It’s August and in Ohio that means some of the hottest days of summer. These are the days where you barely want to leave your house, let alone walk to a coffee shop or brave the sweltering car. Get prepared by learning to make iced coffee at home so you can have a pitcher ready in your refrigerator at all times.
This is the easiest and best way to make iced coffee at home. Following the steps below, you’ll create a cold-brew coffee concentrate that’s very strong and meant to be diluted with water or cream before drinking. The process, while mostly hands off, takes up to 24 hours so make sure you plan in advance. I usually start it in the evening one day and finish the next day when I get home from work.
To make iced coffee at home you will need:
- Two 1-gallon pitchers (These are the ones I use)
- Coffee filters (Such as these)
- Fine mesh strainer (Found here)
- 16 oz. Ground Coffee
Start with 16 ounces of your favorite ground coffee and a clean 1-gallon pitcher. You don’t need to use special coffee for this and I usually make it with Dunkin Donuts or Tim Hortons grounds that I buy at the grocery store. This time I decided to splurge a little and bought the Emporium Blend from Coffee Emporium. It’s a really nice coffee and I especially like it because the building I work in is illustrated on the package.
Dump the package of coffee into the pitcher.
Fill it up to the 1/2-gallon mark with cold water and stir. Continue filling to the 1-gallon mark.
Stir again to get everything mixed together.
You’ll end up with a weird looking coffee sludge mixture.
Trust me, it gets better!
Cover the pitcher and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours. The longer the better.
Now, get another clean pitcher and set a fine mesh strainer on top.
Make sure the strainer is secure because it’s awful to clean up if it spills. Place a coffee filter in the strainer.
Slowly start pouring the coffee into the strainer. It will drip through quickly at first and then slow down as the grounds build up in the strainer.
Sometimes this can take awhile but be patient and let it continue straining.
Once you’re left with mainly ground in your filter, throw that filter away and start with a fresh one.
Repeat the process and pour in more coffee to strain. You’ll continue this process of pouring, straining, and changing the filter until you’re left with only grounds in your first pitcher.
Once you get to this point, you have a decision to make. You can add the liquidy-grounds to the strainer and use the back of a spoon to push the remaining coffee out. Or, you can call it a day and just throw the grounds away. I usually don’t bother messing with this step because I find I don’t get that much more coffee. It’s up to you.
A fresh pitcher of cold brew coffee concentrate! This will keep in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
And you’re done! You’ve successfully made iced coffee at home. Pour yourself a glass and add plenty of ice. If you’re like me, you’ll add some cream too. Don’t forget this is a concentrate so even if you drink it black, you will want to add some water to balance it. Enjoy!
Iced Coffee at Home
Save RecipeIngredients
16 ounces ground coffee
Instructions
Dump 16 ounces ground coffee into the bottom of a 1-gallon pitcher.
Fill it up to 1/2-gallon mark with cold water and stir. Continue filling to the 1-gallon mark.
Stir again to combine grounds and water.
Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
Place a fine mesh strainer in a second clean 1-gallon pitcher. Put a coffee filter in the strainer.
Pour in the coffee grounds mixture and let it drip through the strainer. Once the liquid has dripped through, throw away the coffee filter and replace with a clean one. Repeat process until you are only left with grounds in the first pitcher.
Iced coffee concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Remember to dilute with cream or water before drinking.
For more coffee recipes, check out these posts:
Portuguese Mazagran Iced Coffee Lemonade
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