With summer at its peak, iced coffee is definitely the way to go. This Slate writer discovered that she had been making iced coffee all wrong all along.
At least she was attempting to make iced coffee the right way. I know a lot of people (not naming names) who just take whatever coffee is left over from breakfast, put it in the fridge, and drink it later that afternoon as iced coffee. I cringe at the thought, personally, but hey - it's better than wasting coffee.
A better option is a two-pronged attack:
1. Make less coffee at breakfast. I have worked out how much grounds (2 scoops) and water (to the 4 line) it takes to make exactly one cup of coffee in my coffee machine. Fresh coffee every time; no waste.
2: Make better iced coffee. Simply refrigerating cold coffee just gets you a bitter, stale brew. Once you have tried a cup of properly cold brewed iced coffee, you will be a convert forever.
Cold brew coffee is easy. Dump grounds and water into a jar. Put a lid on it loosely. Leave it for 12-24 hours. Strain out the grounds, add water (the recipe makes a concentrate) and drink. The cold brew method creates a cup of coffee that is not bitter or sour. I will confess I don't know the chemistry behind it, but it is magic - and so simple!
But now I hear that the REAL trick to iced coffee is to add a spring of mint. According to the article, a sprig of mint in the brew "gives the beverage a wonderful fruity and fresh flavor." I was skeptical of this, until I remembered how good a shot of espresso is when you have it with a squeeze of lemon. Same idea, and lemon and mint are very similar flavors.
I may have to give this a try!
Image courtesy Flickr/avlxyz
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