All About Iced Coffee

When you think of coffee, you probably immediately think of a steaming mug of brewed coffee, or a toasty warm shot straight out of an espresso machine. However, coffee has an entire other life on the cooler side of things that can be just as energizing. Making iced coffee is a great way to cool off in the summer, or to enjoy the refreshing taste of coffee without worrying about burning your tongue!

Iced Coffee vs Cold Brew

One of the big misconceptions about iced coffee is that the term is synonymous with cold brew. While delicious, the two drinks actually require different preparation processes and have different tastes and properties.

Iced Coffee is what it sounds like: coffee that's been iced. Which means that iced coffee is brewed hot like regular coffee, and then cooled down. This makes the taste and consistency of iced coffee very similar to that of regular coffee: bright flavors and familiar acidity.

Cold Brew is also what it sounds like: coffee that's brewed cold. There are a few different ways to do this, but the unifying factor is that the coffee grounds never come in contact with hot water. This approach to brewing yields a drink with smoother, sweeter taste and less acidity. (Depending on how long the coffee grounds are soaked in cold water, cold brew can also be much more caffeinated, which is something to watch out for).

How to Make Iced Coffee

Iced coffee can actually be made with most hot-coffee brewing methods fairly easily. All you need to do is adjust the ratio of coffee to hot water to account for brewing over ice, and the resulting cup with have the same proportions as a regular cup of coffee, but will be nice and frosty.