema and milk slowly blend at low temperature, visually layered, and stirred together when drinking. Here you must use espresso beans with plenty of crema, so the resulting sweetness is clean and not watery. Qianjie Specialty Blend is a medium-dark roast, a combination of Colombian washed and Brazilian semi-washed, with nut, dark chocolate and caramel flavors, carrying a touch of comfortable bittersweetness, and after blending with milk the smoothness is very high, the sweet aroma is amplified. Qianjie Huakui SOE is another route, Ethiopian natural beans medium roast, with red berry, light floral and orange flavors, the crema itself carries a hint of citrus, the mouthfeel is refreshing and the aroma elegant, making an iced flat white especially distinctive. On parameters, a double espresso uses 19 to 20g of grounds to extract 38 to 40g of coffee liquid, in 25 to 30 seconds. The milk portion to coffee liquid ratio is about 1:5, the steaming temperature is controlled at 55 to 60°C, but for iced drinks the milk can simply be used straight from the fridge, relying on ice cubes to maintain the low temperature.

The amount of ice is a detail that is easily overlooked. If iced black coffee has too little ice, the coffee is not cooled enough and the aroma disperses; too much dilutes it and the flavor becomes thin. The same goes for iced white coffee, the ice must support the layering, but it also must not turn the whole cup into bland coffee-flavored milk. The temperature of the milk is also key, chilled milk served directly locks in the sweetness better than room-temperature milk, and when the espresso is poured on top the crema slowly sinks, forming a beautiful amber-colored pattern.

Qianjie coffee beans are all shipped roasted within 5 days, but do not rush to drink them once they arrive. Medium-dark roasted espresso beans such as Qianjie Specialty Blend are recommended to rest for 5 to 7 days, letting the carbon dioxide escape properly, so the crema is more stable during extraction; single-origin beans for pour-over such as Qianjie Kenya Small Tomato only need 3 to 5 days of resting, and the flavor performs better if drunk within a month. Resting beans is not mysticism, it gives the beans a window of time for their flavors to unfold.

With the same beans, hot black coffee and iced white coffee are indeed two completely different experiences. Qianjie Huakui SOE has a more pronounced floral note when drunk hot, while made into an iced flat white the berry flavor is gently lifted out by the milk; Qianjie Costa Rica Tarrazu hot pour-over has a bright citrus tea quality, yet after cold brewing it is like a cup of clear sweet juice. In summer there is no need to agonize over which is more correct, iced black coffee quenches thirst and refreshes, iced white coffee soothes the taste buds, just keep a bag of each and alternate between them.