Cool Off This Summer With An Iced Coffee
As the temperature rises, so does the market for iced coffee. From 7-Eleven to Starbucks, iced coffee sales soar to record highs every summer.
Most coffee retailers produce iced brews by mixing the same ingredients in your kitchen: strong coffee, sugar and cream served blended with ice.
You don't need to dent your budget or wait in line at a coffee retailer to enjoy an iced version of coffee. From a cool wakeup to a chilled nightcap, there are endless ways to whip up icy caffeinated beverages that will delight your family, guests and coworkers.
There are relatively few ingredients and supplies needed: ground coffee beans, water, milk, a source of sweetness (sugar, syrup, honey) and a coffee maker or kettle. Bonus points if you have a blender but you can do without.
Iced Coffee the Old-Fashioned Way
If you have the time to cold-brew coffee, you can avoid brewing altogether. Start by stirring 1 cup of coarse-ground coffee beans to 4.5 cups of water. Chill it overnight in the fridge and then remove the grounds: strain or filter it. The result is an icy coffee mixture ready to pour over ice cubes. (On rainy days, you can heat it up.)
Turn Cold-Brew Coffee into Iced Frappe
For an iced frappe, mix in cream and chocolate syrup using a blender. For every single cup of coffee, add ½ cup of cream and 1 tbsp syrup.
Creating Coffee Slushies
For a coffee slushy, hot-brew three cups of extra strong coffee and pouring it into a freezer-safe bowl. For ice cappuccino, start with dark roasted coffee.
Add a half-cup of sugar and leave it in the fridge until the mix is chilled. Then add a few teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 cups of cream, 4 cups of milk, and freeze until solid.
For maximum effect, add heavy, high-quality cream and flavored syrup before you let the slushy chill. Once you are ready to serve, here comes the fun part: cracking the ice! Use a hammer or mallet to break up the frozen coffee. At this point, you can serve it or mix it in a blender to smoothen it up into a consistently smooth slushy. Serve this into chilled glass mugs or glasses.
Spiced Ice Coffee
For spiced iced coffee, add 1 teaspoon of orange spice along with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the chilled mix before refridgerating. Serve with cinnamon sticks.
Vietnamese-style iced coffee uses condensed sweetened milk and chicory-flavored roast coffee.
Iced Coffee Dessert Drinks
As a dessert-style topping, dust with ground cinnamon and nutmeg or a swirl of whipping and a stick of chocolate.
To turn this into a cocktail, add a dash of Kahlua, rum or Amaretto.
Rum-flavored ice cubes also add a splash of fun.