Iced Coffee: The Topic

[sanrensho]

^^^I like the caffe shakerato idea. I'm even tempted to pick up a cocktail shaker, even they I don't drink (alcohol).

[jsolomon]

Ack. I think cold coffee is an abomination.

110F in the shade? Pass me a hot cuppa.

[kitwilliams]

One of the best iced coffees i've ever had is also one of the easiest...if you have access to the secret ingredient: Trablit. A French coffee extract/reduction whateveryouwanttocallit. Tall glass. Ice. Milk (whole milk only for me). Enough Trablit to color or taste, whichever is more important to you (color is very important in iced coffee, particularly when served in a glass!). Trablit has a bit of sugar in it but I've found that friends who don't sugar their coffee love this and don't mention that it tastes too sweet for them.

If you can find Trablit, try it.

I think I'll try it in a milkshake today.

[alacarte]

Interesting article in New York Magazine about what some NYC places are doing for iced coffee.  It seems that using frozen coffee cubes is catching on in a big way.

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Hmmm. Interesting how many of the types of iced coffee in the article were previously mentioned in this thread: Shakerato. Ice cubes made of coffee. Vietnamese coffee. If there had been a mention of Japan-style iced coffee I'd be suspicious. Hmmmm.

[nakji]

Just dropping in to say:

An icy cold coffee from Highlands is just the thing to combat our 35 degree + temperatures.

Edited to add:

This one, from Aro, in all its unmixed glory. 7,000 dong, or less than 50 cents US.

Edited June 29, 2006 by nakji (log)

[bleudauvergne]

My first iced coffee was ofered to me by my big sister, when I was 17. You know how those things go, your older siblings try things out first and pass it on to you. She had a nice house with a pool. I remember the day quite well, heat wave, and she invited me to come for a swim. Just me and her.

I'd just begun college and was scraping by and didn't even have a decent bathing suit but my sister lent me one and had a lounge chair waiting, and she offered me a tall iced coffee. Actually it was before the days I ever even drank coffee in the morning, and I never would have thought of having anything like that.

My sister had this thing for chickory flavoring in her coffee, and every time I have a chickory flavored coffee I remember her white marble kitchen and the coffee maker heaving chickory flavored steam.

She handed me a thick sweet milky iced coffee and we sunbathed by the pool. On that afternoon we slathered expensive lotion on our calves and relaxed by her pool, and I pretty much came to the conclusion that that iced coffee was the nectar of the gods and that I had reached full fledged adulthood.

[mizducky]

Alas, due to GERD, coffee has had to become a very occasional treat for me. But I'm originally from the New York Metro area, and like any good New Yawk kid I loves me some iced coffee, and went through tons of the stuff in my time.

I must, however, confess to an iced coffee abomination I used to perpetrate on myself when I was a hapless college student, trying to keep up with 9am classes with an emphatically non-morning-person brain. I called this concoction Iced Coffee Sludge, and it was all about mainlining the maximum amount of caffeine in the fastest, cheapest way possible (this was back in the 1970s, when there weren't three $tarbucks on every block). Take one huge glass. Put in three or so heaping spoonfuls of *instant* coffee. Fill glass with a couple of inches of water; stir well to dissolve the instant as much as possible. Pile in as many ice cubes as will fit in the glass--about a trayful. Fill with water. Stir as best you can. Stick in a straw, and then drink as fast as you can possibly manage. Between the super amount of ice, and the fast inhalation, hopefully you won't be able to taste how nasty the damned thing is. Not much, anyway...

Never fear, though--when drinking coffee for pleasure as opposed to pharmaceutical purposes, I was much nicer to myself. I got into Vietamese iced coffee real early, and basically never looked back. Although I did have a couple of meaningless flings with coffee granitas when they started appearing in Seattle.

[Nyleve Baar]

Just the other day I feel that I achieved perfection (if I do say so myself) in iced coffee. Here it is:

Into the blender goes:

One long shot of espresso, freshly made

About the same amount of milk

A dash of sugar

Then, put the lid on the blender but leave the center hole open. Start blending and drop in 4 coffee ice cubes, one at a time, while the blender is running. Blend until no more crunching can be heard. Pour into tall glass filled with plain ice cubes.

Heavenly. Just heavenly. Smooth and wonderful - perfection. It's all about the coffee ice cubes.

[phaelon56]

I';m just back from a week on a lake and brought my espresso machine but neglected to bring my little Vietnamese metal filter contraption. Visiting friends broughjt me a hald pound of pre-ground Trung Nguyen coffee (they've beenm drinking it hot brewed in a vac pot and love the chocolate flavor).

I tried tamping it really hard and pulling lungo (long pull) espresso shots over sweetened condensed milk then mixing and pouring over ice. It wasn't bad but we all concurred that it doesn't compare to the slow 5 - 10 minute drip in the metal filter. If I could just get my hands on Trung Nguyen whole bean coffee it might change 5things but for now it's back to the metal filter for my cafe sua da

[judiu]

My mother introduced me to iced coffe when I was tiny. Fresh coffe, lotsa ice, half & half or coffee cream. stir like mad and drink out of huge heavy blown glass goblets that are bright green. The first taste of summer on Long Island. Now I'm a Dunkin' Donuts junkie; lotsa cream, NO sugar, with a sausage, egg & cheese croissant and I'm a happy camper!

[nakji]

If I could just get my hands on Trung Nguyen whole bean coffee it might change 5things but for now it's back to the metal filter for my cafe sua da

Shall I Fedex you some?

Actually, now that you mention in, I'm not sure I've seen whole bean here. This is my new project!

[Lori in PA]

My "iced" coffee: I make two 2-cup size mugs of coffee in the Senseo and pour them into a glass. I add two spoons of sugar and a big splash of half and half. I stir with an iced tea spoon and carefully put the whole thing on the bottom shelf of the fridge's freezer door. Ideally, I give it a quick stir every half-hour to 1 hour until it is slushy, but it almost never works out that way. I always manage to get busy and forget about it and it freezes more or less solid. Then I wrestle with the frozen-in-place iced tea spoon and try to break up the mixture. If it isn't frozen solid, I chip away at it and usually plunge through the ice and splash coffee all over. Then I have to let it sit at room temperature for awhile until it is thawed enough to stir and drink. Anyway, it is a good way to have undiluted icy coffee:

Yesterday, probably thinking of something I read on this thread, I used my giraffe to whiz up a couple of scoops of dulce de leche ice cream, milk, chocolate syrup, and coffee. The coffee was hot, so I added ice and swished it around in the glass between sips to make it cold. Not bad at all.

[phaelon56]

If I could just get my hands on Trung Nguyen whole bean coffee it might change 5things but for now it's back to the metal filter for my cafe sua da

Shall I Fedex you some?

Actually, now that you mention in, I'm not sure I've seen whole bean here. This is my new project!

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By all means - I'll pay the freight!

Trugn Nguyen is finally selling direct to end users in the US via a web siet and my local Viet specialty market now stocks it at good prices but it's all pre-ground

It has such rich chocolate tones in the flavor that I suspect it might make great espesso shots if I could grind it properly - not to mention the advantage of better freshness and a time savings of about 5 - 7 minutes if I'm making Cafe Sua Da.

[nakji]

Well, I had a good look around town today, and all I saw was preground as well. (That didn't stop me from picking up some legendee and passiona while I was at it - it seems fairly fresh, as even the grounds seem a little oily, and there's an incredibly rich chocolate smell when I open the bag) I'll ask around at work - my boss used to own an independent cafe, if anyone knows if Trung Nguyen is available unground, he will.

I did see Highlands coffee in bean form, but I don't find their coffee has the same chocolately notes.

[sanrensho]

After picking up a cocktail shaker over the weekend, I have to say I'm a huge convert to the caffe shakerato style of iced coffee. Very quick and requires minimal fuss with ice cubes/crushed ice. I found the results to be excellent made with a mokka brew, and the foam is also nice.

Can't wait to try the same method with cafe sua da.

[Teri Everitt]

The iced coffee we make at my work in the summer is really simple:

Double shot of espresso

Frozen milk (we stick the whole carton in the freezer, take it out to thaw slightly then break it up with a knife or wooden spoon)

Simple syrup to taste

That's it .....it's a lot lighter that the coffee shop ones thanks to the frozen milk......very important when you are working in a bakery in August in temperatures above 30 degrees.

[Len Brault]

If I could just get my hands on Trung Nguyen whole bean coffee it might change 5things but for now it's back to the metal filter for my cafe sua da

Shall I Fedex you some?

Actually, now that you mention in, I'm not sure I've seen whole bean here. This is my new project!

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Hi---

I am new to this forum and was drawn in because I see people visiting my site from this forum, my server tracks the hits.

It great to see a site where people actually want to explore new things... coffee forums tend to be highly biased and actually not adventuresome at all.

First I will point out that I sell Trung Nguyen coffee, so I suppose anything I say in that regard should be taken as commercial shill, although I do protest that I in fact came to import Trung Nguyen because I searched for months for my favorite coffee, then negotiated to import it because I thought it was the best. It works for me.

I also am looking to inport other grower/producer direct-marketed coffees that are environmentally sustainable and fairly traded, so I appreciate any hints from anybody here.

I have also tried to get the wonderful Barako (Liberica) from the Philippines but it is in too short supply, apparently. I am simply in a search for the worlds best coffees that fall into this category, it's my avocation and the web site is my "project" not my full time occupation (which is art director).

As far as whole bean Trung Nguyen goes, I asked the company to package their whole bean for sale in the USA and they obliged. They use the same packaging as the ground, since this is not a commercial product for them... in Asia they sell the whole bean only in bulk.

So I do have it available in 100 gram and 500 gram bags, all the blends that are available in whole bean. Some of the blends, such as the Passiona naturally low caffeine, are not available in whole bean because the mix of beans is too important to enable random grinding and still get the desired result (if you are grinding for one cup, you may get 80% one bean instead of 50%, that won't really work).

---

I also wanted to comment on iced coffee in general. I use the cold brewing method. After trying commercial cold brewers and not being happy I settled on a simple system: 1:4 coffee to spring water, mixed in a glass jar, mixed again 30 minutes later to make sure the grounds don't float too high, then after 4-6 hours, drain through a cloth filter or ordinary kitchen fine strainer, then through a fine mesh filter. This makes a concentrate that stores in the frig for 3 days. Beyond that time I find deterioration of flavor.

This method is what I use to make large quantites for sampling at Farmer's Markets, etc., but also to make my own pot at home (just use less quantity).

Cold brewing delivers all the caffeine and the volatile flavonoids. It greatly reduces the acids and oils. This can be wonderful, especially for people looking to reduce acid, but it does alter the flavor. Some prefer it, but some miss the "hot brewed taste". I personally think that some coffees work better than others, but for those coffees for which this method works, the taste is unparalleled!

Len Brault

[GreekCook]

Here in Greece, Iced coffee or frappe is a way of life,It is made by shaking or beating Nescafe Classic with or without sugar until it creams then adding ice water and milk, unfortunately it doesn't seem to work as well with coffee made outside Greece. I read somewhere that this has to do with how the coffee is dried and the oil content.

Lately a new trend has emerged and that is making Freddo, using espresso over crushed ice and topping with cold milk that has been beaten to a cream.

I'm not a big fan of that but there is nothing to compare to a nice Frappe in summer.

[Toliver]

This may not be the best day for this since it's still very winter-y in parts of the country but today, Wednesday 3/21, is Free Iced Coffee Day at Dunkin' Donuts.

Dunkin' Donuts web site

[tafkap4d]

I read about in the magazine section of the NYT and it really made me think. I’ve been to New Orleans many times – I’ve done the touristy (Jackson Square and Café du Monde) to the extraordinary (spent time with Anne Rice and her son) but I’ve never experienced cold drip coffee.

A few weeks ago, while in Whole Foods, I picked up a can of Café du Monde’s coffee because I hadn’t had it in years. Thinking it would be too strong for my partner, I made a pot for myself but she loved it – so I now have to share but I digress.

The writer of this article bought a pot specifically for cold brew coffee. I have no problem buying yet another kitchen contraption but I just hate storing them. The writer also mentioned one could use a large stockpot and then strain (twice – a medium sieve and then a fine sieve).

For those of you interested this is the technique:

1 pound coffee with chicory

10 cups cold water

You simply pour the coffee into the stockpot and add two cups of cold water – agitating the grounds until they are wet. Slowly add the remainder of the water being careful NOT to agitate the grounds and let it sit for 10 hours. The ratio is ¼ coffee, ¾ milk/cream.

The article said that the coffee is so pure that it allows the sweetness of the milk or cream come through.

It was very interesting, even more so, due to the fact that two weeks ago, I found Lipton Cold brew tea bags in a reduced bin at my local Kroger and it makes a decent pitcher of tea.

Anyone else familiar with this technique? Anyone tried it? I plan on making it this evening.

[sazji]

Anyone else familiar with this technique?  Anyone tried it?  I plan on making it this evening.

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I did a some google searches on it; what I found was (aside from the Toddy brewer folks' stuff) mostly negative. One person wrote that he was surprised at hearing people say the coffee lacked flavor; he was using a typical store-bought autodrip type (robusta beans). When he tried it with "pricier arabic beans," he was completely disappointed with the flavor.

[MikeInSacto]

The two earlier posts regarding instant coffee took me back to my college days. The first form of coffee I regularly drank was made with several heaping spoonfuls of instant coffee (Mexican Nescafe was preferred) in a large glass. Fill around 1/2 or 3/4 to the top with cold milk. Add more instant coffee if not dark enough. Add several tablespoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk. Stir like crazy until the condensed milk incorporates. Add ice.

Not a subtle drink, but it tasted good and got the job done.

Mike

[jgm]

I'm bumping this topic back up because of an "incident" this morning.

It doesn't help that somehow I managed to get very little sleep last night...or else I'm coming down with something. When I got out of bed this morning, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. And I can't take any time off right now, because I'm taking two days off next week to fetch out-of-town elderly parents and bring them here for a physician appointment. And then take them back home and re-install the newly Vista-less computer. Oh. Boy.

Anyway, I decided to try out an independent coffee shop this morning. I went in and ordered iced coffee, to go. What I received was pretty warm coffee in a disposable glass, with rapidly-melting ice cubes bobbing on the surface. I made a disparaging remark, and brushed off their offer for more ice. While I was putting milk and sweetener in it, an employee appeared with a small cup of ice and an expression on her face that said "since you're being such a pain in the ass about it, here's your ice, so shut up." (Or maybe that was just my projection. If so, it's not far off.) And I left with a cup of warm coffee, no lid, in one hand, and a cup of ice in the other. It somehow seemed unnecessarily complicated to me, especially when I tried to carry both cups into my office along with all the other crap I schlep around.

When I go to Starbuck's, I've noticed they first shake the coffee (dispensed from their daily brew) with ice, and then strain it onto fresh ice in the cup in which they serve it to me. In other words, I've ordered iced coffee and I actually receive a cold drink. And today at noon, at another chain coffee shop, I received the same.

So are my expectations unreasonable, that anyone who opens a coffee shop oughta know how to fix iced coffee? Or have the chains spoiled me, and raised my expectations too high? How is iced coffee served elsewhere?

[Chris Amirault]

Not unreasonable to me. Very much wondering if anything's changed in the last two years.

Well, it's spring, and I'm starting to think that I need to build homemade iced coffee into the morning routine. The options en route are limited and pricey.

What are people's basic routines to making iced coffee from home?

[weinoo]

The two basic methods I use are:

1) Make extra coffee when I brew coffee, and refrigerate it.

2) Make coffee via the "toddy" method and then dilute the coffee with cold water.

With either method, I usually have coffee ice cubes available in the freezer.

Iced coffee made with hot coffee and ice cubes sucks.