Iced Coffee: Simple, Delicious, Refreshing

While many retailers and consumer alike will make their iced coffee by pouring standard brewed coffee over ice, it should be considered that this dilutes the brew considerably.  Even worse, there are some who will take coffee that has gone cold in their airpots and retain it as “iced coffee”.  Friends, such practice should never be condoned, practiced, or sold.

There are several ways to brew iced coffee.  Cold Brewing (commonly referred to as Toddy) has become more widespread in recent years, and a cup of “iced coffee” seems nearly ubiquitous.  It can be had from 7-11, McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and of course, Starbucks and independent coffee retailers.  The advertisements would have one believe that consumers simply do not distinguish between grades of coffee when it is over ice in a clear plastic cup with a little dairy and sweetener of some kind.  This is a sad thing, however, because consumers of specialty coffee are becoming more particular about the things they spend their money on, and even more discriminating about the quality of those things.

My preferred method of making iced coffee is very simple, and carries over many of the flavor attributes of a normal hot cup of the same brew.  Use the brew method of your choice, within reason, but I tend to prefer French Press for a variety of reasons.  This article is not about the merits of French Press coffee, so we’ll save the answers to “why” for another time.

The recipe is as follows

• 14g coffee per 6oz. of water
• Brew it in a French Press (as little or as much is desired, remembering that the final volume will at least be double of what you start with)
• Once finished brewing, pour over ice equal in weight to the water. (tip.  1 oz. of water weighs 1 oz.)

That’s all there is to it.  You can make a larger batch and store it in the under-counter refrigerator for convenient dosing into cups.  If you want to avoid the grit that accompanies all French Press brews, decant into a larger vessel, and then pour through a paper filter (like Melitta) into its final container to filter out the sediment.

Since it is hot brewed, much of the acidity and flavor found in a hot cup of the same coffee should be present in the iced coffee being served across the counter to your eager patrons.

Iced coffee hits the spot during these swealtering summer days, and not everyone is always in the mood for an iced Americano.  While Cold Brewing is often popular, why not offer your customers their favorite coffee over ice that actually tastes like their favorite coffee?

Try not to drink the entire batch during the first few shifts of carrying it.  Of course, if you do, you can always just make more.

Enjoy.

« Fresh Cup Article: Sept. 2009 “Nine Bars” | Home | The EspressoTrainer.com Blog »