Thursday, August 12, 2010

Iced Coffee

This summer, for the first time in my life, I have been drinking iced coffee.

It just happened one day that we were out of fresh iced tea, I was thirsty for a little caffeine, so I poured the leftover coffee from the morning's brew into a glass (it was room temperature), added a little sugar, ice, water, and dash of whole milk. Unlike hot coffee, I like iced coffee a little sweetened.

Coincidentally, a couple days ago the Wall Street Journal ran a whole section on iced coffee. Their suggestions included brewing it cold-pressed to eliminate the acidic tastes. That's way too much trouble for me. As long as your morning coffee is not sitting on a warmer too long it works just fine.

If you have any suggestions for iced coffee that don't include a lot of trouble to prepare it, please let me know. I'm kind of liking it.

Only 1% of coffee consumption is iced, so there's a good chance you haven't tried it. You might be surprised, I was.
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10 comments:

bourgon said...

I've owned a Toddy for 5 years or so. Flavor is fantastic.

Yes, it's more work... once a month. But the "batch", steeped for 24-36 hours, allows you to do a cup of coffee at a moment's notice. Take hot/cold water, add a shot (or two, depending on the initial "steep" time), stir and drink. I drink 1-2 cups a day and it lasts me 1-2 months.

If you're really into the Caffeine buzz - half coffee, half sugar, half milk. It's amazing stuff and will wire you to the point that you can vibrate through walls.

Jake Good said...

While I was in NYC last week... which was like an Easy Bake Oven... I downed quite a bit of good ol' iced coffee.

Funny, it was like 2.5 times the price as regular cup there. Not even sure they actually did a cold press or not. Couldn't tell.

I'm with you though, the iced coffee has to be a little sweet...

Svetlana said...

The trick is to make it strong and keep it that way. If you can stand it, a little proper planning will make it all worth your while.

Freeze some left over coffee either in an ice cube tray or in a small container. Then prepare your coffee with it. Then you can get cold with out loss of flavor. Also, I tried the starbucks micro screened iced coffee. It's not bad, but kinda of pricey for my taste.

Francis Shivone said...

Jake -- yea, NYC is brutal in the summer. Like Philly, nowhere for the heat to go and humid. I've never ordered one from Starbucks but I think their ice drinks are more expensive too.

Michael -- I'll look into the Toddy, never heard of it. Sounds good though.

Svetlana -- I guess the stronger the better before mixing? Thanks that sounds easy enough.

nemajo said...

The Vietnamese restaurants have pretty good iced coffee...

Sunni R. said...

I was pleasantly suprised by iced coffee too! But I like it the same way as hot- strong with a good dollop of half and half. I would love to make it at home as well but have failed thus far. A friend used to buy this delicious coffee and chicory coffee concentrate when she lived in Shreveport but I haven't found it here, that would be a good way to get home iced coffee without lots of fanfare.

Francis Shivone said...

Thanks Nemajo, I have to say though that iced coffee and Pho is not something I would have put together, but if you say so.

And Sunni, I'm going to try the suggestions I have read in the comments, mine isn't good enough either.

Lynn said...

Sorry, your token LDS friend can't help you on this one. I am hitting Braums about three times a week: one scoop of something cold and chocolaty, and a cup of ice water. I am teaching them that it is easier for me if they hand me the cup of water *first*.

Francis Shivone said...

That's right. I forgot that about the LDS. You could have coffee flavored ice cream instead. Thanks. :)

nemajo said...

LDS... Surely you know that choclaye also has caffeine in it...