I NEED IT.
We're in love.
Well I finally figured out how to make it. The Pioneer Woman helped me. Do you know the Pioneer Woman? If not, go and meet her. She's a woman by my own heart. But first finish reading this.
I'm cool too.
Before I tell you the right way, here are the two wrong ways and why they are wrong.
1. Brewing fresh coffee and pouring it over ice cubes - bad life choice. The result is basically lukewarm coffee with little ice chunks floating around. Yuck. The melting ice also dilutes the coffee. Double yuck.
2. Brewing coffee, chilling it over night, and drinking it the next morning. This works pretty well and is what I did for a while, but there are a couple problems with it. The main problem I had with this was remembering to brew my coffee every night. The next problem is you are limited to the amount of coffee your coffee pot can hold, which for me and my little baby coffee pot, is 4 cups. This, for me, meant cleaning my coffee pot every day. I hate dishes more than any other chore on earth, so no, thank you.
The magic, glorious right way.
Cold brewing. Yeah, that's a thing. I had never heard of this until a couple days ago and it solves all my iced coffee problems.
Acquire a pitcher, jug, tupperware dish, pot, or pan. Anything that is water tight and has a tight fitting lid will do. This can be done in larger batches, but the biggest pitcher I have is 2.25 quarts.
Grab your favorite coffee. I chose this one because it comes in these nifty little filter pack pod things, which means I can make it in one container with no strainers or cheesecloth or extra dishes.
Put your coffee grounds into your pitcher. If you are using coffee pods, just drop the whole thing in. I use 4 coffee pods in my 2.25 quart pitcher. I find that iced coffee needs to be brewed extra strong or that coffee flavor gets lost in the cold sweetness of the final beverage.
Fill your pitcher with water.
Put on the lid, leave it in the fridge for at least 8 hours. The longer you leave it, the stronger the coffee.
After your coffee has brewed:
If you are using coffee grounds, get another container, a mesh strainer, and a couple sheets of cheesecloth. Line your strainer with cheese cloth and pour your coffee and grounds through the strainer into your second container. You will have to use a spoon to push out the last drops of coffee from the grounds. After you have squeezed every last drop of liquid gold from the grounds, dispose of them.
If you are using pods, take them out and throw them away.
Store your coffee in the fridge until you are ready to make your iced coffee.
When you are ready to enjoy your coffee, find a glass.
Fill it half way full with ice. Now if I was the kind of person that planned ahead, I would make frozen coffee cubes, but I'm not. If you wanted to do that, all you would have to do is take some of the coffee you just brewed, pour it in an ice tray, and freeze it.
Fill your glass about 2/3 of the way full with your cold coffee.
Now you can sweet and dairy this up however you like it, but here is how I do it.
WARNING: Not for the faint of heart.
Sweeten your coffee with sweetened condensed milk, also known as nectar of the gods. You could use sugar or coffee creamer, but it just won't give you the same creamy, delicious sweetness. So do it. You won't look back.
I use about 1 1/2 tablespoons to start with.
Add milk or half and half. I used milk, because that's what I had on hand, about 2 or 3 tablespoons.
At this point you can add chocolate, vanilla, or hazelnut syrup, if you have those lying around.
Stir, taste, and adjust coffee, sugar, or cream levels to your liking.
Oops. You spilled it on the counter. Just lick it off. There's no shame in that, it's delicious.
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