Do you love a good cup of Iced coffee at your local coffee shop on a nice summer day? Do you find it annoying to have to go all the way to the coffee shop and spend frivolously to have your favorite drink?
Well, if the answer to both of these questions is yes, then we have good news for you. Making an Iced cup of coffee at your home isn’t that difficult. In fact, it’s even easier than your hot coffee if you do it right.
What Makes Iced Coffee So Special?
While it’s a hot summer day, getting your energy boost from a hot espresso or latte can be difficult. This is where Iced coffee or lattes are a great alternative for getting your daily dose of caffeine hit. While it’s already sweet, you can add syrups, ice cream, and other ingredients to make it even better.
If you enjoy having multiple cups of Iced coffees in a day, you can brew a large quantity at once and then strain out a cup whenever you feel the need. If you do this right, it’s even quicker than an espresso. Unlike a hot cup of coffee, Iced coffees don’t require boiling water or dealing with coffee makers.
However, we recommend using top-rated beans for cold brew because they provide a better flavor than your normal coffee beans. Also, since the market is filled with rip-offs and low-quality beans for cold brew, choosing the best will prevent you from a bad experience.
If at any point you feel the need to make a hot cup out of your cold brew, all you have to do is heat it. Once you learn to make a good cup of Iced coffee, you’ll love appetizing your guests with your barista skills.
What Is The Best Way To Make Iced Coffee?
Judging from the question, one can tell that there isn’t one way to make iced coffee. However, there are two methods that we know of and there isn’t much difference between them. One involves pouring hot coffee over ice while the other starts from cold brewing. Let’s go through them one-by-one;
- Cold-Brew
Cold-brew Iced coffee became popular in the early 2010s, probably because they were easy to make. Although this method required leaving the cold brew overnight or in some cases for 20+ hours, it was the easier option. Once the cold brew is prepared, all you have to do is mix it with ice, ice cream, syrup, or sugar depending on your liking.
This became the go-to option for cafes because it allowed them to prepare a cold brew for the whole day. Once the cold brew is prepared, you can then make Iced coffee cups out of it when requested by the customer. This saved time and money.
However, cold brew has its negative points. Cold-brew doesn’t bring the best out of your coffee beans which hot brew can. Cold-brew does not dissolve the aromatic compounds that contribute to the flavor and aroma of a coffee bean.
- Pouring Hot Brewed Coffee On Ice
Boiling water when poured over coffee beans brings out the best flavor and aroma. Although it’s more time-consuming and the less practiced method it leaves you with the best tasting Iced coffee. It’s not as time-consuming though, only boiling a sample of water is an addition to the rest of the process.
The only problem that you may encounter with this method is when the hot coffee melts the ice and the resulting product is too dilute. To circumvent this problem, you can take into account the amount of ice you’ll be adding and then adjusting the concentration of coffee likewise.
Some people go the extra distance by preparing iced coffee cubes first and pouring hot coffee-water mix over them. This way you’ll end up with an Iced coffee that is just the right amount of liquid and taste.
What Kind Of Coffee Should One Use?
There may be two ways to answer this question, one tending to the brewing process whereas the other tending to the brand and quality of the coffee.
Brewed Coffee Or Espresso Shot
This might sound cliche but both methods are fine. Espresso shot melts the ice faster and adds more coffee flavor than brewed coffee. Brewed coffee as we have discussed before takes quite some time. Even the most hastily made brewed coffee takes at least 2 hours.
You’ll also find people using instant coffee granules for making iced coffee. That’s beneficial when you want to save time but be sure that the coffee flavor will not be top-notch.
Coffee Beans
While you can refer to our top-rated beans for a cold brew for the best coffee brands out there if you want to know about the properties we have some general suggestions.
Avoid fine ground coffee and go with the coarser grind. The fine ground coffee gives a bitter and harsher taste and also slows up the brewing process. If you want to go the extra mile you can buy single-origin coffee beans. They might be a little expensive but worth the extra cost.
Frequently Asked Questions about Iced coffee
What’s The Difference Between An Iced Coffee And An Iced Latte?
Iced coffee doesn’t have milk whereas an Iced latte has milk. It’s that simple.
What Kind Of Milk Should One Use?
While full-fat milk makes the drink creamy and over the top, for calorie conscious people using almond, soy, skim or 2 % are all good options. Just try to keep the two liquids half and half when you’re making an iced latte.
What Size Of Ice Can One Use In An Iced Coffee?
You can use crushed ice, medium-sized ice, and even large ice depending on your mood. All of them work fine. Crushed Ice tends to melt quickly but also cools the coffee much faster if you are in a hurry. If you want to take your time while sipping your cold coffee, try large-sized ice.
What Should Be The Portion Of Water, Milk, Ice, And Coffee?
Well, it’s up to you to keep whatever portion of coffee, milk, or ice you like but we will leave you with a standard ratio to help you with.
For one cup of water, try using one ounce or 28 grams of coffee beans.
Conclusion
We hope this article has tended to all your confusion about Iced coffee. We wish you success in your ice-coffee-making endeavors. If you still have a query unanswered let us know and we would love to answer it for you.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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