Iced Coffee
Cold coffee always has the same problem: ordinary ice melts and ten minutes later you are holding a glass of faintly brown water. There is one fix, and it works every time — freeze coffee into cubes and brew the drink stronger than you would ever drink it hot. Then melting makes it colder, not weaker.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Rest
- 4 h
- Total
- 4 h 15 min
- Servings
- 2
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 110 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Oat milk holds up best of the plant milks in cold coffee, since it does not curdle against the acidity.
Makes: about 500 ml, 2 glasses
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Freeze coffee cubes
The day before, brew 200 ml of coffee, let it cool and pour it into an ice tray. Freeze for at least 4 hours — this is the step the whole recipe rests on.
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Step 2: Brew it strong
Use 30 g of coffee to 300 ml of water instead of the usual 18 g. Double strength builds in the headroom for milk and melting cubes.
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Step 3: Chill it fast
Pour the hot coffee into a metal bowl and set it in a larger bowl of ice for 5 minutes, stirring. Cooling slowly on the counter leaves coffee sour and flat.
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Step 4: Fill the glasses
Drop 4–5 coffee cubes into each glass. Plain ice has no place here; it would undo the entire point of freezing coffee.
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Step 5: Pour the coffee
Pour the chilled coffee over the cubes, leaving about a quarter of the glass for milk. Add the syrup now — granulated sugar will not dissolve in a cold drink.
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Step 6: Add the milk
Pour cold milk slowly over the top and watch it fall through the coffee in pale ribbons. Stir before drinking, or leave it for the look of it.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Sugar syrup takes two minutes: equal parts sugar and hot water, stirred until clear, then cooled.
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Variation
Cold brew is the no-stove route: 60 g of coffee to 600 ml of cold water, 12 hours in the fridge, then strained.
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Swap
Oat milk holds up best of the plant milks in cold coffee, since it does not curdle against the acidity.
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Storage
Brewed coffee keeps 2 days in a sealed bottle in the fridge; coffee ice cubes keep a month in the freezer.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 2 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 110 kcal | 220 kcal |
| Protein | 3 g | 6 g |
| Fat | 3 g | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17 g | 34 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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