At its most basic definition, coffee is water and beans. But the method by which you make your coffee opens an entire world of possibilities, each vastly altering the result. Take the widely popular cold brew method, for example: steep grounds in cold or room temperature water, let it sit overnight, drain, serve over ice, and voila! It’s the perfect caffeinated drink for summer months.

Except, that’s not entirely true, at least for professional baristas. Blue Bottle Coffee Cafe Leader, Selina Viguera, describes the downside of this undertaking: “You’re typically brewing cold brew for a minimum of twelve hours. It can get pretty messy if you don’t have the right equipment at home. And the flavors are pretty muddled, and just blah.” Blah is not going to cut it if you’re after exceptional coffee.

Enter the Japanese iced coffee method.

Instead of making cold brew or waiting for hot coffee to turn room temperature and dump it over ice, the Japanese method (aisu kōhī) is making a pour-over coffee (with hot water) over ice—essentially flash-chilling the coffee during brewing, locking in maximum flavor.

“Coffee naturally has acids and sugars and bitter components present,” Viguera says. “And even aromatics. So when you’re brewing coffee with hot water, you’re actually able to pull those out.” When brewing a high quality specialty coffee, those nuanced flavors are only extracted with heat, so brewing with cold water won’t unlock a coffee’s full potential.

To get started with Viguera’s recipe for Japanese iced coffee, you’ll need equipment needed for making a pour-over style coffee. This recipe is adapted for the Chemex brewer, but you can also use a Kalita Wave, v60 or Chemex.