How To Make Kyoto-Style Cold Brew Coffee

a glass of cold brew lit by the sun

Jordan Lye/Getty Images

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

One of the most fun things about being a coffee fanatic, or alternatively one of the most frustrating, depending on how you think, is that it’s seemingly impossible to know everything. Just when you’re pretty sure you’ve got all the grind sizes, all the flavor notes, all the brewing techniques nailed down, another one comes out of the woodworks that you’ve just got to try. So … ready for your next lesson? Get to know Kyoto-style cold brew.

This brewing technique has been perfected over the course of 400-plus years. It’s also sometimes referred to as Dutch coffee since it’s thought to have been introduced to Japan by Dutch merchants, who brought cold brew to the island in the 17th century. Made by slowly sending cold water through coffee grounds over the course of several hours, it’s certainly not the most efficient method — but according to fans (and coffee scientists), the slower brewing process, paired with cold water, results in smoother, less bitter coffee. Cold water doesn’t break down or extract certain bitter or acidic compounds in coffee the way that boiling water would, preserving the subtler fruity flavors of single-origin blends and making it an especially effective way to taste the unique notes of lighter-roasted third-wave coffee.

How Kyoto-style cold brewing works

a series of three empty Kyoto cold brew machines in a row

Ardiansyah Fadli/Shutterstock

To make Kyoto-style cold brew coffee, you need (surprise) a Kyoto brewer. You can get a small one, like the Nispira Ice Drip Coffee Maker, online for around $80. It consists of a round upper chamber made of glass, a middle chamber where the coffee grounds sit inside a coffee filter, and a lower chamber where your drinkable coffee will collect, along with an adjustable nozzle that controls the flow of water from the upper chamber. The upper chamber is filled with ice, which ensures that the water drips through slowly, and that it remains cold throughout the long brewing period (anywhere from three hours to a full day). The amount of coffee and flow rate are up to you to experiment with — that’s half the fun.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, there is a difference between iced coffee and cold brew. It might seem silly to invest this much money and time into a drink that could seemingly be produced by making a regular pour over and then adding it to a glass with ice, but making coffee is a kind of chemistry, and water temperature and brew time are both huge factors in modifying the flavor of your morning pick-me-up. Just be warned: Whether Kyoto-style or any other kind, cold brew is more caffeinated than iced coffee or espresso. So, unless you’re the kind of person who deliberately orders the Starbucks drinks with the most caffeine, you might want to keep your cold brew consumption to the morning hours.