How to Make Iced Coffee

Guide Note

You don't have to spend a fortune at Starbucks to enjoy your summer fix of caffeine! How to Make Iced Coffee shows you the do-it-yourself method.

Table of Contents

Iced Coffee Tips

  1. Start with rich, flavorful coffee.
  2. Make and cool the coffee in advance.
  3. Freeze coffee for your ice cubes.
  4. Instead of sugar, try syrup.

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Introduction

  • When it's hot outside, and a steaming cup of coffee is not what you're thirsty for, but that doesn't mean you have to give up your caffeine fix. Whether it's the first cup of the morning or an afternoon delight, iced coffee delivers both caffeine and refreshment.

What You'll Need

(Creative Commons photo by Kanko*)
(Creative Commons photo by Kanko*)
  • The ingredients are simple:
  1. Strong coffee, about 1/2 cup per serving
  2. Ice, enough to fill up a tall glass for each serving
  3. Cream, half and half or milk
    • If using milk, you'll want at least 1/2 cup per serving. If using half and half or cream, a couple of tablespoons per serving will suffice.
  4. Sweetener
    • How much is up to your taste buds.

Step 1: Start with Perfect Coffee

(Creative Commons photo by annia316)
(Creative Commons photo by annia316)
  • Decision time: will you start with hot brewed coffee, cold brewed coffee or even instant coffee? Whatever you choose, make the coffee strong! After all, the ice will dilute it as it melts.

Hot Brewed Coffee

  • Here are some suggestions from the experts:
  1. You can use any old coffeepot to make coffee, but double the strength by doubling the amount of coffee you put in it. The Starbucks Coffee Recipes eBook from CoffeeFair suggests brewing your coffee with 2 tablespoons of coffee per cup—this makes double-strength coffee.1
  2. For their Frappuccino, Starbucks uses espresso beans. But if you don't have espresso beans or fancy hammered copper equipment, don't despair! Their recipe book says an espresso-like brew can be made in a drip coffee maker with most beans:
    1. Use 1/3 cup of regular coffee beans (regular grind) per one cup water.
    2. Brew the coffee.
    3. Pour the brew back into the coffee maker and let it drip through the same grounds again.
    4. In the end, your one-cup per serving of water will be down to a half-cup serving of very strong coffee.

Cold Brewed Coffee

  • You read right. Cold brewed coffee is strong and delicious, without the acid and bitterness of hot coffee. So what is cold brewing? It was developed in New Orleans in the 1960s. You can read a comprehensive post about it on the Su Good Sweets Blog or at Toddy Cafe, which sells cold brewing equipment.2 3 If cold brewing appeals to you, you can order a Toddy.
  • An alternative to the Toddy is a large, stainless steel stockpot. Here's how to cold brew coffee according to Su Good Sweets:2
  1. Pour in one pound of coffee.
  2. Add 2 cups of water and stir gently to make sure all grounds get wet.
  3. Add 8 more cups of water—gently and slowly!
  4. Cover and let the brew set for 12 hours, at room temperature.
  5. After 12 hours, you'll have to strain the brew—first through an ordinary sieve, then through a fine-mesh sieve—to get all the coffee grounds out.
  6. Now put your rich, cold brewed coffee in a glass container, and keep it in the fridge until you're ready to mix your iced coffee.

Instant Coffee

  • It'll do in a pinch. As with all other forms of coffee, you want your instant coffee twice as strong.
  1. When brewing instant, double the amount you'd use for a hot cup of coffee. For most brands, that means two teaspoons of instant coffee instead of one per cup.
  2. Some folks taste no difference between instant and brewed coffee. If that describes you, instant is the way to go. It's much quicker and easier to prepare, after all.
  3. Cut to the chase! Here is a basic recipe for making iced coffee with instant:4
    1. In a sealable jar, add 2 tablespoons instant coffee, 3 tablespoons warm or hot water, 1 teaspoon sugar and 6 ounces cold milk.
    2. Seal the container, and shake it until it's foamy.
    3. Pour the concoction over ice cubes in a glass.
    4. Add more milk to fill up the glass.

Step 2: Sugar and Ice and Everything Nice

(Creative Commons photo by Jeremy Keith)
(Creative Commons photo by Jeremy Keith)
  • Sugar dissolves in hot drinks, but not so well in cold drinks. The Nibble suggests:5
  1. Add sugar while the coffee is still hot.
  2. Or, make a simple syrup by combining equal amounts of water and sugar in a saucepan, and bring the mix to a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved.
    • Once made, keep the syrup in the fridge and add it to your iced coffee instead of granulated sugar.

Other Taste Treats

  1. Some additions to your iced coffee, like cream or milk, can be added when the coffee is cold. The right amount of cream or milk varies, depending on individual tastes.
  2. Other additions, like cinnamon sticks or spices, should be added while the coffee is still hot.
  3. Flavored syrups, like the kinds made by DaVinci or Torani, are as delicious in iced coffee as they are in hot drinks.6 7 Start with a tablespoon per glass. Add more if needed.
  4. Ingredient ideas can be found by scanning the recipes at The Nibble or About.com's Coffee and Tea Site.5 8 You'll find great ideas there, like:
    1. Adding caramel or chocolate syrup while the coffee is still hot (about 1/4 oz. for one drink).
    2. Using honey instead of sugar (as you might guess, honey dissolves better in hot or warm coffee).
    3. Putting in a shot of Amoretto or Bailey's.
    4. Experimenting with Ice cream, pureed fruit or anything your inner chemist desires.

Step 3: Putting It Together

(Creative Commons photo by Mike McCune)
(Creative Commons photo by Mike McCune)
  • OK, now you've got the coffee. You've got ice cubes. What comes next? You're going to put it all together, of course, and serve your iced coffee in tall glasses.
  1. If you brewed hot coffee:
    1. Add sugar (unless you have simple syrup), honey or cinnamon sticks, even chocolate syrup.
    2. Put it in the refrigerator and let it cool for an hour.
  2. Once your coffee is cold (or if it's cold brewed), put ice cubes in a tall glass and pour the coffee over the ice.
  3. Add milk or cream as you like. If you have simply syrup, add it now. For your own coffee, let your taste buds guide you. For guests, ask them how much cream and sweetener they'd like.
  4. Enjoy!

Step 4: Great Iced Coffee Creations

  1. Vietnamese Iced Coffee from Food Network.9 Ever ordered this after downing a bowl of Pho? The secret is using sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar and cream.
  2. For an afternoon treat as you sit with friends, try All Recipes' Iced Coffee Slushes.10 Make and freeze them the day before, and take the mix out of the freezer out of the freezer an hour or two in advance.
  3. Want to take your iced coffee to the next level and use it in a rich dessert? Epicurious' Iced Coffee Recipes will show you how!11

Conclusion

  • For coffee afficianados, iced coffee perks up a summer afternoon like nothing else on earth. Now that you know how to make it yourself, there's no reason you can't enjoy it everyday—maybe even in winter!

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References for How To Make Iced Coffee

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 CoffeeFair: Starbucks Coffee Recipes
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Su Good Sweets: Iced Coffee
  3. ↑ Toddy Cafe: Cold Brewing Equipment
  4. ↑ AllRecipes: Instant Iced Coffee
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Nibble: Iced Coffee Recipes
  6. ↑ Official Site: DaVinci Gourmet
  7. ↑ Official Site: Torani
  8. ↑ About.com: Iced Coffee Recipes  WARNING: Pop-ups
  9. ↑ Food Network: Vietnamese-Style Iced Coffee  WARNING: Pop-ups
  10. ↑ AllRecipes: Iced Coffee Slush
  11. ↑ Epicurious.com: Iced Coffee Dessert Recipes