I know, I know… it’s fall and the traditional end of iced coffee season. But not in my world. On Planet Maddie, there’s no day that can’t be made infinitely better by a fat frosty cup of caffeinated glory and a straw, and calendar be damned, you will take that cup from me when you pry it from my equally frigid dead hands.
My only problem? Most cafes quit making the stuff this time of year, which leaves us diehards out on the cold when it comes to grabbing a cup on a whim. So we do what anybody with a self-respecting iced coffee dependency would do. We make our own. My only advice is to be ruthless about what comes next:
- Use cold brew and only cold brew. Forget hot coffee that’s been cooled. That’s the ground chuck of iced coffee and you want filet mignon.
- Forget sugar. It just sand sitting in the bottom of the cup. Instead, make some simple syrup by heating one part water with one part sugar and stirring until dissolved for the instant sweetness you can fine tune to within a hair of perfect. Add a cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean or two, or a little chocolate syrup to your batch for a flavor twist.
- Consider your cubes. If you use cold-brew straight up without diluting it, use regular ice cubes to reduce its strength. If you start with cold brew diluted to normal strength, use cubes made from coffee to prevent a watered down tragedy.
- Think outside the cow. I myself might add a splash of full-fat coconut milk for insane texture and a little sweetness. Cashew milk is another delicious Or I might use a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a treat. Add sweetened condensed milk and I’ve got a Vietnamese iced coffee (OMG!). It all depends on your mood and/or your diet plan.
Stir. Sip. Savor. You can thank me later.