I hate diluted iced coffee. Like the stuff you get when you pour hot coffee over ice. When I want iced coffee, I usually cold brew it in my French press (put cold water and coffee grounds in the press, but don’t press it, refrigerate overnight, then press.) Sometimes, though, I don’t think ahead. I want it now. I don’t want to wait 12-24 hrs for a toddy. So, I started doing this. It’s nothing revolutionary, and not going to rival your cold brew, but it beats watery coffee…

You brew some coffee and then freeze it into ice trays (I guess, it requires a little forethought, but then you’re good for a while). Now, when it’s 3:00 pm and you’re craving some iced coffee, brew some hot coffee like normal, but this time, toss in some coffee ice cubes. Check it out. You are cooling down your hot coffee with frozen coffee. Whaaat? And the result: undiluted cooled coffee. At this point, you can finish with regular ice cubes, so you don’t waste the coffee cubes. You can also freeze cream and have a perfectly portion-sized splash of cream. It’s a good way to keep cream if you don’t drink it often enough before it spoils. If you do this, pour the hot coffee over the cream first, so it dissolves completely.

RECIPE
fresh brewed coffee
ice cube tray

Writing out a recipe for ice is like writing a recipe for “boiling water.” It’s pretty self-explanatory. You get it. I hope. You brew some coffee, pour it in an ice tray, let it cool, and then freeze it…

While you’re making the coffee ice, you can make some infused or sweetened ice for other drinks. Honey-lavender ice goes well with a cup of earl grey sun tea or mint-agave ice floats nicely in a mojito…