It’s summertime, so we decided to play guinea pig to bring you the best iced coffee out there. As popular as this classic continues to be, iced coffee often alternates between watery and mouth puckering bitterness. Our goal was to create a cup solid enough to graduate from trend to timeless classic. We believe, when properly brewed, iced coffee may be the star of the coffee world. Not only can it be simple to prepare, (which we love, especially pre-caffeine) but it is the perfect refreshing treat to beat the heat.

Filtered water should be used to brew a double strength batch of coffee to start.  Flash brew iced coffee (aka ice brew) is made in a pour over (such as Hario or Chemex), but you don’t have to get all fancy if you don’t want to. You can make your iced coffee in an autodrip brewer too! Throw coffee ice cubes in to minimize dilution. Ta-da! A no-fuss, clean, crisp cup in minutes.

Homemade iced coffee is easy to make, but the right brewing method can preserve the nuances of the beans while other brewing methods can dull or neutralize their subtle flavor notes. The right iced coffee should be way less high maintenance than it tastes. We love a good shortcut and, finally, our resourcefulness pays off. All hail the perfect iced coffee, right from your very own kitchen! Check out our easy recipes and let us know what you think in the comments.

When the days are extra long, caffeination is so very important. In honor of today’s solstice, we thought we’d round-up our very favorite summer coffee and tea recipes.

For Coffee Lovers:

No-Churn Coffee Fudge Ice Cream

Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

Dark Moon Cocktail

Cold Fashioned Cocktail

Affogato

For Tea Fans:

Iced Chai Bubble Tea

Watermelon Mimosa Green Tea Popsicles

Homemade Kombucha

Jasmine Honey Tea Granita

Tea Sangria

If you’re one of the many iced coffee lovers who’ve made the switch to cold brew, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about “flash brewed” iced coffee. Back before cold brew was a thing, iced coffee was often regular strength hot coffee (or yesterday’s coffee) poured over ice. The result was watery and disappointing. Also called ice brewed or Japanese-style iced coffee, flash brewed iced coffee is brewed fresh over ice, usually using a pour-over brewer like the Chemex or Hario. For a visual, check out our video on brewing hot or iced coffee with the Chemex. It can also be made with a regular old automatic drip machine or an Aeropress. The key is allowing the coffee to drip directly onto the ice as it brews. Drip by drip, it cools instantly and less dilution occurs than if you were to dump a cup or a pot full of hot coffee over ice.

Flash brew vs. cold brew

If cold brew tastes a little flat to you, that’s because ground coffee requires heat to release some of its acids and aromatic oils (for details on the cold brewing method, check out our post). Cold brewed coffee is much less acidic, but possibly also less nuanced in flavor. High temperatures also cause these oils to oxidize and degrade over time, resulting in the sour or stale taste coffee acquires after sitting on a burner too long. Both methods claim to minimize oxidation, cold brewing by omitting heat and flash brewing by minimizing the amount of time between exposure to heat and consumption.

Another important difference between cold brew and flash brew is texture. Cold brew is less filtered since the coffee sits in contact with the grounds for a long period and some finer sediment dissolves over time. The end result is a rich, mellow cup, with the velvety texture of French press coffee. Flash brewed coffee by comparison is cleaner and crisper, with more bite, more aroma, and some would argue, more flavor.

Flash brewed coffee also has a few convenient advantages over cold brews, depending on your perspective. While nothing is lazier than dumping grounds and water in a bowl and letting them sit, flash brewed coffee is ready right away – no wait required. Also, less coffee is required since cold brew recipes typically make a concentrate with a high ratio of grounds to water. For flash brewing, start with the amount of coffee you would normally use, and replace half the brewing water with ice. Increase the grounds to water ratio if you like a little stronger taste from your iced coffee.

So which one wins? Cold brewing will emphasize more chocolaty or nutty characteristics while the acidity of flash brew will taste fruitier. Try picking a single origin coffee with an acidity level and flavor notes that will either play up or balance these characteristics. For instance, the higher acidity level of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe really jazzes up a cup of cold brew. To further emphasize its brightness, try it flash brewed. To minimize the acidic flavor of flash brewed coffee, try an Indonesian varietal like Papua New Guinea or Estate Java. Flash Brewed coffee tends to have a more nuanced flavor, perfect for a light roast coffee, but there are no rules. Experiment with roast level, see what you like, and share your recommendations!

In case you need an excuse to have a cocktail on a Tuesday, National Rum Day is August 16th. In honor of rum, we’re mixing up a batch of this coffee cocktail. This recipe makes a pitcher and can be made in advance. Just combine the liqueur and rum (we used Kahlua and Sailor Jerry) with cold brewed coffee and store in a covered container in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, add the cola, pour over ice, and spoon a little heavy cream over the top of each glass.

Ingredients (serves 8)

• 1 1/2 cups strong iced coffee.
• 1/2 cup coffee liqueur
• 1/2 cup spiced rum
• 1 12-ounce bottle Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (divide among glasses)

Adapted from Bon Appetit

If you’ve never had Vietnamese coffee, you have to try it. It’s shockingly good. I like my coffee black or with a little cream, but never sweetened so I can’t explain why I like this intensely sweet drink, but I love it, especially over ice. The sweeter the better. Coffee in Vietnam is typically Robusta, which has a reputation for being slightly bitter. Dark roast levels are common, as they minimize this bitterness. A big spoonful of sweetened condensed milk helps too. For this recipe we used our Super Dark Espresso, which contains some Robusta as most espresso blends do. We also used a traditional 6 ounce Vietnamese coffee filter called a phin. These stainless steel filters are inexpensive and easy to find online in several sizes. You can substitute brewed espresso or strong French Press coffee if you prefer.

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 2 tablespoons (or more to taste) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons ground coffee. A French press (coarse) grind works best
• Hot water

Instructions

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a heat safe glass or mug. Start with a little if  you’re not sure how much sweetness you’ll like and stir more in if you prefer after brewing. Remove the interior screen from the filter (you may need to unscrew this manually). Add coffee to the filter and replace the inside screen, tightening the screw fully, the unscrewing it one full turn to give the coffee room to expand. Rest the filter on top of your mug or glass and add a splash of near-boiling water. Let this sit for half a minute, then fill the filter chamber with water. Cover the top of the filter (there’s a cap provided) and allow the coffee to drip through. Once the water has drained through, remove the filter, stir, and enjoy hot or pour over ice.

This entire process takes about five minutes. If the water drains through too quickly, your grind may be too course and you’ll have a watery cup of coffee. Too fine a grind will clog the filter. If you grind your own beans, play with the grind level until you find what brews and tastes best with your filter.