How to Make Iced Coffee at Home: Here's Everything to Know

The Best Way To Make Iced Coffee At Home: Full Instructions And Tips

Nothing beats your favorite iced coffee at a drive-thru. However, purchasing iced coffee can get really expensive, especially these days! Wouldn't it be nice if you could make your own iced latte, cold brews, and deliciously refreshing coffee beverages at home? Well, you can. Here is the best way to make iced coffee at home with instructions and tips! 

Pro Tip: Remember, for really great iced coffee, you're going to need great coffee beans like these! Fresh roasted is always best in terms of flavor, whether you are making iced coffee or espresso. 

How to Make an Iced Latte at Home

Iced lattes are the most common types of iced coffee. When you order an iced/cold coffee at most drive-thru coffee places, an iced latte is what you are generally going to be getting. Iced lattes come in all sorts of flavors including brown sugar, vanilla, or an iced caramel macchiato. To make these coffee drinks at home, you are going to need a few ingredients. Here's a quick list:

Ingredients for iced coffee lattes: 

• Espresso machine, Keurig, or coffee pot 
• High-quality coffee beans ground fine 
• Milk 
• Ice 
• Flavoring / topping of your choice 

Instructions

Making an iced latte is incredibly easy. Here are the steps. 

1. First, get a glass or your favorite tumbler and fill it 3/4 of the way up to the top with ice. 
2. Then, add your favorite type of milk to the glass, until the milk is also level with the ice. Whole milk, 2% milk, skim milk, and almond milk, are all great in an iced latte.
3. Brew one or two shots of espresso, depending on the size of your glass or cup. As a rule, ⅕ of your drink will be espresso, and the rest will be milk and ice. 
4. If you will be adding flavoring like brown sugar, vanilla, or something else in your iced coffee, add these components in with the hot espresso shot. Not only will this help to cool the shot down without detracting from the oils in the coffee, but it will ensure that your flavoring ingredients combine smoothly. 
5. Pour the espresso mixture over the ice and milk. Add toppings as desired! The effect of the coffee as it combines with the milk is mesmerizing, and the final result is a refreshing, smooth, and delicious iced latte. 

Where to get espresso for iced coffee?

If you don’t own an espresso machine, you can use a Nespresso or Keurig maker as well. Simply select the small espresso quantity in the brew settings. If all else fails, you can also make a small quantity of very strong coffee using finely ground coffee grounds. 

How To Use Nespresso For Iced Coffee

There are lots of creative ways to make iced coffee using a Nespresso machine. One option is to pour hot espresso over ice and then add milk, cream, and sugar, to taste. For a sweet treat, you can also fill a glass 1/4 of the way with ice cubes, 1/4 of the way with vanilla ice cream, and 1/4 of the way with Nespresso. Stir and add whipped cream as a topping! 

How to Make Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk

Using condensed milk to craft delicious iced coffee is another great option. For this recipe, you will need a can of sweetened condensed milk, two cups of regular milk (almond, whole, 2%, etc.) your favorite type of coffee, any flavorings you want to add (like vanilla), and a pitcher with a lid to store in the fridge. 

Instructions: 

1. Brew an extra strong pot of coffee using twice as many grounds as you usually would, and about half as much water. Let this cool off so that it isn’t ‘piping hot’. 
2. In a pitcher or glass container with a lid, add one can of sweetened condensed milk, and two cups of regular milk. 
3. Add the warm (but not hot) coffee to the pitcher and stir. You can add any other flavorings that you like at this time as well and taste-test your brew. 
4. Put the lid on and place the coffee in the fridge to cool. This coffee should be at a nice refreshing temperature within 2 hours in your refrigerator. To serve, pour over ice or enjoy as is! 

More Iced Coffee at Home FAQs

What Ingredients Should You Have at Home for Iced Coffee?

There are many awesome options when it comes to ingredients for iced coffee. You can buy caramel syrup and caramel sauce to make an at-home iced macchiato, or, add a little bit of lavender syrup, honey, and oat milk for an earthy floral iced coffee beverage! 

What milk for iced coffee?

One consistent aspect of iced coffee is that it is pretty much always made with cold milk. Since the milk component isn't heated, an array of different types of milk can be used to create delicious iced coffee beverages. You can use whole milk, fat-free milk, almond milk, half and half, oat milk, or even coconut milk to make iced coffee. 

How much coffee for iced coffee?

A 12 oz iced latte will typically contain two shots of espresso (3 oz). This means that iced coffee has a 1 to 4 ratio when it comes to the coffee and the other components. A 24 oz iced latte should contain four shots or 6 oz of espresso. If you are making coffee and a coffee pot, be sure to brew it at extra strength. 

How can you avoid watery iced coffee?

There are many ways to avoid the disappointment of a watery iced coffee. 

• Brew Strong Espresso -  First of all, you will need to make sure that your espresso or coffee is strong enough. 
• Make an Ice Cold Base - Also, it can help to add lots of ice and cold milk together before adding the espresso to your drink. This way, you will be adding to your hot coffee an extra cold base mixture to help keep the ice from melting too quickly when it comes in contact with the heated liquid. 
• Let Your Espresso Cool Down a Smidge - You might also want to allow your espresso shots to cool slightly before adding them to the ice and milk mix to prevent unwanted rapid ice-melt effects. 
• Make Coffee Ice Cubes - Another option is to make coffee ice cubes in place of regular ice cubes for a super strong iced coffee drink. 

Can you use condensed milk in iced coffee?

Absolutely! In fact, using condensed milk to make iced coffee is a great way to mimic the flavor and smooth texture of the bottled coffee that you buy at the grocery store or gas station. 

How to make iced coffee with a Keurig?

Making iced coffee with a Keurig is very easy. Here's what to do: 

1. First, get a large glass and fill it 3/4 of the way full with ice. 
2. Then, add about a cup of milk to the ice in the glass. 
3. Next, using your Keurig machine, select the smallest size drink setting and hit brew. Be sure to brew your Keurig coffee into a separate mug so that you can mix flavorings in.
4. Now, after the hot coffee is ready, add any sugar, vanilla, or other flavorings. 
5. Finally, pour the coffee mixture over your ice and milk and enjoy! You can top your Keurig iced coffee with whipped cream or frothed milk cold foam for an extra touch of decadence. 

One Great Coffee Iced Lattes and Cold Brew Guide: Closing Thoughts and Considerations

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