6 Easy Tips to Make Delicious Iced Coffee Drinks at Home

6 Easy Tips to Make Delicious Iced Coffee Drinks at Home

Iced coffee drinks at coffee shops are delicious, but they can be expensive and super sweet. You don’t have to miss out on your favorite iced coffee drinks, though!

The trick to making delicious iced coffee drinks at home is finding the right tools, the best recipes, and some expert tips.

Here are 6 easy tips for making delicious iced coffee drinks at home.

1) Buy good coffee beans

You may have heard that for an iced coffee drink, you should use beans that are ground more finely than usual.

It’s true—coffee beans are ground fine so they can be brewed quickly and still yield a flavor-packed beverage.

But if you grind your coffee beans, those grounds will settle into any mesh filter bag or paper filter you might use with a drip brewer.

This can give your iced coffee drink a grainy texture that is unpleasant to many people. And what good is freshly roasted and ground coffee if it has no flavor?

Using pre-ground beans means you don’t need to get up early (or wait all day) to brew enough fresh grounds for your party drinks.

2) Grind your beans

Though you can use pre-ground coffee in an iced coffee drink, it won’t give you a smooth taste. If you’re looking for a creamy texture and flavorful cup of iced coffee, opt for freshly ground beans.

It may seem like an unnecessary step, but grind your beans and brew your drinks immediately after (the longer beans sit after grinding, their flavor begins to dissipate).

And if you want even more full-bodied flavor from your iced coffee drink, try cold-brewing. Yes, it takes about 12 hours to make—but it’s worth it! Here’s what you do:

Add coarsely ground beans or grounds into a container with 1 gallon of water and let steep overnight in your refrigerator.

3) Choose a high-quality ice cube tray

Ice cubes should be about half water and half air for best results. This makes it easier for your drink to chill quickly.

A quality ice cube tray will do a great job of maintaining those proportions, but if you’re making ice in a different container, make sure it’s as close to 50/50 as possible.

Using less ice also allows you to use more coffee grounds—this is important because it makes your drink stronger (which you’ll want with iced coffee) and weaker (which you won’t want with iced tea).

Don’t worry too much about getting an exact measurement of the ingredients – just don’t pack them in too tightly!

4) Use fresh milk or cream

For cold coffee drinks, using fresh milk or cream will make a huge difference in taste and texture.

If you want that iced mochaccino taste, use high-quality chocolate syrup, freshly ground espresso beans, and fresh milk for full flavor.

You can also add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder for a homemade mochaccino flavor.

However, if you are using whole milk or cream rather than low-fat options, be sure not to whip up your coffee too strongly as it will result in too-thick ice cubes and watered-down coffee.

For best results, avoid adding sugar to your brew—your barista may already have added a sweetener when brewing your drink.

Additionally, do not try to melt the sugar on top of an iced drink unless you like watered-down concoctions!

Your best bet is to add simple syrup made with water instead of mixing water with granulated sugar and stirring until dissolved.

Water is key because granulated sugar has been known to sink into ice cubes and turn them into rock-hard bits after they’ve frozen together!

Finally, remember that freezing anything changes its structure, so even non-coffee drinks such as lemonade should be served immediately after making them, or else they may lose their flavor over time!

5) Use the right amount of water and ice cubes

Depending on how strong you like your coffee, you should use between one and two cups of water for every cup of coffee beans.

For example, if your coffee calls for 10 grams of beans, you would use 20-40 grams of water (about 2-4 tablespoons) and 15-20 ice cubes.

The general rule is that iced coffee should be weaker than your regular cup to avoid diluting it.

A great way to keep track is by using a ratio; of 1:2 ice cubes/water means that you’re getting twice as much ice as water in each cup.

If adding a sweetener like sugar or syrup, be sure to have just enough liquid so that it mixes in well with no extra residue left over.

6) Dilute the coffee concentrate before serving

Most iced coffee recipes call for cold water or milk.

However, if you want your drink to be especially strong and flavorful, prepare your concentrate with hot water and then allow it to cool down before using it.

The key is in diluting the concentrate, which should be added to a glass filled with ice cubes along with one or two more servings of cold water (or another drink of your choice).

This will give you a stronger flavor without all of that extra water.

If you’re sensitive to caffeine, feel free to make an iced latte by simply preparing it as an iced mocha!