Wednesday, June 26, 2013

How To: Iced Coffee at Home

Iced coffee is my life support this summer. Usually when summertime hits I switch from coffee to strong-brewed unsweetened black tea - which I generally make at home. This summer, the bar exam means that I need more caffeine than iced tea can offer, and the D.C. weather means that hot coffee is off the table. I've been popping over to the little market across the street two or three times a day to get my iced coffee fix, but that means I'm spending too much. Two dollars a glass x 3 x 7 = 42 x however many weeks of this hell I have left = WAY too much money to spend on iced coffee when you aren't bringing in any income. (Sorry, I'm not actually going to work out how much it is. If I was good at math I'd be an engineer or something and I wouldn't have gone to law school or be studying for the bar . . . Life would be better if I was good at math.)




Yum. The problem is that you can't just brew coffee and stick ice in it. It's too watery. Same goes for putting it in the fridge or freezer and then putting ice in it. You've got to make a concentrate. It's actually insanely easy, and the finished product will last you a week or more (unless you, like me, drink three glasses a day). 




Pour a half cup of good dark coffee into a pitcher. Add two quarts of water. Use a spoon to make sure all the coffee grounds are getting good and saturated. 




Store overnight 




8 hours later, using cheesecloth in a mesh strainer, slowly pour the liquid into another container. 




When you're done pouring, press on the grounds to push the last of the liquid through. 




Now you have the coffee concentrate (which I should really just start injecting directly into my veins)




Charlotte thinks this process is fascinating. (No. She isn't supposed to be on the counter.) 




Pour the coffee back into a pitcher, and gather your other necessities



You'll want your glass full of ice. 




Pour in coffee concentrate. 




Doctor to your liking. I prefer half & half and a teaspoon of sugar. 




Okay, maybe it's more like a tablespoon. 





Enjoy. It's the perfect studying companion. 




It's going to be a long and exhausting day. 

For most of us . . . 



10 comments:

  1. Absolutely lovely! I'm going to start having these, too.

    Chlo | www.chloodonnell.co.uk

    xxx

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    1. Just be careful you don't get addicted like me!

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  2. YUM. YUM. YUM.
    I can stare at pictures of coffee all day.

    Thanks for the how-to post. And oh my goodness everything looks better in a mason jar, doesn't it?!
    Oh and cute straws!!!

    <3 Kelly | The Patch Diaries

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    Replies
    1. I'm a big believer that everything tastes better out of a cute straw :)

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  3. Does the sugar disintegrate completely? These are the questions that keep me up at night about iced coffee.

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    1. It does! If you're worried about it though, I love stevia in the raw, it always dissolves perfectly.

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  4. Nice towel :) Also, I think you should add McDonald's iced coffee to your worth the splurge list. though at a $1.60 does it count as a splurge? perhaps a once or twice weekly treat. ask me how many I've had this week...

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    1. The towel is pretty nice ;). My issue with Mcdonald's iced coffee is that it's absolutely loaded with cream and sugar (a small has 140 calories, and who gets a small?). I've asked them before to add less cream and sugar, but its always a toss up as to how much is going in. I guess I could order it black and ask for cream/sugar, but then I don't love the taste of the iced coffee the way they brew it. I'm way too picky! I like knowing how much is going into my coffee, especially at the rate I'm drinking it!

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