Who doesn’t love coffee? Tell me something more fulfilling than having a cup of caffeinated iced beverage? And it tastes even better if it is served to you instead of you brewing it yourself.
However, for something as simple as iced coffee, there has been a lot of discussion on making the best version of it. Some believe preparing Iced coffee is as simple as brewing some coffee and adding ice to it, while for others, it is a never-ending path to perfection.
This community of individuals who believe in doing everything perfectly also agrees to the fact that there is a perfect way to brew your Iced Coffee. As a lover of caffeinated drinks and iced coffee, in particular, I too believe in that ideal recipe to brew iced coffee. I somehow do not find the coffee that I buy or even the ones I make up to the mark. It is at best mediocre and somehow exposes the wrong flavours. It is a fact that cold coffee makes the flavours more prominent than hot coffee.
Over the years, there have been many advocates of perfect iced coffee recipes. While some gave high marks to the process of brewing cold coffee where coarsely grounded coffee is left to steep in room temperature water for many hours before being stained, others had to say that cold water was never a suitable medium for extracting the desired coffee flavours. Instead, it was pointed out that the Japanese method was better because here, highly concentrated coffee was poured directly into the ice, chilling it immediately while diluting the coffee to the right amount.
The best way to brew your iced coffee – The espresso way
You can get a bland taste if you brew your iced coffee with cold water. The problem exists with hot water as well. If you pour hot coffee over ice, it melts the ice and adds too much water to your coffee and makes the mix very dilute. There are chances that the flavour of your drink would get lost. In the Japanese way, since the concentrated coffee is poured on the ice, the water content is appropriate, and also the flavours are retained, making it a more dynamic drink.
The espresso way of preparing iced coffee is, however, the deviation. If you own an espresso machine at home, then the preparation becomes more effortless. The concentrated coffee shots drip directly into your cup containing the ice with few ounces of water to make it the perfect American style iced coffee. This process is simple, but if you need more perfection and have a craving for Italian style of coffee making then an extra effort is required.
Get a cocktail shaker for this process. Pour your coffee shots into the shaker full of ice, seal the shaker, and shake it strenuously till such time your shaker container is cold to touch from the outside. A few seconds is required for the completion of the process. After this, strain the shaken coffee into a glass full of ice. What you would get is a drink that is frothy, full of flavours, and very cold. This is the basic process of preparing an iced coffee. Light roast coffee is best for this recipe, you can check out the best brands over here.
You can customize your iced coffee if you want to have it in some other way. You could also add the syrup before shaking your coffee for that extra sweetness. If you are one of those individuals who prefer iced coffee with milk, consider adding sweetened condensed milk for the flavour of your choice. Garnishing your iced coffee with orange peels or mint sprigs can also be considered for adding that “extra something” to your beverage.
The best iced coffee for you depends on your preference for coffee brewing. For someone who prefers espresso like me, I would always go for the espresso way of brewing iced coffee and then customize it as per my preference. Meanwhile, if you like the pour-over style of coffee making, then the Japanese style of iced coffee preparation is the best suited. However, you can substitute 40 percent of the water to be used in an iced coffee with ice. This would help in having the exact water content in your drink and the chilling effect of iced coffee. Do give it a thought.
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