How to make the perfect iced coffee at home – tips from a barista

Summer’s here so you know what that means – that’s right, it’s prime iced coffee season.

In our opinion, iced coffee is a top-tier drink at any time of year, but it makes for a particular perfect little treat on a hot day.

But while making yourself a hot coffee at home is pretty common, fewer people seem to dabble with making their own versions of the cold stuff.

That’s why we chatted to Chloe Sizer, a barista and manager with six years in the industry under her belt.

Chloe’s put together a couple of tasty recipes that you can try at home, as well as a little shopping list to help give your morning coffee a boost.

How to make your own iced coffee

Ingredients:

Method:

Fill your cup with the ice, wet the aeropress and screw on the cap
Place the aeropress on top of the cup and add the coffee
Add the hot water quickly so make sure the coffee is soaked
Let it sit for a minute, then stir the mixture before grabbing the plunger
Plunge slowly for roughly 30 seconds until all the water has passed through
Stir in milk/sweetener to taste, if you’re into that – Chloe recommends 1:1 simple syrup or warmed honey/maple syrup

This is a concentrate that is designed to be diluted with ice when served.

‘For cold brew concentrate, make sure all grounds are wet and covered when soaking.

‘Use filtered water for both recipes – there are undesired compounds in tap water that don’t extract tasty flavours from the coffee.’

Fill a container with the desired amount of cold water and weigh with the scale
Weigh out equal parts coffee and put the grounds into a filter
If you do not have a filter, you can add the grounds into the water, but you will have to strain once completed
Soak the coffee in the water for 12-20 hours – the optimum amount of time is 15 hours. Store the mixture in the fridge.
Strain and enjoy over ice. Again, stir in milk/a syrupy sweetener to taste.