3 Ways to Make Iced Coffee at Home

I love the morning ritual of coffee. That smell of freshly brewed coffee and then pouring my first cup, usually while the house is still quiet, is one of my favorite parts of the day. No matter the time of year, I always start my day with a hot cup of coffee. But especially on these hot summer days, I love to switch to iced coffee for a mid-morning or afternoon pick me up.

I got hooked on iced coffee when I was pregnant, a Starbucks iced half-caf Americano was the only coffee drink I could stomach. While they are delicious, it can be an expensive habit! So I decided I needed to figure out how to do this at home.

I quickly learned that throwing regular ice cubes into my coffee was just not going to cut it. So with a little experimenting and time, I now have three different ways to make iced coffee or cold brew at home. If you haven’t tried cold brew, this is my new coffee addiction. It’s smoother and less acidic than regular coffee and a little goes a long ways. A lot of local coffee shops have fantastic cold brew, but it’s easy to try at home as well.

#1 – Make Coffee Ice Cubes

Yep, you just take your leftover coffee, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. When I saw this on Pinterest, I thought it was brilliant and it’s something that you cannot mess up! Throw your coffee ice cubes into a cup, add your morning coffee and cream and sugar to your liking, throw in a straw and you are in business. The coffee ice cubes don’t water down your coffee and add a nice richness. It’s super simple and delicious.

#2 DIY Cold Brew

1. Take a large container, coffee, water and cheesecloth. I used a one quart container, added 13 scoops of  a medium roast coffee and filled it with water. Stir, cover and let sit on the counter for at least eight hours. I usually do 12 hours. Then use cheesecloth or a flour sack towel to strain the coffee grinds and the slightly thick liquid leftover is your cold brew. Put it in the fridge and when chilled pour into a glass, add regular ice cubes (not the coffee ones you have on standby) and enjoy. One quart lasts me four or five days. The Pioneer Woman has other ideas for sweetener and how to make larger quantities.

#3 Buy A Cold Brew Coffee Maker

This is essentially the same process as above, but you avoid needing to strain with a cheesecloth or flour sack towel which can be a bit of a mess. A good friend turned me onto this super simple process to help perk up this sleep deprived mama!

So there you have it, three ways to enjoy a refreshing caffeinated pick me up during these hot summer days! What’s your favorite way to drink coffee in the summer?

Kim Trinchet
Kim is a Wichita transplant who never planned to stay, but 15 years later she’s convinced Wichita is the perfect place to raise a family. She’s a wife to Jorge and a mama to Nico and Lucia. She moved here from the Chicago suburbs and works in the communications world. The rest of her time is focused on seeking out adventures with her little family. She also loves browsing grocery store aisles, reading cookbooks, iced coffee and wine. Kim’s trying to learn Spanish as well, her kiddos are bilingual and already speak better than she does!