Summer! Enjoy Cold-brewed Iced Coffee

One of my addictions, which is hardly a secret? Coffee. And in the summer time? Iced coffee. But it's sometimes hard to really get iced coffee right. If you brew it fresh, it melts all the ice and then it's too watery. If you let it get room temperature in the pot, it's got too much of a sitting around all day taste. Put it in the fridge after it's brewed and it still tastes a little like coffee that went cold.  A little too picky? Well, if you agreed with any of that, keep reading.

I've found the solution for perfect iced coffee: cold-brewed coffee. I've seen mention of it for a while, was doubtful that it would make a difference, but finally made a pot to try it out. Finding: delicious and smooth. And easy. But it does require a little forethought, you have to decide, "yes, I think I will have some iced coffee in about 12 hours."

There are a bunch of recipes and instructions out there; this is my compilation of those for a good pot.  And I chose to use a French Press to be a little fancy; you can use whatever container you have handy if you don't have a press. Or are using it for your hot coffee.

Start with whole bean coffee & grind.

Let sit in your fridge for a few hours.

• Start with whole bean coffee.  Grind coffee beans to course, not too fine.
• Pour 2 tablespoons/cup of water into your french press. Fill with cold water.  (This is the same ratio I use for regular brewed coffee, so adjust if you like your coffee more or less stronger.)
• Put in the refrigerator until later - at least a few hours, up to a day.
• Pour. Mix with creamer, if desired.
• Enjoy!

I told you it was easy!

But what about the sugar? You might be wondering. Yes, I do take my coffee sweet, but I usually use sweetened creamer, so that eliminates that step. If you prefer sugar in your coffee, I would suggest (but have not tried it, yet) that you dissolve your sugar in warm water, then add that to the coffee grounds, and fill with cold water, like you would when making iced tea.

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