Different ways to make iced coffee
There are a few different methods you can use to make a real iced coffee. There are different iced coffee drinks, but three of the most popular methods are cold brew, espresso and iced filter. Each method produces a different flavour result and has its own pros and cons, depending on what you are trying to achieve.
Cold brew iced coffee
Cold brew involves infusing coffee grounds in cold water for up to 24 hours before hand. Once brewed, filter out the grounds and store the liquid concentrate in the fridge. This method produces ice coffee that is smooth and chocolatey with a very low acidity. It works with or without milk, making it versatile to mix with all sorts of other ingredients. The downside to this method is the preparation time.
Expresso iced coffee
Iced coffee made with espresso is stronger and has a different flavour balance to cold brew.
Although, with espresso you don’t need to brew ahead of time, in fact it tastes better when made to order. The simplest recipe to make is the well known iced latte. Just grab a tall glass, add ice, milk and then one or two shots of espresso. The espresso will taste sharper and have a natural sweetness compared to when its brewed hot. This is because our bodies don’t perceive sweetness as well at low temperatures as it does at higher temperatures.
You could make up for it by adding some sugar, or pulling your espresso shots a little shorter for iced coffee like a ristretto. This will shift the flavour balance away from edgy, bitter and emphasis the sweetness a little more at this serving temperature.
Iced pour-over filtered coffee
Iced filter coffee is great for serving black, as it helps maintain more of the delicate acidity than either cold brew or chilled espresso. To avoid a sharp and bitter taste, make it fresh so it doesn’t have time to oxidise. To avoid the melting ice watering down the brew, use the same amount of ground coffee you usually use, but half the amount of water. This way, when the hot coffee melts the ice, you end with a similar strength to a standard filter coffee. For a single-cup pourover coffee brew, try using 21g coffee, 150g ice and 150g water.
Choosing the perfect coffee
Because our bodies perceive sweetness differently at low temperatures and higher temperatures, some types of coffee will taste great hot, but overly edgy and bitter when chilled. Typically, a light or medium coffee with lots of natural sweetness will give the best results at a lower temperature. While a dark roast coffee will often need a lot more sweetening to prevent it tasting smokey or bitter at a lower temperature. Look for a ‘natural’ or ‘honey’ processed blend or single origin coffee. The chocolatey, fruity sweetness of these varieties seems to shine when served cold.
Sweetness
Some prefer extra sweetness in their iced coffees, particularly if you are using espresso coffee. Normal sugar won’t dissolve in cold drinks, so the best option is to use a simple syrup. You can make a simple syrup with 1 cup of boiling water, 1 cup of raw sugar and stir them together. Once cooled, pop it in the freezer and add half a shot of it to your iced coffee.
Raw sugar has a nice, neutraltaste that balances better with the coffee over ordinary white sugar.
Alternatives
Adding ice cream to coffee is a classic idea! It is an indulgent substitute for ice cubes in any type of iced coffee. Think of your classic “spider” or “affogato”. Just take 1 part cold brew concentrate, 1 part sparkling water and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Try making some ice cubes with coffee in them, this will allow an iced coffee to get stronger as the ice melts.
For best results overall, with any iced coffee, try serving in a chilled glass to keep the drink colder for longer.
Information within this blog was provided by our coffee partners at Seven Miles Coffee Roasters.