Refreshing Iced Coffee

/ Uncategorized

I’m not sure about you guys, but I love coffee.  I think growing up in the Pacific Northwest (the home of boutique coffee) has influenced me, my parents always drank it when I was growing up.  My mom in particular would call it “the juice of life” and “liquid gold”.  I never fully appreciated my parents’ love of coffee until I got older.  While I really enjoy the occasional cup of tea, my normal morning jolt accepts no substitute.  Sometimes there is nothing like a cup to get you going in the morning!  I even drink decaf some evenings, just for the flavor.

My husband and I like coffee made with a French Press.  This process really enhances the flavor.  However, in the summer I find that regular coffee is just too hot.  It doesn’t get insanely hot here, but because of that we don’t have AC.  That means that sometimes the house just never cools down.  That is one of the main reasons I switch to iced coffee when the weather warms up.  It’s cool, sweet and refreshing and I still get my caffeine boost. 🙂

Before I made it myself, I assumed that iced coffee is just chilling regular coffee and pouring it over ice.  I’ve realized that if you do that the taste is weak and diluted.  Blech!  Then I started making my iced coffee using instant espresso powder and have never looked back! I use Medaglia D’Oro brand, but any will do.  The things to look for is that it’s instant granules and that it’s espresso (not eXpresso- one of my pet peeves!).  The instant is important because we want it to dissolve in hot water and it needs to be espresso so that it’s concentrated.  Since we are going to pour our coffee over ice and it will get diluted, we want to ensure the coffee flavor starts out strong.  If my husband gets downstairs first in the mornings, he’ll throw it in the fridge before adding it to the ice, making it even stronger.

Ok, let’s make iced coffee!

Spoon the instant espresso and sweetener (I usually use Truvia) into the boiling water.  I add the sweetener at this point so that it can dissolve in the hot water. It may seem strange that I have the amount of coffee listed as 3 teaspoons, instead of 1 tablespoon (1tbs = 3tsp).  This is because the teaspoon fits easier into the small jar of espresso powder.  Mix until the sugar and granules are dissolved.

Now fill a quart jar or large glass with ice.  I like to use a jar for this because I can make it at home in the mornings and then bring it to work.  It’s still ice cold when I’m sitting at my desk and is a nice morning treat to enjoy while I start the workday.

Pour the coffee mixture over the ice. I also add milk to mine.  I just love the way coffee looks when milk is swirling in it!

Top the jar with a lid and shake, or stir if in a glass.

Enjoy!