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 . . .