Iced Coffee season has arrived

The temperature hit the mid 30’s today – a tad early in the season – but it turned my mind to cooler coffee drinks.

In past years, I’ve tried a stack of ‘iced coffee’ drinks, but none have really stuck with me for one simple reason: they are too complicated.
When I make coffee, I first want it to taste excellent. Secondly, it must be quick and easy to make. So, enjoying a day off today I set about the tasty task of making a simple, but worthy iced coffee drink.

First to go was the extras that everyone seems to add to their cool coffee drinks:

Simple is better (for me). So, I started with a double shot short black of PNG Kimel Peaberry – a tasty little bean with choc-caramel tones, and some earthy spiciness lurking in there.
First I added a heaped teaspoon of sugar to the hot coffee and dissolved it. I had a glass of icey cold milk ready and then simply stirred the still-hot shot in, adding a scoop of ice cream as a garnish, dribbling the last of the shot over it.

Pretty good. But a tad too sweet.
So a second attempt eliminated the sugar. Close to perfect.

Simple, fast, and I can still taste the origin (well, some of it) through the milk.
Improvements? First will be to break out the triple basket and try that. ;-)

Posted: 27 October 08
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6 Comments for Iced Coffee season has arrived

  1. What about not using espresso, but filtered coffee instead? With a Kenya Gethumbwini, my current Hazel fave, roasted lightish, run through syphon and stuck in the fridge to totally cool. Then either poured over crushed ise or just straight, it tastes like peach iced tea. Phenomenal.

    Dan Yee · Oct 27, 09:26 PM
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  2. Peach iced tea, Dan?
    Not sure that’s my goal for an iced coffee! ;-)

    But seriously – I prefer my iced drinks as milk based, with no ice. I have never understood iced tea (of any flavour).
    And while I enjoy a siphon every now and then, ‘spresso is still my fav.
    But hey, it’s all personal taste… :)

    Neil · Oct 27, 09:51 PM
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  3. I used to just put ice cream in a glass, pull a doppio straight over and then top up with milk. I don’t enjoy it myself but friends always loved it; particularly with a Brazilian taken just to the verge of SC.

    Oh Neil – I totally get your aversion to putting ice in a milky iced coffee. Yeuch. I also despise Bailey’s on ice. It just seems wrong to me. Milk + ice = very bad!

    I’m skipping down the chilled syphon path this summer though … and I gotta try espresso straight over ice …

    Michelle · Oct 30, 08:51 PM
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  4. Grab a bowl of Icecream, pour over a double shot espresso (instead of the chocolate topping etc), Eat!

    :-)

    Now that’s a fast way! Although it’s not a drink – but still very nice!

    Marc · Oct 31, 10:13 AM
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  5. @Michelle. Yep, your description is pretty much what I’m talking about. A very different drink to regular coffee, but sometimes (on days like today), I’m just not up for a hot drink…

    @Marc – oh yeah… Affogato… Yum!

    Neil · Oct 31, 06:55 PM
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  6. Hey what are you talking about Neil, Iced Coffee comes from a bottle in the cupboard: Bushell’s Coffee & Chicory Essence . Try to beat that authentic milk bar iced coffee taste with your fancy peaberries! =P

    A habit picked up from a hot summer in Italy: put any left over coffee from the morning in the fridge, add milk in the afternoon for a simple but refreshing taste.

    Yes it’s somewhat sacrilegious not having the coffee fresh… I guess your method is better Neil as long as the milk to coffee ratio is high enough to cool the hot coffee.

    If you do want sugar, as always castor sugar is the saviour: it’ll dissolve cold.

    Charlie Dale · Nov 15, 10:48 AM
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