I'm a complete coffee addict. Yes, coffee... not caffeine. Though I'm sure the root of the "addiction" is the caffeine, I've never been much of a soda drinker. Coffee on the other hand could be consumed by the gallon as far as I'm concerned.
In the summer, a hot coffee isn't always the most pleasant thing, and neither is driving down the street to pay $5 for an iced Caramel Machiatto from Starbucks. Why not do it yourself at home? I promise it can be just as good!
The key to making a good iced coffee is brewing your coffee REALLY strong. As in, use twice the amount of ground coffee that you would normally use. The first time I tried it I just assumed I could throw coffee on ice and it would taste just as good, and that's not the case. You basically just need to use the mindset that while you are brewing a certain amount of coffee, it has to be strong enough for the "coffee flavor" to spread to the milk/melting ice cubes. Here's the recipe I generally use to make a large mug (about "3 or 4 cups" worth if it was just a regular brew).
2 Cups of water to brew the coffee
4 spoonfuls of coffee grounds
(I use Folger's Black Silk- I like it strong! Basically just double the amount you would use when normally brewing 2 cups of coffee)
1 Cup of Milk
5 or 6 ice cubes
Any sweeteners or flavorings you'd like to add
(For sugar/sweetener, use the amount you would normally use if you had 3 or 4 cups of coffee. If unsure, start with a little bit and add more to taste. You can always add more but can't take it out!)
Sometimes I'll also add a little squirt of caramel or chocolate syrup
4 spoonfuls of coffee grounds
(I use Folger's Black Silk- I like it strong! Basically just double the amount you would use when normally brewing 2 cups of coffee)
1 Cup of Milk
5 or 6 ice cubes
Any sweeteners or flavorings you'd like to add
(For sugar/sweetener, use the amount you would normally use if you had 3 or 4 cups of coffee. If unsure, start with a little bit and add more to taste. You can always add more but can't take it out!)
Sometimes I'll also add a little squirt of caramel or chocolate syrup
Brew the coffee as normal, and then pour into a mug that already had the ice cubes and milk in it. Add sweeteners/flavoring to your liking, and ENJOY! If it doesn't come out perfectly the first time, just take note... I think that with any coffee making you just kind of get the hang of making it how you like it, and your additions to it can always be modified!
Another good part about this is that you don't have to chug it down before it gets cold. I have a tendency of drinking my coffee while I'm running around the apartment getting ready, doing household chores, looking at blogs, etc... this sometimes leaves me forgetting about it, and with the iced coffee it's already cold, so this isn't even an issue!
