Iced Coffee is a refreshing start to your day that’s easy to make in a few steps, then top with cream, syrups, or any other coffee add-ins.
If you’re a frequent coffee drinker, it’s great to learn how to make your favorite Drink Recipes at home. If you love this cold coffee, be sure to also try Iced Sea Salt Cold Brew.
Sabrina’s Iced Coffee Recipe
Whether you use a drip coffee maker, espresso machine, French press, or even instant coffee, you can follow this recipe to make coffee shop worthy Iced Coffee at home. It isn’t quite as strong as cold brew, and doesn’t need as much time to steep, but it has a slightly more bitter taste. Add cream and other flavorings ingredients to make just how you like. Use flavored syrups, or Whipped Cream and chocolate syrup for a more indulgent drink. The secret is in the ice for this recipe, be sure to read why it’s so important below.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 16 cups hot coffee
- 1/4 cup sugar , ½ cup if you want sweeter
Finish with options:
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Heavy cream
- Whipped Cream
- Chocolate Syrup
Instructions
- Mix the hot coffee with the sugar until it is dissolved.
- Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour coffee into two ice cube trays and freeze.
- Put the remaining coffee in a pitcher in the refrigerator.
- Serve in a glass with the coffee ice cubes and as much heavy cream as you’d like.
- Finish with options of your choice.
Notes
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
I think this tastes best with coffee ice cubes instead of regular ice cubes. When the ice melts, it only adds more coffee to the drink rather than watering down the coffee mixture. This extra step ensures you have the fullest flavor throughout the entire drink.
Table of contents
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can make this Iced Coffee up to one day in advance. Keep extra coffee ice cubes in the freezer if you want to have iced drinks on the regular.
How to Store
- Serve: Be sure to let the cubes freeze and that the coffee completely chills before combining and serving. If you serve your coffee black, then you can leave the recipe out for 24 hours without going bad, but you will need to chill the ingredients again. If you add any cream or milk, you shouldn’t leave the coffee out for more than 2 hours.
- Store: Keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. The coffee ice will melt in the fridge, but it won’t water down the drink. You can add more coffee ice cubes to refresh the drink before serving.
- Freeze: Without any added cream, you can keep frozen for up to 3 months. This is easiest to do in ice cube trays. Having frozen coffee ready to go makes it easy to prepare an iced coffee in just a few minutes. You can simply brew your morning coffee, as usual, give the drink 20 minutes to cool down, then add the coffee ice cubes to your glass before serving.
FAQs
Although both drinks are chilled, there’s a difference between regular Iced Coffee and cold brew coffee. The two coffee drinks have different brewing methods. Iced coffee is made with a traditional hot brew, just like you’d make normal hot coffee. But cold brew coffee is made by leaving coarsely ground coffee beans to steep in cold water for 12 hours or more. The longer you leave the coffee grounds steeping, the stronger the cold brew becomes. Once you’re done steeping, you’ll drain the coffee grounds through a coffee filter and serve the cold brew.
Although it shouldn’t be consumed in excess, moderate coffee drinking can easily be added to a healthy diet, whether the coffee is hot or iced.
However, this nutrition advice is less accurate depending on what you add to your coffee. Loading your coffee with lots of syrups, sugars, and cream may taste delicious, but it will also make the drink less healthy. So, if you prefer your coffee with lots of added sweeteners, perhaps limit it to a more occasional treat.
Of course! If you prefer black coffee, simply leave sweetener and cream out of your coffee. Like any black coffee, the iced version is bitter, but if you enjoy that bold coffee flavor, then you can absolutely have it iced.
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