the trick is not pouring normal hot coffee onto a random mountain of ice.
make the ice part of the recipe.
for one iced pour-over, try 20 grams of coffee, 180 grams of hot water, and 120 grams of ice.
put the 120 grams of ice in the server under your dripper. add the coffee to the filter. pour about 50 grams of hot water over the grounds and let them bloom. then keep pouring in small circles until you reach 180 grams of hot water total.
the coffee brews hot and concentrated. it lands directly on the measured ice, which cools it and brings the drink to about 300 grams total.
when the dripping stops, take off the brewer and swirl the server. that helps melt any last pieces from the measured ice and mixes the drink evenly.
then taste it before adding more ice.
if you fill the glass with extra ice immediately, you can dilute a recipe that was already balanced. extra serving ice is fine. just know it is extra water waiting to happen.
if the coffee still tastes thin, do not remove all the ice. use a slightly finer grind next time so the smaller amount of hot water can do more work. if it tastes harsh or dry, try a slightly coarser grind.
this method is sometimes called flash-brewed or Japanese-style iced coffee. it is fast, bright, and very useful when waiting overnight for cold brew is not your personality.
tl;dr: brew 20 grams of coffee with 180 grams of hot water directly over 120 grams of measured ice. swirl, taste, then decide if you want more ice.
or skip the dripper and get an iced coffee at Couplet. also a strong plan.
coupletcoffee.com / @couplet
gefen