Iced Coffee: The Topic

[Darienne]

Cannot believe it. I just read through this entire topic and unless I missed it, no one mentioned putting liquor in their iced coffee. C'mon. What's going on here?

Cold strong coffee, some chocolate extract, some cream, some vodka, some Panama Jack, or Bailey's or Grand Marnier or your favorite. Into the blender, add ice. You get massive froth. Wonderful on a hot day.

Still, that's not everyday. Everyday is the above without the booze. Still good.

[DanM]

A medium McDonald's Frappe has 470 calories, 17g of fat and 66g of sugar... and thats before you add whip cream and chocolate syrup drizzle! All together it has 560, 26g and 70g, respectively. Yuck!

Anyhow... I have been trying to make blended iced coffees at home with our new Vitamix. I am using a blend of 3/4c of coffee, 1c of soymilk, 2c of ice, and 3 tbsp of chocolate syrup. I have not been able to get good consistency. I tend to get a liquid topped with shaved ice on top. I start with the blender on low, move it up to 10, and then to high for 30 seconds. Any advice on process would be appreciated.

Dan

Edited July 17, 2010 by DanM (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

I have not tried making a coffee frappe myself, but in general with the Vita-Mix or other high power blender, the more ingredients that are frozen, the less ice cubes you need and the richer the end result. Can you freeze the coffee and soy milk in ice cube trays? Have you tried any kind of thickener?

[DanM]

I have not tried making a coffee frappe myself, but in general with the Vita-Mix or other high power blender, the more ingredients that are frozen, the less ice cubes you need and the richer the end result. Can you freeze the coffee and soy milk in ice cube trays? Have you tried any kind of thickener?

I am going to try ice cube trays soon. I just need to buy some. What types of thickeners would you recommend?

Dan

[Shamanjoe]

I've been wanting to make iced coffees like they have in some of the smaller shops, mixed with some cream, sugar and blended with some ice. The problem is, I want to drink a lot of them, so I have been trying to make them with lowfat milk, less chocolate syrup, etc. When I blend them in this "light" formulation, I get a really large, pretty flavourless froth on top, and it seems like it loses some of the coffee flavour in the rest of the drink. Is there a method for making a light iced coffee without these shortcomings?

[runwestierun]

I make cold pressed coffee. It's way better than cooled down hot coffee. It's not in the least bit acidic or bitter--I don't know why. But when I use the same beans and cold press them vs. putting leftover hot coffee in the fridge for later, the cold press is so deliciously different. It's smooth and lovely. It gives me the same kind of joy as does the crema on a perfectly pulled shot of espresso.

I put half a cup of medium to coarse ground coffee in a jar with 2 cups of cold water. I let it sit on the counter overnight, covered, about 12 hours. Then I pour it in a French press to push the grounds down and pour it over ice. Heaven!

[Snadra]

Cannot believe it. I just read through this entire topic and unless I missed it, no one mentioned putting liquor in their iced coffee. C'mon. What's going on here?

Cold strong coffee, some chocolate extract, some cream, some vodka, some Panama Jack, or Bailey's or Grand Marnier or your favorite. Into the blender, add ice. You get massive froth. Wonderful on a hot day.

Still, that's not everyday. Everyday is the above without the booze. Still good.

Darienne! Now that summer is almost here in the Southern hemisphere (27C today) I was reading through this topic hoping to get some hints on the best way to make an iced coffee to start my day with...and then I read your post! It would certainly make the morning commute (on the train, on the train!) a lot more interesting.

Now, I think I'm going to try the cold press method that runwestierun explains the the previous post, and as my office got a new coffee machine (nespresso, and it's better than I expected), I might do some experimenting there as well. In the meantime though, has anyone come up with any new coffee methods over the Northern summer?

[Darienne]

Now, I think I'm going to try the cold press method that runwestierun explains the the previous post, and as my office got a new coffee machine (nespresso, and it's better than I expected), I might do some experimenting there as well. In the meantime though, has anyone come up with any new coffee methods over the Northern summer?

Don't pass it on, but I have been known simply to throw some instant coffee into the blender to make iced coffee if there is no cold coffee on hand.