5 Tips for Making Homemade Iced Coffee

A hot cup of coffee goes down a treat, but when the weather’s sticky and you’re feeling thirsty, sometimes the iced variety is the only option worth considering. Here are five tips for making homemade iced coffee.

Use real coffee

It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised at the amount of cafés and restaurants who don’t actually use espresso in their iced coffee recipe. As a result, you’re likely to produce a more authentic (and better tasting) iced coffee at home, regardless of what beans you use. With that being said, good iced coffee starts with good coffee. It certainly pays to source quality produce from a reputable supplier. Oh, and you can forget the artificial coffee flavoured syrups and powders. For a genuine iced coffee that you can be proud of, it’s really simple …

Keep it simple

It’s easy to get carried away with flavour add-ons like syrups and powders (as mentioned above), but this isn’t an article on ‘how to make the world’s best milkshake.’ Regardless of what you put into your mix, remember: coffee is the star. A little bit of cream never hurt anyone – it actually adds a little decadence to proceedings, but you want that big, bold, beautiful bean bang to really shine through. Keep that in mind, and you’re guaranteed to create a top-shelf iced coffee from the comfort of your very own home!

To make the drink, coarse grind the beans of your choice and prepare two shots of espresso with milk using your preferred coffee machine (I have a DeLonghi La Specialista coffee machine) and pour it over a glass of ice.

Make it strong

As you’d expect, the coffee will be quickly diluted by the ice in your recipe. That’s why it’s important that you brew your brain juice accordingly. Try using more shots than usual to maximise the flavour of your iced coffee. The stronger the better.

Do as the Japanese do

When you don’t have time to “plan ahead”, the Japanese method of preparing iced coffee is the best way to go. This involves making a regular pour-over cup of coffee, but replacing half of the water with ice (straight into the brewing vessel). The ice quickly melts during the brewing process and you’re left with a smooth, consistent iced coffee that will satisfy even the most ardent of coffee snobs – should they happen to pay you a visit, of course.

Homemade iced coffee offers not only a cheaper solution, but a tastier one as well – particularly if you follow the tips mentioned above!

Do you have any other suggestions or tips to add? Do you prefer making them at home yourself? Share your thoughts by commenting below.