Iced coffee for a pitcher
Brewing hot over ice means part of the water is ice. Count the ice as water, aim for 1:16 overall and split the water half hot, half ice. A half gallon pitcher takes 118 g of coffee, 946 ml of hot water and 946 g of ice.
Coffee, hot water and ice by pitcher size
Total water is the size of the pitcher, hot water and ice together, at 1:16. The 50/50 split is the one Complete Home Barista starts with. The 60/40 split is my own option for a stronger cup when the ice melts slowly or you like it bold. A 2 quart pitcher is a half gallon.
| Pitcher | Coffee | 50/50 hot water + ice | 60/40 hot water + ice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 quart | 59 g | 473 ml hot 473 g ice |
568 ml hot 379 g ice |
| Half gallon | 118 g | 946 ml hot 946 g ice |
1136 ml hot 757 g ice |
| 1 gallon | 237 g | 1893 ml hot 1893 g ice |
2271 ml hot 1514 g ice |
Sizes are US: a quart is 946 ml, a half gallon 1,893 ml and a gallon 3,785 ml. The coffee column is the same for both splits because the total stays 1:16. If 1:16 comes out thin or strong for you, a range of 1:15 to 1:17 moves the half gallon between 111 g and 126 g.
Worked example: half gallon from a drip machine
- Weigh 118 g of coffee into the basket and fill the pitcher with 946 g of ice.
- Pour 946 ml of water into the tank. This is the hot half.
- Brew straight onto the ice, or brew into the carafe and pour it over the ice right away.
- Stir until the ice has mostly melted.
The grounds hold back about twice their weight in water, the same figure the other pages here use. Here that is about 236 ml, so roughly 710 ml of coffee drips out. With the ice melted you have about 56 fl oz, a little under the half gallon on paper. For a full half gallon, add the held-back water to the tank. Your yield varies with grind and machine.
Why the ice is part of the water
Another way to say the same thing is the flash brew. Parts Town suggests brewing with half the water for twice the strength, with ice and coffee in a 1:1 ratio. So the melted ice replaces the other half of the water.
For bigger batches, the Performance Foodservice recipe doubles the coffee and pairs a 64 oz brewer with a 1 gallon pitcher filled with ice, so the ice melts into about a gallon of coffee.
Try your own amounts
Starts with a half gallon at 1:16. The water field is the total, hot water plus ice.
Change any field and the others update. Enter the total water (hot plus ice). Start at 1:16 and adjust between 1:15 and 1:17 to taste.
Water: 63.8 fl oz, 8 cups
What's next
I'm thinking about a brew log that saves your recipes with a note on how each cup tasted. It isn't built yet. The button below only adds one to a counter, so I can see if enough people want it.
Thanks, counted.
Prefer no hot water at all? Cold brew by the gallon has the amounts, and the dilution table covers concentrate.