How to make iced coffee – Perfect guide to energize your coffee today

Iced coffee is great regardless of the weather. Here are some recipes at a glance to show you how to make iced coffee:

• For iced coffee with instant coffee, dissolve your coffee and sugar in 2 tbsp. warm water. Then add ice, ½ cup of water and ½ milk.
• For iced coffee with espresso, use a double shot. Pour milk over some ice and add the shot of espresso to the milk. 
• For iced coffee with pour-over coffee, extract 18 g finely ground coffee over 125 g of ice. Use 125 g hot water for a brewing time of about 3 minutes. 

That’s not all though. We spent over a week researching (and tasting) how to make iced coffee to help you make the best iced coffee.

We’ve broken down the information we found into smaller sections. Click the arrow ↓ to jump to the section you’re interested in finding out more about.

How to make iced coffee with different types of coffee

After a great workout, like cycling or the Lagree Method, the last thing you want to do is take ages to make an iced coffee. So here are the easiest recipes for how to make iced coffee quickly.

These recipes are for instant coffee, espresso and pour-over coffee. 

Scroll to the next sections to see more recipes and information for iced coffee.

How to make iced coffee with instant coffee the easy way

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. instant coffee 
• Sugar (or whichever sweetener you prefer)
• 2 tbsp. warm water
• ½ cup cold water
• ½ cup milk or cream 
• Ice 

Method

1. Add the coffee and sugar to a mixing jug. 
2. Pour in the warm water, then stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar and coffee. 
3. Add the ice to a glass.
4. Add the milk. To make separate milk and coffee layers, place a tablespoon on top of the ice and slowly pour the milk over the back of the spoon. 
5. Enjoy your instant iced coffee!

How to make iced coffee with espresso coffee

Ingredients

• Double shot of espresso 
• Sugar (or whichever sweetener you prefer)
• Ice 
• Milk or cream 

Method

1. Extract a double shot of espresso into a jug (a small jug is perfect).
2. Add your sugar to the espresso shot while it’s still hot to dissolve the sugar. 
3. Add the ice to a separate glass, then pour the cold milk over the ice. 
4. Slowly pour the espresso and sugar mixture over the back of a tablespoon, which should be placed just above the ice and milk. This will help keep the layers separated. 
5. Add a reusable straw and enjoy your easy espresso iced coffee!

Read how to make espresso without a machine!

The easiest iced coffee with alternative brew coffee

This recipe shows you how to make iced coffee with alternative brew, such as pour over, Chemex, etc., and it makes 400 ml of coffee.

The measurements for one cup (8 oz / 250 ml) of coffee are also included.

Ingredients

• 28 g ground coffee (18 g for one cup)
• 200 g hot water (125 g for one cup)
• 200 g ice (125 g for one cup)

Method

This method should work for pour over coffee, like the Hario V60 or Chemex, and also Aeropress.

When setting the grind size, set it finer than you would ordinarily need it for your method of brewing. This will make up for the lower amount of water that you’re using to extract the coffee.

1. Add the ice to the cup, beaker, jug or whatever container you will be extracting your coffee into. 
2. Make your coffee like you normally would, extracting the coffee directly onto the ice. 
3. Once all the coffee has been extracted over the ice, stir the container and enjoy your easy pour-over iced coffee!

Iced coffee with instant coffee recipes

Instant coffee has a bad reputation among coffee enthusiasts. We believe that instant coffee can make great iced coffee. Here are three ways for how to make iced coffee with instant coffee here:

Instant Coffee Recipes

Here are a few instant iced coffee recipes:

1. Easy over ice

Click here to jump to this recipe.

2. Dalgona Coffee with a twist

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. instant coffee 
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 2 tbsp. cold water
• Ice
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla essence

Method

1. In a bowl, add the coffee, sugar and water.
2. Whisk the mixture for a few minutes until the sugar and coffee are dissolved and the mixture turns fluffy.
3. In a glass, add the ice, milk and vanilla essence, then stir well.
4. Top the milk off with the fluffy coffee mixture.
5. Enjoy your instant dalgona iced coffee!

3. Instant Frappé

You’ll need a blender for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can wrap the ice in a kitchen cloth and crush it with a rolling pin, then mix everything.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. instant coffee 
• 2 tbsp. warm water
• ½ cup cold water
• Ice 
• Sweetened cream 

Ingredients for the sweetened cream

• ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
• ½  cup sweetened condensed milk

Method

1. Whisk together the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk in a jug. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready for use.
2. Add the coffee and sugar to a mixing jug. 
3. Pour in the warm water, then stir the mixture to dissolve the sugar and coffee. 
4. Pour the mixture into a blender then add the ice, cold water and half a cup of the sweetened cream.
5. Blend until smooth. If it is too runny, add more sweetened cream. If it’s too thick, add more water. 
6. Enjoy your instant Frappé iced coffee!

Iced coffee with espresso recipes

There are few things more incredible than sipping on an espresso. Here are some recipes for how to make iced coffee with espresso to take that experience to the next level.

Don’t have an espresso machine? No problem, here are 9 ways to make espresso without a machine.

1. Easy Icedspresso

Click here to jump up to the recipe. Click here to congratulate us on the pun.

2. Honey Iced Coffee 

Ingredients

• Double shot espresso (a ristretto is recommended)
• Honey 
• Ice 
• Milk 

Method

1. Extract the espresso into a small milk jug (a milk jug for easier pouring). 
2. Add between 1-2 tsp of honey to the espresso and stir well to mix. 
3. Take out a glass and line the inside walls with some honey. 
4. Add a dollop of honey to the bottom of the glass.
   • When you drink the coffee through a straw you get lovely bits of honey and coffee together.
5. Top the glass up with ice cubes. 
6. Fill the glass about ¾ of the way up with milk. 
   • Because the milk is cold, the honey lining the walls of the glass won’t dissolve much. This adds a bit of sweetness and a cool aesthetic.
7. Slowly pour the espresso and honey mixture over the back of a tablespoon, which should be placed just above the ice and milk. This will help keep the layers separated. 
8. Add a reusable straw and enjoy your easy espresso iced coffee!

3. Chocolate Iced Coffee 

Ingredients

• Double shot espresso (a ristretto is recommended)
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped milk chocolate
• Sweetener (optional)
• Ice 
• Milk 

Method

1. Chop or grate the chocolate into small pieces then add to a milk jug.
2. Extract the espresso into the small milk jug that has the chocolate in it.
3. Mix the chocolate and espresso until the chocolate is completely dissolved.
4. Take out a glass and top it up with ice cubes. 
5. Fill the glass about ¾ of the way up with milk. 
6. Slowly pour the espresso and chocolate mixture over the back of a tablespoon, which should be placed just above the ice and milk. This will help keep the layers separated. 
7. Add a reusable straw and enjoy your easy espresso iced coffee!

Iced coffee with alternative brew recipes

Alternative brews allow us to experience the subtle side of coffee. These recipes for how to make iced coffee with alternative brew aim to enhance that subtleness.

1. Easy brew

Click here to jump up to the recipe.

2. James Hoffman’s Iced Coffee (V60, pour-over, Chemex)

Ingredients

• Ground coffee (based on 65 g coffee per 1 litre / 34 oz. of water)
  • 17 g ground coffee
  • The grind size should be finer than normal
• Water (based on 40% ice, 60% water rule)
  • 150 g water (hot)
  • 100 g ice

Method

1. Rinse the filter paper over the sink to avoid heating the decanter. 
2. Add the ice to the decanter, then prepare the filter paper and coffee grounds as usual. 
3. Bloom with about 42 g water (you want between 2-3 the weight of the coffee as water) for at least 45 seconds. Then, stir the bloom.
4. Brew the coffee for about 2 ½ – 3 minutes. Towards the end of the brew, stir the coffee once in a clockwise motion, and then once in the opposite direction.
5. The coffee will have melted most of the ice, but swirl the decanter a few times to melt the rest of the ice. 
6. To serve, pour the cover over a few blocks of ice in a glass and enjoy!

Watch the video here: Better than cold brew: How to make iced filter coffee

3. Aeropress Iced Coffee 

Ingredients

• 20 g coffee with a medium grind size
• 240 g water (hot)
• 160 g ice

Method

1. Add the ice to a mug, beaker or container.
2. Put the plunger into the Aeropress so that it is at the #4 point. Then put the Aeropress on the counter with the open side (nearer to #1) facing up.
3. Pour the coffee grounds into the Aeropress. Then, pour in about 25 g water and bloom for 30-45 seconds.
4. After the bloom, add the remaining water and let this steep for 1:15 seconds. The total time on the clock should be around 1:45 minutes.
5. While the brew is steeping, add the filter paper to the cap, wet the paper and then screw the cap onto the Aeropress. 
6. After the coffee has steeped, flip it onto the container (the cap with the filter paper should now be at the bottom). Plunge the coffee, aiming for a plunge of 20-30 seconds. 
7. Enjoy your Aeropress iced coffee!

Pro tips for how to make iced coffee

Iced coffee is great because of the flexibility it allows us. Further on down, we discuss the following game-changing tips for how to make iced coffee. Click on a link to jump to that section. 

Choosing the right coffee 

• Instant coffee is great for iced coffee because of its robust and bold flavour. The brand you choose to use is up to personal preference. 
• Choose a light roasted and/or unwashed coffee for your espresso iced coffee and brewed iced coffee. 
• Click here to go to this section.

Sweeteners

• Make a simple syrup (↓) for your iced coffees because sugar doesn’t dissolve well in cold liquids.
• Use a sweetened cream (↓) instead of sugar for a creamy and sweet iced coffee.
• Sugar is fine, but raw or brown sugar is better. 
• Go natural with honey instead of sugar. 

Ice

• When measuring water, ice should account for 40% of the total water needed. ↓
• Make ‘coffee ice’ (↓) if you are worried about ice watering down your coffee.

Choosing the right coffee 

Any instant coffee should be perfect for instant iced coffee. 

Use light roasted and/or unwashed coffees for espresso-based and brewed iced coffee. 

Our mouths don’t taste sweetness well when the food or drink is at low temperatures. Also, when coffee gets cold, it loses some of its aromatic intensity. Because of this, we need to use a coffee with bold, sweet flavours when making iced coffee.

Light roast and unwashed coffees carry more sweetness and complex flavour profiles than dark roast coffees do. 

If we’re losing parts of a coffee’s flavour due to the cold temperature of the drink, then it makes sense that we would want to start with a coffee that naturally has more flavour to offer (and to lose). 

Moving on to instant coffee. We know that Robusta is the most commonly used coffee variety for instant coffee. We also know that Robusta has more caffeine than Arabica.

Robusta coffee also happens to carry big, bold flavours. This is why any instant coffee should be perfect for instant iced coffee. 

One thing to keep in mind is that Robusta also has a higher caffeine content, which has a bitter taste. So, you won’t be judged for wanting to add some sweeteners or simple syrup to your drink.

But I’m sweet enough already, right?

Using sugar in your iced coffee is okay and you won’t hear any complaints from us. 

Instead of using plain sugar, experiment with using raw sugar, brown sugar, or even honey. These sugar alternatives will add more complexity and richness to your iced coffee.

If making an espresso-based iced coffee, cut the extraction time down to about 18 seconds to make a ristretto. This stops the extraction right before the heavier, more bitter flavours are extracted. 

As we all know, sugar doesn’t dissolve that well in cold liquids. Here’s a simple syrup recipe you can try with your next iced coffee.

Simple syrup

Ingredients

• 1 part water
• 1 part sugar

Method

1. Bring the water to a boil in a pot. 
2. Add the sugar. 
3. Simmer for 5 minutes. 
4. Once cooled down, store in a sterilized glass container.

If that’s not your thing, here’s a recipe for a sweetened cream that you could use instead of milk in your next iced coffee.

Sweetened cream 

Ingredients

• ½ cup condensed milk
• ½ cup heavy cream or half and half

Method

1. Whisk together the heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk in a jug. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready for use.

Ice is nice

Ice is great; some would even say it’s a key component in iced coffee. The problem with ice is that it melts and dilutes the iced coffee that you just made. 

To prevent this use the 40/60 rule and/or ‘coffee ice’. 

The 40/60 ice rule

When learning how to make iced coffee, there’s a secret rule that a lot don’t know about. I’m going to share that with you.

When making your coffee, 40% of the water needed should be ice, and 60% should be water.

For example, if 500 ml (1 ml of water weighs 1 g) water is needed, then 200 g should be ice, and 300 g should be water.

That’s all there is to it! But this is something so simple that many people don’t know, and it makes it all the difference to your iced coffee.

Coffee ice

Instead of using normal ice, you could use coffee ice. 

Next time you make coffee, add some to an ice tray and freeze the coffee. When you make iced coffee again, you can use your coffee ice blocks to prevent your coffee from being diluted. 

What to do next?

Share your iced coffee pictures with us over on Instagram or Twitter. Be sure to check out our guide on how much caffeine is in a cup of coffee.

Read how to make pour over coffee and how to make French press coffee so tasty your barista will cry.