Got any experience with cantis in really bad mud? I had an old touring bike with v-brakes and kool stop pads for years, rode it through a nasty rainy gravel ride in the ozarks once and the rims got so caked with mud I was basically coasting downhill with zero stopping power. Had to stop three times to scrape it all off with a stick. Switched to discs after that and never looked back. But I get the simplicity thing, especially if you're doing desert tours where mud isn't an issue at all.

240 miles on a gravel road and his seats were fine. He just didn't let the truck cool down before pulling into the barn.

Four hours seems like a pretty big gap to me too. From what I've seen, most crews I've worked with schedule pour times pretty specifically to avoid that kind of confusion.

emery199 makes a good point about air... I read somewhere that oxygen is actually the worst enemy of coffee beans, even worse than heat. Airtight containers make a real difference.

Used to be a hardcore cold brew fan, thought Japanese iced was just a gimmick. But then I tried both side by side last summer with a light roast Ethiopian. Your test lines up with what I found. The cold brew was smooth but kind of flat, like it lost all the fun berry notes. Japanese iced coffee had way more of that bright, fruity kick and felt cleaner on my tongue. I still make cold brew when I need a big batch for the week, but for a single afternoon cup, Japanese iced is the better choice hands down. It just tastes more like the actual coffee, not just a milder version of it.