It’s hot here in Toronto this week. We’re having a heat wave and it will only cool down a little bit by the time the weekend roles around.
So seeing as it’s so hot here, I decided that I wanted to try making my own iced coffee. I love love love Tim Hortons Ice caps. So I figured that there had to be a way for me to make something as tasty at home.
On Monday I started experimenting with cold brewed coffee in order to make iced coffee. I made up my first batch in a 32 ounce mason jar.
It’s easy to make, just use 1 cup of coffee grounds and about two 2 cups of cold water. Place them in the mason jar and let it sit on your kitchen counter for 12 hours, then strain it through coffee filters into a bowl. Chill in the fridge and then mix equal parts coffee concentrate and milk in a large glass filled with ice and ta da you have iced coffee. Sweeten to taste.
Homemade Iced Coffee
Here’s an easy step by step way to make your own:
What you’ll need:
* Container to brew coffee grounds in (32 ounce = 1 quart)
* Strainer
* Coffee filters (largest size you can find)
* Coffee beans and grinder or pre-ground beans
* Bowl to strain coffee into
Place ground coffee in container, fill with cold water. Cover and let sit for twelve to fifteen hours. Place strainer over large bowl and put coffee filter inside. Slowly pour about half of the coffee into the filter and let sit until strained. Replace filter and repeat. As you’ll see from what I say below, this will work better if you use course ground coffee.
To make regular coffee: place equal parts coffee concentrate and water in cup and heat.
To make iced coffee: Place equal parts concentrate and milk in glass. Add ice, sweetened as desired.
Of course you can always just save some of your hot brewed coffee and cool it off in the refrigerator for later use, but it will likely have a bitter after taste and be more acidic than using a cold brewed method.
I actually found this recipe to be a little too strong for my tastes – even when diluted equally with water (for hot coffee) or milk for iced tea. However I’ve found that if I use 1 part coffee to two parts milk or water it suits my tastes better. So adjust as to your own tastes or use a little less coffee when you start your cold brew.
It took quite a while to filter my cold brewed coffee – at least two hours! I think it was because I was using fine ground coffee. It clogged up the filter pores.
Anyway .. after spending so much time filtering I decided to buy a Bodum French Press. It’s made for making hot coffee, but after doing some research I discovered that a lot of people use it to make cold brewed coffee as well. They just use cold water and let it sit for 12 hours or so before pushing down on the plunger.
I figured that since I love iced coffee, but I didn’t like all the time I spent filtering that a french press would do the trick.
I ordered the French Press early Monday morning from a company just outside of Toronto and would you believe that on a standard shipping order it actually arrived today? Pretty fast! Unfortunately they sent me the wrong size. I’d ordered a 12 cup model and they sent me an 8 cup. Oh well, they’ll pick up the one they sent me tomorrow and with any luck I’ll get the new one at the same time or perhaps on Thursday. Then I’ll be ready to easily make my own cold brewed coffee for either hot or iced coffee.
Did you know that cold brewed coffee has 67% less acid than hot brewed coffee?
I happen to have acid reflux and I don’t drink “real” coffee very often as a result. Now that I’ll be able to make cold brewed coffee easily I think I’ll be enjoying a nice cup of coffee more often … oh I think that while we’re in the midst of a major heat wave tasty iced coffee will be consumed regularly.
Along with the cold brewed coffee I’ve also been busy making several other cold drinks. On Monday I made batches of iced green tea, iced Earl Grey tea, and homemade lemonade. We have lots of cold drinks to get us through this heat wave! If anyone wants the recipes for my homemade iced teas and lemonades just let me know and I’ll write up a post about them too.
Enjoy!
great..great! the coffee make me curious! …my heart seem to beat faster now..go go..
Yes, it is too hot perhaps everywhere! And everyone save himself as can. And you know, how difficult it is to work when it is hot everywhere. The only way out is air conditioner, but it is broken now and in this case your article is very useful and helpful. I got very interested in your recipe when I saw it I hope that it will make easier my working days in a melting office. Thank you very much!
I love green tea, so how did you make cold green tea? did make regular tea, and then let it to cool? Didn’t it had a strong taste?
It’s been warm in Britain as well. The ice coffee sounds a real innovation.
Jean-Luc did you get a chance to try the iced coffee? Even if you don’t want to make the cold brew method that I’ve listed above, just say some of your brewed coffee and store it in the fridge … sweeten while still warm if you want the sugar to dissolve! Then once the coffee is cold mix with cold milk to taste. It will probably have a little more bitterness than the cold brew but it should still taste fairly good.
I’ve never been a fan of coffee..Probably haven’t had a full pot in my life. But tea? or iced tea?…Hot tea all winter and iced tea all summer..with a splash of vanilla..
It’s hot everywhere around the world! You had a good idea with iced coffee. I’ve tried to make my own … i have invented a recipe, but your sounds a lot more tasty:) And about ice tea.. can you post the recipe. Now i do some ice tea: i let the cold tea to cool down, put ice cubs and lemon..
Jenny I’m going to post my iced tea recipes either later today or tomorrow. Keep an eye out for them. I’ve been making it for a few weeks now and we’ve served it to guests as well and everyone loves it … so I guess the recipes are good! Actually one of the people who tasted my iced tea regularly drinks iced tea – he said he buys it by the case full and after tasting mine he said he’s going to switch to making his own at home – so that was a nice compliment.
It’s summer time now and Starbuck’s coffee is too expensive to buy on a regular basis. But I need my caffeine! If not I will never get things done. I could really use some home-made ice coffee.
I read the whole article and I am on my way to the kitchen 🙂
Thanks
I’d love to have coffee concentrate on hand for when I want an iced coffee. How long can you keep it before it gets bitter?
I love iced lattes and make them the same way as regular lattes except I don’t heat the milk, and I use a little extra syrup and espresso to make up for the extra water when the ice melts.
~Amy Sue
Amy Sue – If you cold brew your coffee it shouldn’t be bitter at all. hot brewed coffee tends to get a bitter after taste after it cools … not so with cold brewed. Plus cold brewed coffee has less acid so it’s easier on your stomach and teeth.
If you use the recipe that I’ve listed above the coffee concentrate that you’ll have is about twice as strong as the regular coffee that you’d make – that’s why you mix it with equal parts water or milk to make a hot coffee or iced tea. If you’re worried about the ice watering it down (ie if you tend to drink your iced coffee slow enough for the ice to melt) then add a little less milk to the mix.
I actually found the recipe above to be too strong for my tastes so I add even more milk to my mix and it tastes great.
I absolutely LOVE iced coffee. It has become the new thing here in Southern California. It’s seriously the perfect beverage for that sunny afternoon… Thanks for sharing your recipe! Maybe I can experiment and make a mocha iced coffee recipe and I’ll share it with you guys! Should be fun… 🙂
gobankingrates just add a little bit of cocoa powder or substitute some of the regular milk for a tablespoon or so of chocolate milk. That’s what I’ve tried and it did taste like a mocha iced coffee.
It is very hot in Hong Kong,I like to eat ice in the summer,But never eat ice coffee.I want to try it.
I love coffee but I’m not very adventurous. However I will defo be trying this one out! Thanks
I am a coffee lover. I like your idea on coffee to keep refreshing you during the hot season. Keep chilling during summer time.
Adrian we’ve really been enjoying our iced coffee. I’ve been experimenting with the recipe. Sometimes i use a little bit of chocolate milk (we happen to have some on hand) to make a moca iced coffee. It’s great too, but I’ve found that you only need a little chocolate milk ((ie one tablespoon or so) because if you add too much) the chocolate taste overpowers the coffee taste.
I like also iced coffee, as a matter of fact i used to drink iced cold coffee after i played basketball in the morning as part of my daily exercise. Another good thing about coffee, its not just a refreshing drink from the heat it has a also health benefits into our body, as coffee is a good source of antioxidant.
I drink too much coffee but the homemade ice coffee does seem a nice treat.
Colorado yes it is a nice treat. I’ve also found that by cold brewing the coffee it has less of a bitter aftertaste that my drip maker coffee did.
Iced coffee seems great right now, it’s been really hot all day. I’ll go and make myself a frappe 😉
I’m a coffee fanatic for 3 years now. It started on my first job (I was on a graveyard shift). Since then, coffee is part of my lifestyle. When it comes to iced coffee, I love the Nescafe Mocha Iced Coffee. But this time, I think I gotta have to have a new variety. This coffee tip of yours look stronger and more affordable than my usual drink. Thanks for sharing your excellent recipe.