Those of us who enjoy our coffee hot and black as hell suffer a bit during the summer. Until the third wave of coffee, the only way to drink it cold was simply to pour the infusion freshly made or chilled over ice. The result is a watery drink, without the aromatic complexity of coffee, which, to make matters worse, is usually overdone by acidity and bitterness. Fortunately, There are ways to avoid this nonsense. that guarantee us a refreshing drink that does deserve to be part of the coffee recipe book.
Why mixing your usual coffee with ice is not a good idea
If ordering an espresso in an unknown place is already quite an adventure, requesting it with ice is almost jumping into the void without a parachute. We are not talking here about the specialty coffee shopsof course, where expert baristas master every step and every technique to achieve the perfect drink.
Because coffee is something very simple, and at the same time, extremely complex. There are many factors involved in the infusion process, and none should be overlooked: the origin of the grains, the type of roasting, the degree of grinding, the infusion method, the extraction… Depending on the desired final result, it will be necessary to choose some parameters or others.
If we want to enjoy a cold coffee with ice, with a good flavor, body and aroma, we cannot simply add a few cubes to our usual drink, be it an Italian coffee machine or an espresso from a machine. That is to say, yes we can, and many people just do it, but if we are interested in tasting a quality drink without spoiling those specialty coffee beans we bother to buy, they deserve a better deal.
The most obvious reason is that it will end up watery. The ice that cools the coffee is water, and when it melts it dissolves in our infusion, diluting all its flavor and aromas at the same time. And if you usually use dark roast coffee, highly appreciated in hot espressos, it will leave unpleasant notes when you drink it cold.
Three ways to make iced coffee without watering it down
Before entering into the matter, it is necessary to point out the importance of use good ice. That is to say, with quality water, clean, frozen in suitable molds without traces of previous aromas or flavors, and in a totally clean freezer. If this is not possible, it is best to purchase professional commercial ice. Also, the larger the cubes, the slower they will melt.
The easiest: double the coffee
If the coffee is an infusion of ground beans and water, and by adding ice we add more water, a simple solution is increase the proportion of coffee. There are two ways to do this.
- with coffee ice. You have to plan a little to make the first batch of coffee, wait for it to cool down and freeze it in ice cube trays, but we can always make a large quantity at once. Coffee ice allows you to make other drinks that are also very refreshing, and they are perfect for lovers of coffee with milk. Pouring the milk or cold vegetable drink into a glass filled with these cubes also creates a very striking visual effect.
- with a shaker. The barista and coffee specialist kim ossemblok teaches us a more instant alternative. You just have to prepare two espressos and pour them into a cocktail shaker where we have deposited a good amount of ice, and the sugar that we like. It shakes very, very well, and is poured instantly, achieving a freshly brewed but cold coffee, which also retains its foam.
Cut the water in half
It’s the same idea, but in reverse, and a technique that will work especially well with filter coffee machines. Super-automatic coffee machines, and almost all single-dose coffee machines, also allow adjust water volume to use without affecting the amount of coffee, which is also usually adjustable.
The result will be a much more concentrated coffee, which we will soften by combining it with the ice. It is recommended to serve it freshly made, so the easiest thing is to fill the space where the infusion will fall with ice. If we use an Italian coffee maker, French press or an automatic machine, we will put the ice in the cups or glasses.
It’s also a good idea chill the containers in the style of cocktail glasses, stirring a few first pieces of ice until they begin to release water, at which point everything is discarded. New ice must be used to cool the coffee, which can fall directly on them as the infusion is produced.
Prepare a cold brew or cold infusion
The cold brew It was the fashionable drink a few years ago, supposedly the great obsession of millennials or hipsters, according to the media that reviewed it. Once the initial madness has been overcome, this specific type of coffee is now more than established in specialty coffee shops, also with numerous companies dedicated to its bottled production.
Making a cold brew at home is very simple, but it takes time. This technique is self-explanatory: it consists of cold infusing the coffee. In a process that can last between eight and 24 hours, the drink obtained is surprisingly sweet, soft and very aromatic, with a very low acidity and not at all bitter. But be careful, it has much more caffeine than an espresso.
Unless we have a coffee maker or device specially designed for this system, we only need to buy the coffee beans and grind them at the moment, leaving a very thick texture. In fact, it shouldn’t seem ground, it is advisable to leave thick pieces of grain, such as pebbles. If we used a medium or fine grind, we would only obtain a coffee that had passed extraction, very astringent, undrinkable.
Cold Brew Coffee Maker 1l – BPA free (made of Tritan)
HARIO Electric Coffee Grinder, X, Large
With 250 g of coffee beans you can infuse 1 liter of water, although this preparation lends itself to making custom adjustments. You have to mix everything with seasonal water and leave it in the kitchen or in the fridge for a maximum of 24 hours. Once well filtered, the coffee can be diluted in more water or milk, or take as is, cold from the fridge or adding ice, because it is so aromatic that it will not water down.
We recommend do not add sugar or sweeteners to iced coffee, because it could also make us drink more than necessary without realizing it too much. In the middle of summer it is a refreshing drink that feels great, and we could exceed the recommended amounts of caffeine. Yes, it admits a greater play with different aromas, such as a touch of lemon juice and rind, or even a little tonicto give it a carbonic point.
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Photos | iStock – Unsplash
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