Learn all about how to make excellent-tasting iced coffee for very little dosh - using this fab New York Times recipe! Illustration by Ellen Lindner.
Iced coffee is one of summer's great pleasures - its coldness makes it all the easier to get caffeinated quickly (always my top priority in life), and of course there are so many great syrups and mix-ins you can add. But actually making coffee in hot weather can be a drag. And buying the stuff is expensive.
Luckily, the New York Times ran a recipe a few years back that, for me, reinvented iced coffee - and I'd like to share it with you!
Basically, instead of making coffee the old-fashioned way, you soak ground coffee in water. This preserves all of the delicate oils in the coffee, creating a smooth, gorgeous flavor instead of the bitterness that can ruin the taste of hot coffee. What results is a super-strong, ultra-caffeinated coffee concentrate, which you then thin with water.
I like to mix it with condensed milk, which is of course super-sweet and rich - you only need a teaspoon or so (leaving plenty to eat right out of the can).
Time to get steeping!
The New York Times Cold Brewed Coffee
Ingredients
75 mg of your favorite coffee, preferably in a medium-coarse grind.
360 ml water
Combine the water and coffee in a large jar or other upright receptacle that's easy to pour from. Leave it to sit for 12 hours.
When the steeping is done, strain your brew through either a fine sieve or some cheesecloth.
Take the resulting lovely coffee concentrate, mix it one-to-one with water (as well as milk, soy milk, sugar, whatever you like in your iced coffee!) and ice. Enjoy!
What's your summer tipple of choice? Tell us all about it in the comments section.
