Maybe it’s a hot summer day, and instead of your usual pot of black, hot coffee, you want something cool and icy. What should you do? Should you wait 24 hours for your cold brew? Or could you make iced coffee from hot coffee? That is what we are about to explain.
Iced coffee vs. cold brew
Let’s make it simple first: iced coffee is not the same as a cold brew. We already wrote an article to help distinguish both ice coffee and cold brew. But if you do not want to read that, the two are both common forms of cold coffee, but there are major distinctions.
It is a time-intensive method to produce a cold brew. Cold brew is all about the process of brewing the coffee than the coffee’s serving temperature. You grind beans for a cold brew and steep them for a prolonged time at room temperature, usually between 12 and 16 hours.
Cold brew will likely be darker than your iced coffee since it’s been brewing for so long. Here’s our how-to-make cold brew recipe if you want to learn more.
The cold coffee brew would not touch the ice until you drank it. But what we’re interested in is Iced Coffee. You take a hot cup and transform it into a cool one. Using your preferred brewing process, you can brew the coffee like you usually would and then add it to ice via the methods listed below to dilute the flavor slightly without removing it.
Making iced coffee from hot coffee
Now that we have the essential distinction out of the way, let’s look at transforming hot coffee into good iced coffee.
Phase 1: brew the coffee
- Your first move is brewing the pot of coffee or a double shot of espresso.
The espresso is the outlier. If you’re fortunate enough to have an espresso machine at home, you’re probably pulling shots concentrated enough to withstand a bit of dilution. It’s easy to drop your shot into a cup of ice with a few ounces of water to make an iced Americano.
- You ought to prepare the cup of hot coffee yourself first. To brew up some of your favorite brews, follow all the steps required, but make it powerful! Use extra coffee or less water than you usually use. This is key to non-diluted ice coffee.
Phase 2: Prepare your ice
- Get your ice ready because you will need to cool your coffee rapidly.
- You will want to cool it as soon as possible, so you can dump one to two cups of ice into a thick glass or a stainless steel mixing pot to achieve this. You’ll want to put aside some cream or milk and maybe some syrup or sugar later.
Stage 3: Pour the coffee
- Make sure you don’t use a small glass bottle; the glass could break with hot coffee.
- In the mixing pot, mug, cup, or bowl of your choice, pour the hot coffee easily onto the ice. The ice is going to start melting, and that’s okay.
Phase 4: Stir
- Just keep stirring until the coffee is cooled.
- You want things to cool off as soon as possible. Keep stirring until it is colder than lukewarm on the exterior of your cup, then switch as soon as possible to Phase 5.
Phase 5: Transfer to drinking mug
- Getting a couple of fresh full-size ice cubes in your drinking mug is always nice.
- You’re obviously not going to want to drink it out of this mixing bowl, cup, mug, etc., so stack your preferred drinking mug with a few ice cubes and then add in the newly-iced blend, with any ice remaining.
Phase 6: Add sugar and milk
- With your milk and sugar added, it would taste great. If you like cream, try with cream.
- Cream, honey, syrup, sugar, and other things. You’ll want to pick between milk, cream, and sugar or syrup. You can change the proportions according to your preference, but for starters, the trick should be around a cup of cream and a half cup of sugar or a similar proportion.
- Add them to the mix, which by this stage should cool beautifully, stir well and enjoy.
Faster option?
The best option and the fastest way to make iced coffee that tastes great is with a cocktail shaker. So g get your cocktail shaker.
24 oz Cocktail Shaker Bartender Set by Aozita
The one by Aozita is a good option since it does come with a sleeve, so if your stainless steel shaker gets a bit hot, you can use that sleeve for protection. Plus, why not have a cocktail shaker on hand when you have friends and family over?
We’re making an Italian shakerato, but you can customize it to your taste. You’ll pull your shot or hot coffee and pour it into a cocktail shaker that’s packed with ice. Seal and shake vigorously until the outside contact is cold—this may take 15 seconds or more. Strain into a new ice-filled bottle. The coffee will be very, very cold and flavorful. Throw in some Bailey’s while you are at it.
Bonus round: Try Vietnamese-styled iced coffee; it takes a little longer to make but is probably the strongest.
Stronger brewing methods for iced coffee
Depending on your tools, you may change your recipe. Various recipes can create a good solid coffee that will keep up after the ice and cream are applied. Regardless of the brewing process, the most crucial part is that you easily pour and ice the coffee. You can transform your hot coffee into iced coffee on a hot summer day and enjoy a cafe-style cocktail by following these fast and simple guidelines.
How to stop your iced coffee from watering down
What is your favorite coffee drink? Like me, you cannot end your day without gulping a glass of iced coffee. A glass of iced coffee and a generous amount of sugar and milk make my days brighter. Why do you prefer this particular drink?
Whichever the reason why you drink iced coffee, there is one thing that must not change for you to enjoy your brew. You must prevent it from watering down. But how can you prevent that? It is simple! You need to have some coffee ice cubes, and you can prepare them at home. To make coffee ice cubes, you only need a freezer and freshly brewed coffee. See the recipe below for more information.
Coffee ice cubes (2 trays)
Requirements
- A coffee maker
- A freezer
- Coffee beans of your choosing
- Two silicone ice cube trays
- Coffee syrups, milk, or cream (optional)
Time needed
- 25 minutes
Difficulty
- Easy
Step by step
Prepare at least 2-3 cups of fresh coffee. Cold-brew for the smoothest flavor and maximum potency.
- Chill the coffee
Allow your coffee to chill before pouring it into the trays.
- Fill trays
Now fill your ice cube trays with the chilled coffee. You can add milk or any flavoring that you prefer and place the trays in the freezer for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Enjoy your brew!
Once frozen, use them in place of iced cubes and enjoy.
It is that simple to make coffee ice cubes and enjoy a perfect cup of coffee at home.
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Disclosure: No compensation or free products were received in exchange for writing this review.
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