Compared with traditional hot coffee, iced coffee has become more and more popular among young people lately. On a hot summer afternoon, what could be more cool than a cup of iced coffee?
Basically you have 4 choices when it comes to iced coffee.
- Buy your cup from Starbucks
- Buy an iced coffee maker
- Buy Instant Iced coffee
- Make it at home by yourself
I think there is no need to explain the first method, we all can do it: pay the money, get your coffee. So let us move on to the next choice – an iced coffee maker. You can buy a coffee maker with an iced-beverage function or buy an ice coffee maker, which is specifically used to make iced coffee.
For a general coffee maker with an iced-beverage function, I suggest you check out the Breville Bkc700XL Gourmet Single-Serve Coffeemaker with Iced-Beverage Function. However, I don’t want to buy an expensive coffee maker for $200 just to make iced coffee. That is unless the coffee maker I have breaks, in which case I will look for this function when buying my next coffee maker.
In fact, I really like those cheap, cute little machines that are just for making iced coffee or cold brewing only. There are a bunch of them out there. For 30 dollars you can pick up a good brewer such as the Hario V60 Iced Coffee Maker. Watch the video below to see how it works.
Another option is the Toddy Cold Brew System. Watch the video below to see how this coffee maker works.
The 3rd choice is also popular because it is cheap and easy. As I have said before, amazon.com is the best place to buy things like instant iced coffee. Amazon is cheap, high quality and sells some products you can’t get at local stores. If you need some instant iced coffee suggestions, some good options are the Cappucino Coolers French Vanilla, Starbucks iced coffee, Maxwell house iced latte and so on. Have a look for yourself; they are easy to find. In fact, instant iced coffee is my favorite way of drinking iced coffee in the summer. It isn’t the best brewing option for flavor, but sometimes we don’t just concentrate on flavor.
If you are ready to make iced coffee at home, it is best to start with the easiest recipe. All you need is coffee, sugar and ice. Things you have to pay attention to are:
Adding more ground coffee than you usually do. For example, if you use one tablespoon for your hot coffee, use 2 tablespoons for iced coffee.
If you want to add sugar, add it when the coffee is hot. When the water cools down, the sugar won’t dissolve as well.
Don’t pour hot water directly over ice. Leave it to cool for a while or you will end up with a weak and flavorless iced coffee. If you watched the Hario V60 video, you will have seen that the coffee maker has ice in the middle section. This is a fast and convenient solution for cooling coffee down faster, without ruining it by pouring it directly over ice when it is still hot or waiting for hours to let your coffee cool down in the summer.
For other recipes choices, it is easy to search for homemade iced coffee recipes online. I am sure you will find plenty of options as well if you want to pick up an ebook so that you can read it when you are not online. Check out some other home brewing options such as Moka Pot and French Press brewing on this site.