By Fraya Berg for Food Network Kitchen
Fraya is a chef and a contributing writer at Food Network.
It doesn’t need to be hot for you to want a large iced coffee. And there’s no reason to go to a coffee shop when you can make one right in your own kitchen. All it takes is a little planning ahead. Read on for step-by-step instructions plus answers to all your iced coffee-related questions.
What’s the Difference Between Iced Coffee and Cold Brew?
Iced coffee is made from regularly brewed hot coffee that's chilled and then served over ice.
Cold brew, on the other hand, is made by steeping grounds in room temperature water to create a coffee concentrate that you then need to dilute with water or milk. No heat is used, which means the concentrate has none of the bitter notes in iced coffee. If you're looking to learn more about cold brew and how to make it, head over to our story How to Make Cold Brew Coffee.
How to Make Iced Coffee
To make iced coffee, you need to do a little planning ahead. We recommend brewing your coffee at least 1 hour (and up to 12 hours) before you want to turn it into iced coffee to give it time to cool down.
1. Brew Coffee
Brew your favourite coffee however you normally would.
2. Cool the Coffee
Let the brewed coffee sit out until it's cooled to room temperature. Or, to speed up the chilling process, stash the coffee in the fridge. A third smart make-ahead option? Pour the coffee into ice cube trays and freeze it. When you want to enjoy it, simply let the iced coffee cubes melt in a glass.
3. Serve Cooled Coffee Over Ice
To serve the ice coffee, fill up a glass with ice and pour the cooled ice coffee over it.
4. Customise
The beauty of homemade iced coffee is that you can completely customise it. Add your favourite milk, sugars or syrups.
Can You Just Add Ice to Coffee to Make Iced Coffee?
You might be wondering: can I simply turn hot coffee into iced coffee by adding ice? Skip that whole step where you wait for the coffee to cool to room temperature? And the answer is yes, but you need to follow the steps below, otherwise you might end up with watery iced coffee.
1. Brew Extra Strong Coffee
Brew your coffee with half the amount of water as you normally do, to make a strong concentrate.
2. Cool to Room Temperature with Ice
Pour the hot coffee into a pitcher or glass that's filled to the top with ice. As soon as the iced coffee reaches room temperature (test it by sticking a clean finger into it; the ice will look mostly melted at this point), transfer the coffee to a new cup of ice.
How to Make Iced Coffee with Instant Coffee
If you're looking for a shortcut, you can easily use instant coffee to make iced coffee. This method is also a fast way to make a single serving of iced coffee. Here's what to do.
1. Brew the Instant Coffee According to Package Instructions
The container will tell you the correct ratio of instant coffee to boiling water. 2 teaspoons instant coffee to 1 cup of boiling water is a safe ratio. Dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water.
2. Cool the Instant Coffee
Allow the instant coffee to cool to room temperature by letting it sit on the counter, or speed up the process by stashing it in the fridge.
3. Serve Over Ice
Serve the cooled instant coffee over ice with your favorite mix-ins.
Recipes for Iced Coffee
You can use coffee for this iced coffee, but for a real Italian experience, use espresso.
Iced Coffee with Chile de Arbol and Dark Chocolate
Not your average iced mocha—the spicy chiles add another dimension to the flavour.
Using simple syrup is always the easiest way to sweeten iced coffee because you don’t need it to dissolve. Sparkling water makes it coffee soda.
Sunny's Easy Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Sweetened condensed milk is the key to iced Vietnamese coffee; its creamy sweetness is perfect with the strong coffee.
