Tuesday, June 21, 2011

DIY: Iced Coffee Without Breaking the Bank

I love iced coffee. In fact, I don't think the word "love" is strong enough. If I had to pick only one thing to drink for the rest of my life, it would be iced coffee. That's how serious our relationship is. But what I don't love is how much it costs at Starbucks or any of the local coffee shops. I mean, it's just coffee and milk, people. Why in the world does it need to cost me 8 bucks?!

I don't know why it never occurred to me to make my own. But recently, I was going through The Pioneer Woman's blog and found her recipe for iced coffee. I knew I had to try it. Of course, I also thought there'd be an easier (read: quicker) way to get to my coffee love without having to wait for it to steep for 8 hours. So I played around and discovered I could have my coffee and drink it too (ha!) in less than 2 hours.

What you will need:

  • Ground coffee of your choosing
  • Half and Half (or milk or soy)
  • Sugar
  • Ice cubes
Make a pot of coffee like you normally would, but double the amount of ground coffee you use. You don't want your coffee taste to get completely bogged down by the Half and Half or any ice that melts in your glass. I have a little coffee pot that only holds 5 cups, so I used 8 tablespoons of ground coffee.

Once your pot is made, put the amount of sugar in it that you want. Do this while the coffee is hot so that the sugar fully dissolves. In my little pot, I put 1/2 a cup. You can play around with this until you get the sweetness you want. Just remember, the Half and Half is going to sweeten it, too, so you want your coffee to be somewhat bitter on its own! Now, put your pot in the refrigerator until it cools. If you are super impatient like me, you can put it in the freezer. Just make sure you don't forget about it.

When your coffee has cooled off and started to chill, it's ready to go in the glass. Put in a couple of ice cubes and then add your coffee. The amount of coffee you put in your glass is up to you. If you like strong coffee, put more coffee than Half and Half. I do a 3.1 ratio. So 3/4 of my glass is filled with coffee and 1/4 of my glass is filled with Half and Half. Stir it until it mixes completely and Enjoy!

(My husband likes less of the coffee flavor, so he gets more Half and Half. That's why his glass, on the left, is lighter.)

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