Pouring yesterday's coffee over ice gives you something cold and flat. Brewing a normal hot cup and dropping ice in gives you something cold and watery. Iced pour-over fixes both: you brew stronger, hot and fresh, and let the ice make up part of the water. The result is bright, clean and full of flavor.
The basic idea
A normal hot pour-over uses about 1 part coffee to 16 parts water. For iced pour-over, you keep roughly the same total ratio but split the water in two: about half as hot brewing water and half as ice. The hot half extracts the coffee; the ice half chills and dilutes it to the right strength.
Iced pour-over recipe (one glass)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ground coffee | 20 g (about 3½–4 level tablespoons), medium-fine |
| Hot water for brewing | 160–180 g (about ⅔–¾ cup), around 200–205°F (93–96°C) |
| Ice | 140–160 g (a tall glass about two-thirds full) |
| Makes | One tall glass, about 10–12 oz |
For two glasses, double everything. Our pour-over ratio chart has the hot-coffee numbers if you want to compare.
A note on glassware
Many recipes brew straight onto ice inside the server. That works in a thick, sturdy pitcher, but thin glass does not like sudden big temperature changes. Our glass servers and double-wall cups all carry the same care note: avoid pouring very hot liquid straight onto ice inside them. So the method below brews hot first and chills right after. It tastes just as good and keeps your glassware safe.
Step by step
- Fill your drinking glass with ice and set it aside.
- Set up the dripper on an empty glass server, such as our clear glass server with pour lines, or a heat-safe mug. Rinse the filter with hot water and pour that water out.
- Add 20 g of coffee, ground a step finer than for hot pour-over. A finer grind extracts more in the smaller amount of water.
- Bloom with about 40 g of hot water and wait 30–45 seconds. See our guide to the pour-over bloom.
- Pour the rest slowly in small circles until you have used 160–180 g of water in total. It should finish in about 2–2½ minutes.
- Pour the hot coffee straight over the ice in your glass and stir. It chills in seconds. Top up with a few more ice cubes if you like it colder.
Why grind finer for iced?
You are using less hot water than usual, so the coffee has less time and water to give up its flavor. Going one step finer than your hot setting makes up for it. If the iced coffee tastes sour or thin, go finer still; if it tastes bitter, go a little coarser. Our grind size guide shows what each setting looks like.
Make it your own
- Stronger: use 22 g of coffee with the same water and ice.
- Milky: brew the recipe, then add a splash of milk or oat milk over the ice.
- Sweet: stir a little simple syrup into the hot coffee before you pour it over ice; sugar dissolves better hot.
- Vietnamese-style: for a richer, sweeter iced coffee with condensed milk, a phin is the classic tool. See Vietnamese iced coffee with a phin.
Which beans work best?
Light and medium roasts often shine as iced pour-over: fruity and bright flavors come through clearly when cold. Darker roasts give a chocolatey, classic iced coffee. Try both and see which you reach for on a hot afternoon.
Serving it
A clear glass shows off the color. Our double-wall glass cup holds 300 ml (10 oz) and has a handle; as with our servers, add the ice first and pour coffee that has cooled a little, rather than near-boiling coffee straight onto ice.
Common questions
Why does my iced coffee taste watery?
Usually because it was brewed at normal strength and then diluted by ice. Brew stronger, as in the recipe above. Our guide to weak or watery pour-over covers the other causes.
Is iced pour-over the same as cold brew?
No. Cold brew steeps coarse coffee in cold water for many hours and tastes smooth and low in acidity. Iced pour-over is brewed hot in a few minutes, so it keeps brighter, livelier flavors.
Can I make it the night before?
You can, but it tastes best fresh. If you brew ahead, let the coffee cool, keep it covered in the fridge, and drink it within a day.
Brew one this afternoon
Fill a glass with ice, brew 20 g of coffee with about 170 g of hot water, and pour it over. That is the whole recipe. If you are putting a setup together, the set options on our ceramic dripper page include a glass server and stand.
Let it drip.
— Tran Vu Doan, Phin & Clay