How to Make Iced Coffee: 5 Methods

All coffee lovers know that there are stretches of the summer where the weather is too sweltering for hot coffee. In these moments, it’s time to turn to iced coffee.

At some point, everyone has likely had some iced coffee that tasted stale, bitter, and sour. That happens when hot coffee is allowed to slowly cool to room temperature. The key is to cool the coffee as quickly as possible, ideally while brewing.

Known as Japanese-style iced coffee, this method of flash cooling helps to seal in all of the delicious flavors while avoiding the unpleasant bitter and sour notes that come from allowing the coffee to cool to room temperature over an extended time. Cold brew avoids this altogether by using cold water and a much longer brewing process.

The great thing about iced coffee is that you don’t need any new fancy equipment. Whatever brewing method you use at home can be used to make iced coffee! Below, we’ll walk you through how to make iced coffee with whatever brewing equipment you already have on hand.

How to make cold brew coffee

Cold brew is the best way to make a large batch of iced coffee.

Cold brew has become the most common style of iced coffee in both cafes and grocery stores. It uses cold water and a long brew time to make a sweet and rich concentrate that can be diluted with water, milk, or any milk substitute.

It doesn’t require any specialized equipment to make — though you can invest in a dedicated pitcher if you make it often. It can be easily produced in large batches, which makes it perfect to serve at your summer barbecues. It can be kept in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Instructions

1. Grind your beans. Use a coarse grind to ensure easier filtration and less grit.
2. Add coffee to the brewing vessel. Put your ground coffee in your brewing vessel. Any large glass jar or pitcher with a lid works great. Use a ratio of one part coffee to eight parts water.
3. Cover with water. Cover the grounds with room temperature water.
4. Steep for 12 to 24 hours. The longer you steep, the stronger your coffee will be.
5. Filter the coffee. Filter using whatever coffee filters are available. If you don’t have coffee filters, use a kitchen strainer and cheesecloth.
6. Dilute and serve. Cold brew is often so strong that it will need to be diluted with water or milk. Serve over ice.

Quick tip: Iced coffee is usually too cold to properly dissolve sugar. To sweeten your cold brew, try making a simple syrup by dissolving granulated sugar in an equal portion of hot water and then adding that to your drink.

How to make iced coffee with a drip coffee maker

Reduce the water in the reservoir by half and add ice to the carafe.

Although manually brewing iced coffee gives you the most control and usually the best results, electric drip brewers are capable of making delicious iced coffee too.

Instructions

1. Grind your coffee. Grind your coffee to the specifications of the manufacturer. Drip coffee makers usually require a medium coarseness.
2. Add water to the reservoir. Fill the coffee maker with half as much water as normally required.
3. Add ice to your carafe. Fill the carafe with ice equal to the amount of water added to the reservoir. As the coffee is brewed it will be properly diluted by the ice. Use a kitchen scale to match quantities of ice and water.
4. Run the coffee maker. Brew the coffee as you normally would.
5. Serve the iced coffee. By the time the brewing process is finished, the coffee will be cooled by the ice and ready to serve immediately.

How to make pour-over iced coffee

Add ice to the base of your pour over to cool the coffee quickly.

Whether you are using a Chemex, Hario V60, or Kalita Wave, making iced coffee with a pour-over device is simple. Fill your brewing vessel with ice, then use half as much hot water when brewing. As the hot coffee hits the ice, it will melt and dilute the coffee, creating a well-balanced brew.

With manual french press brewing like this; you can have control over every brewing variable, which means you can customize the coffee to perfectly suit your taste. It’s also possible to brew in bigger batches with pour-over devices.

Instructions

1. Know your brewing ratio. Hot pour-over usually requires a ratio of one part coffee to fifteen parts water. To ice the recipe you’ll use about seven parts water, seven parts ice, to 1 part coffee. For a 16-ounce batch of iced coffee, you’d use roughly eight ounces hot water (237ml), one cup ice, and about 4 tablespoons (31.6g) of coffee.
2. Heat the water. Heat up your water to between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. 
3. Grind the coffee. Most pour-over methods use a medium to fine coarseness. Use the amount of coffee you would normally brew with.
4. Wet the filter. Thoroughly soak the filter with hot water and allow it to drain. Pour out the water that has dripped into the carafe once it has run through the filter.
5. Add ice to the carafe. Put ice cubes in the carafe or the glass you are brewing into. Use an equal amount of ice as the water you’re brewing with.
6. Put the grounds in the filter and bloom. Place the pour-over device over the carafe or glass and put the grounds in the filter. To bloom the grounds, pour a small amount of hot water over them and let it sit for 30 seconds. Blooming helps the coffee brew more evenly by soaking the grounds and releasing some of the gasses from the coffee that lead to bubbling.
7. Pour in the water. Pour the rest of the hot water over the grounds in a circular motion, making sure that the grounds are all soaked evenly. Be patient as the water filters through the grounds.
8. Discard the filter and grounds and serve. The ice will have melted, diluting the coffee and cooling it to serving temperature.

How to make iced coffee with a Keurig

The Keurig coffee maker doesn’t allow for as much customization as some other options, but it can still be used to make iced coffee. Use the machine like normal, just put ice into the cup you are brewing into. The Keurig is a single-serve coffee maker, so if you’re intending to make iced coffee for a group, the cold brew or pour-over methods will be better for a larger batch.

Instructions

1. Prepare the Keurig coffee maker. Fill the reservoir with fresh water. Make sure the machine is plugged in and turn it on.
2. Place the K-Cup in the machine. Lift the handle to open the chamber. Put the K-Cup in and lower the handle to close. Use your favorite K-Cup; any coffee will work.
3. Put ice in your glass and place it below the spout. Make sure there is enough space in the glass so the coffee does not overflow.
4. Select brewing amount and brew. Choose between small, medium, or large if your model allows it, and press the corresponding button to begin brewing.
5. Serve and enjoy. The finished coffee should be nice and cold.

Quick tip: Want stronger iced coffee? Leftover cold brew can be poured into an ice cube tray to make coffee ice cubes that keep your iced coffee from being diluted during the brewing process.

How to make iced coffee with an Aeropress

Aeropress coffee is already highly concentrated, so there’s no need to adjust your water ratio.

The Aeropress is one of the most popular devices for manually brewing coffee on the market today. Like pour-over, it’s a manual brewing system. The process is a bit unique, but the basics are essentially the same. These instructions are for making a single serving of iced coffee with the Aeropress using the standard Aeropress brewing method.

Instructions

1. Heat the water. Heat up your water to between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. The Aeropress makes a more concentrated coffee, so you shouldn’t have to adjust the amount of water you use.
2. Grind the coffee. For Aeropress, use a very fine grind, slightly coarser than an espresso grind.
3. Add ice to your cup. Fill your cup about halfway with ice. Make sure there is enough room in the glass so the coffee will not overflow.
4. Prepare the Aeropress. Wet the filter and attach it to the bottom of the chamber with the plastic cap. Put your grounds into the Aeropress and place it on top of your glass.
5. Bloom the grounds. Pour just enough hot water over the grounds to soak them and allow them to rest for about 30 seconds.
6. Add the water. Carefully pour in the rest of the hot water and gently stir, making sure the grounds are thoroughly soaked.
7. Press the coffee. Carefully place the plunger at the top of the Aeropress and slowly push down on it, pressing the coffee through the filter and onto the ice.
8. Serve. Remove the Aeropress from the cup. Adjust to taste. If necessary, dilute with more ice or milk.

Insider’s takeaway

You don’t have to be an expert barista or have expensive equipment to enjoy great iced coffee. Most coffee lovers already have everything needed to make iced coffee and cold brew in their kitchen right now. With some simple tools and a bit of practice, anyone can master brewing iced coffee.

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