I've already covered some great iced tea recipes, so I figured it was time to talk about iced coffee, just to be fair. Not as classic, as the popularity of iced coffee drinks is fairly recent. These days, getting some kind of iced coffee is as typical as grabbing a bottle of pop. I rarely drink my coffee hot during the summer.
Though plenty of fast food or regular coffee shops are offering varieties of "iced caps" (short for iced cappuccino), most of them are simply coffee flavoured milk shakes. They're not bad, but not particularly authentic. A real iced cap would have espresso over ice, with a bit of milk or cream. That's not mentioning the various bottled iced coffees that some drink manufacturers have come up with.
But whatever your local shop is selling, you can always make any sort of iced coffee right at home.
Basic iced coffee is simply chilled coffee, with sugar and milk to your own preference and usually served over ice. But if you are looking for some more unique recipes, here you go:
Cloves and Cream Iced Coffee
- 2 cups brewed coffee
- 2 cups light cream
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
Add cloves and broken-up cinnamon stick to coffee, and let the mix steep in the fridge for a couple of hours. Strain out the cloves and cinnamon pieces. Pour in cream and add sugar if you want more sweetness. Serve over ice. Serves 4.
Iced Honey Coffee
- 2 tbs instant coffee crystals
- ¼ cup hot water
- ¼ cup liquid honey
- ¾ cup cold water
- 1 quart milk
Stir the instant coffee into the hot water until dissolved, then add honey. Keep stirring until blended well. Add cold water, and serve over ice. Add about 1 cup of milk over top in each glass. Serves 4.
Thai Iced Coffee
- 2 tsp cardamom, ground
- 4 tbs sugar
- 4 tbs heavy cream
- 1 tsp almond extract
Brew 4 cups of coffee in your usual brewing manner, adding the cardamom with your coffee grounds. After the coffee is made, add sugar and almond flavouring. Stir, then chill through in the fridge. Serve over crushed ice, with a teaspoon of cream added on top. Serves 4.
Another suggestion for good iced coffee, is to freeze some brewed coffee ahead of time, into ice cubes. They use those coffee cubes when you serve. This will keep your drinks from getting watered down when the ice melts. And it will make you look like quite the coffee gourmet.
Recipes courtesy of The Steaming Cup
Terri Paajanen - Terri Paajanen is a published author and freelance writer. She has been writing on a wide-range of topics for years, including spending ...
