In this 100 degree weather I really start craving iced coffee. I rarely drink iced coffee, and when I do it better be stinking hot because I love my hot cup of coffee in the morning. (Did you know hot beverages cool down the body’s core temperature?) There are about 3 basic ways to brew up a good cup of iced coffee. There are many ways you can make your iced coffee taste bad, so I’m going to delve into the 3 methods and things to help you brew the best iced coffee you can.
We all know that temperature affects how our coffee tastes. We know that if it’s not hot enough when brewed, coffee can taste sour and murky. Baristas prepare your espresso water that should be between 198-202F. This temperature is important to extract essential flavors and oils. We know that temperature affects our coffee from roasting, storage, preparation, and taste. We are looking for coffee to taste refreshing. The taste should be clean and full, not thin, dirty, or muddy. Most reasons that cold coffee turns out bad is from dirty group heads, dirty brewers, bad coffee, or careless preparation.
Never fear, there are three good options to brewing cold coffee, and they are:
- Brewed drip coffee poured over ice. (Traditional iced coffee)
- Brew coffee in cold water (Iced Toddy coffee)
- Iced Espresso
Method 1 (Brewed drip coffee)
This method is great because almost everyone has their own home coffee brewer. When making iced coffee using this method, you will want to make sure that as soon as your coffee is done brewing you have it go from hot to cold as quickly as possible. Coffee oils oxidize with time and aromatics disappear at higher temperatures. The downside to this brewing method is that the coffee may sometimes taste weaker than the other 2 methods.
Recipe:
For every 6 ounces of water brewed use 2 tablespoons of ground coffee. Brew coffee and pour over ice. The shelf life on this iced coffee is one day.
Method 2 (Cold brewed coffee AKA Iced toddy coffee)
This brewing method is very popular because of wildly different taste compared to the above method. This method makes a cold brewed concentrate that is very low in acidity and does not have the same body as coffee that is brewed hot. Many of the oils, acidity, and aromatic compounds that are found in hot brewing methods cannot be tasted or found in the cold brewing method because it simply cannot be extracted out using cold water. One other difference is that this coffee has higher caffeine content because of huge amount of coffee used to produce the brew, the coarse grind, and the extremely long brew time. FYI: Toddy is the name of one of the primary iced coffee makers.
Recipe:
1/2 pound of coarsely ground coffee added to 2 quarts of cold water. Cover the coffee with plastic wrap or lid. Let the coffee brew for 12-24 hours. Pour coffee and water through strainer to extract the concentrate. To serve dilute 4 oz. concentrate with 6 ounces of cold water and ice. The shelf life is 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
Iced Espresso
Well, if you are an espresso snob, iced espresso may not be its equal counterpart. When you mix espresso with ice, water, or milk the espresso loses much of its bitter and acid flavors because it becomes much less concentrated. It’s important to note that when espresso is cooled down it has an altogether different flavor. (Many people need to add sugar or a squirt of syrup because of this flavor difference. Lack of “lemony acidity”)
Recipe:
Use over-dosed ristretto double shots. Extract shots, which should together yield 1.5 ounces and pour over ice.
Try all these methods…..see what you like. There is no right or wrong answer. Good luck brewing!