Iced coffee goes by quite a few names. Whether you call it Black Gold or Texas Tea, cold coffee helps us beat the heat around these parts. And it keeps us sane during our mild winters too. Here's how to make it at home:
Iced Coffee
- 4.75 ounces (roughly one cup) freshly ground locally roasted coffee
- 34 ounces filtered, near-boiling water
- 34 ounces ice
- 1 glass coffee maker, such as the Chemex pictured above, and filter
Fresh, locally roasted coffee is first on the ingredients list. Which kind is your decision. Each variety tends to have its own unique qualities in this apparatus. A Brazilian coffee will lean toward peanut and chocolate flavors. An Ethiopian will give you a floral and fruity complexity. Whatever you use, the 4.75 ounces of coffee need to be ground fine, in between the consistency of granular sugar and coarse sand.
Bring filtered water to a near-boiling temperature (195 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit). Take ice cubes and put them in a glass coffee brewer such as a Chemex, Bodum or Melitta. These can be relatively inexpensive or very pricey. The Melitta can be had for $12 at your local grocery store. Put the filter and coffee on top of the ice.
Slowly pour the hot water over the coffee grounds, stopping just after they are barely wet. Let the coffee grounds rise like dough for 20 seconds, then continue pouring in a circular motion to ensure all coffee has been soaked thoroughly and evenly. The coffee will drip onto the ice cubes, with the melted ice helping to achieve the correct coffee strength. Quickly cooling the coffee in this way will trap in all the sweetness and aromatics that you may be missing by slowly cooling it. Pour over fresh ice and savor the refreshing flavor of this awesome drink.
