How to Make Iced Coffee from Hot Coffee

Before you start

Pouring yesterday's hot coffee over ice gives you a thin, stale drink, and pouring fresh hot coffee over ice gives you a watery one. The fix is not to avoid brewed coffee but to plan for the ice. Brew it about one and a half times stronger than usual, so melting ice brings it back to normal strength, and cool it quickly so it does not sit warm and turn flat.

This method works with whatever brewer you already own: drip machine, French press, pour-over or moka pot. The quick cooling step uses a metal pitcher set in ice water, which takes the coffee from hot to cold in about 10 minutes without melting anything into it. Coffee ice cubes, frozen ahead, finish the job by keeping the drink full-strength to the last sip.

Ingredients

• 40 g (about ½ cup whole beans) medium or medium-dark roast coffee — ground for your brewer
• 400 ml (13½ oz) water for brewing — a 1:10 ratio, stronger than the usual 1:16
• 2 cups (about 300 g) ice cubes — for the ice bath
• about 1 liter (4 cups) cold water — for the ice bath
• 12 to 14 coffee ice cubes or regular ice cubes — for serving
• to taste milk, cream or simple syrup — optional

Method

1. Brew 40 g of coffee with 400 ml of water using your usual method and grind. On a drip machine, set it to brew 400 ml; in a French press, steep 4 minutes before pressing.
2. While it brews, fill a large bowl with the ice and cold water to make an ice bath.
3. Pour the hot coffee into a metal pitcher or stainless bowl. Metal moves heat far faster than glass or ceramic. Set it in the ice bath so the water comes up the sides.
4. Stir the coffee every couple of minutes. In 10 to 15 minutes it should feel cold on your fingertip, below about 10°C (50°F).
5. If you are sweetening, stir simple syrup into the cooled coffee now. Granulated sugar will not dissolve properly at this temperature.
6. Fill two glasses with coffee ice cubes or regular ice. Pour the chilled coffee over and add milk or cream to taste.

Tips for success

• Make coffee ice cubes from leftover brewed coffee at normal strength. As they melt, they add coffee instead of water.
• The stronger brew ratio assumes regular ice. If you serve only over coffee ice cubes, you can brew at your normal strength.
• Avoid letting the coffee cool slowly on the counter for an hour. Slow cooling and sitting warm give it a dull, papery taste.

Substitutions

Ice bath

A cocktail shaker works for single servings: shake 150 ml strong hot coffee with a full tin of ice for 10 seconds and strain. It chills instantly but dilutes more, so brew at 1:8.

Simple syrup

Brown sugar syrup or maple syrup add depth. Sweetened condensed milk sweetens and creams in one step.

Fresh-brewed coffee

Leftover morning coffee works if it was refrigerated within a couple of hours, though it will taste less aromatic than freshly brewed.

Variations

Sweet cream iced coffee

Top each glass with 30 ml of a two-to-one cream and milk mix sweetened with vanilla syrup.

Spiced iced coffee

Add a cinnamon stick and two crushed cardamom pods to the hot coffee before chilling, then strain.

Troubleshooting

It still tastes watery

Your brew ratio was too weak for the amount of ice, or the coffee was still warm when it hit the glass. Brew stronger and chill until cold.

It tastes stale or flat

The coffee sat warm too long or was kept on a hot plate. Cool it quickly in the ice bath right after brewing.

It is bitter

Brewing stronger by using more coffee is fine, but grinding finer to get strength over-extracts. Keep your normal grind and change the dose.

Storage

Chilled brewed coffee keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it is best the same day. Coffee ice cubes keep for about 2 weeks in a covered tray or bag before they pick up freezer flavors.