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How To Make Iced Coffee At Home

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Iced coffee, is there anything I crave more everyday on a hot summer’s day? Nope. I LOVE my coffee, but after 9am it is just too hot to be pounding back hot drinks. I used to make the almost daily trek to Starbucks to get my fix in the iced form, but it can get expensive quick. I’ve since learned how to make iced coffee at home so I can save money AND drink more coffee. That is what I call a win-win ;)

How to make iced coffee at home - these instructions are SO easy and foolproof, never end up with watery, lukewarm "iced" coffee again! | oliveandivyblog.com

Now, making iced coffee at home may seem like a silly thing to post about, because isn’t it just coffee and ice? Yes and no. There is definitely some technique required unless you want to end up with a cup full of watery, lukewarm coffee or, better yet, a cup of unsweetened iced coffee with a whole bunch of sugar granules stuck on the bottom or being sucked up your straw. Don’t worry, young padawan. I will teach you my ways! Keep reading to learn how to make iced coffee at home!

You can use a Keurig (or other brewing system) OR a regular coffee pot to make iced coffee at home. I used to love using my Keurig K-Cafe because it brews espresso shots as opposed to a whole cup of coffee, but these days I just use instant coffee (this one is the best) because I don’t have a Keurig anymore.

Step 1 – Get a coffee mug out and add however much sugar you like in your iced coffee. Note that the very first thing that you must do is ADD THE SUGAR FIRST. It definitely slips the mind every now and then, but you will pay the price if you don’t. Sugar won’t dissolve in a cold drink, so make sure you are adding the sugar while the coffee is still hot- or else you end up with granules being sucked up your straw. It’s gross, you don’t want that.

Step 2 – Brew your espresso shot, or brew a small cup of coffee, or pour in however much coffee you want in your drink from your coffee pot, or mix the regular amount of instant coffee you’d use in a cup with 1/4 of a coffee mug of hot water. If you are brewing an espresso shot, small cup or are using instant coffee, once you’ve stirred your coffee to make sure all the sugar is dissolved, you will probably want to add a bit of cold water to assist in the cooling process and to make your drink not so strong. Don’t do this if you have poured your coffee straight from the coffee pot as you’ll water it down too much (you can cool your coffee down a bit by placing it in the fridge for a while). Don’t add so much water that your mug ends up completely full, because it probably won’t all fit in your tumbler with all the ice and milk.

How to make iced coffee at home - these instructions are SO easy and foolproof, never end up with watery, lukewarm "iced" coffee again! | oliveandivyblog.com

Step 3 – Fill a tumbler with ice, a little less than 3/4 full. I most often will use a Starbucks grande sized tumbler (because it’s the perfect size AND I’m almost positive that something tastes better if I drink it out of this, haha).

How to make iced coffee at home - these instructions are SO easy and foolproof, never end up with watery, lukewarm "iced" coffee again! | oliveandivyblog.com

Step 4 – Pour your drink over the ice and quickly fill any extra space in your tumbler with milk (I say quickly because you want your coffee to cool as fast as possible for minimal ice melting). Mix up your drink with your straw, screw on the lid and you are good to go! Enjoy!

How to make iced coffee at home - these instructions are SO easy and foolproof, never end up with watery, lukewarm "iced" coffee again! | oliveandivyblog.com

Key points: sugar needs to go in your coffee BEFORE anything gets cold, and you need to cool down your coffee a bit (whether by letting it sit in the fridge for a bit or by adding a bit of cold water to your already dissolved/sweetened coffee) before pouring over the ice or the ice will melt and you’ll have a big cup of watery coffee. If you can manage those two things, you’re going to be an excellent iced coffee maker!

Make sure you pin the very top image in case you need to come back to this post. I hope this helped you learn how to make iced coffee at home, and if all else fails… go to Starbucks!




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Comments

  1. Torie says

    Dude, this is actually an extremely useful post for people! Most do not understand how easy it is to mess up a good iced coffee! Especially when the sugar comes into play ;)

    As a fellow caffeine addict, I loved this post! :)

    Reply

    • Chelsea says

      Hhahaha! I have made the sugar mistake MANY times. I still do it every now and then when I’m not paying attention ahha.

      Reply

  8. Leah says

    Thanks so much! I have been trying to figure out how to do this for ages! Everyone else says just to brew it over ice and I typically end up with water with a hint of coffee. :p

    Reply

    • Chelsea says

      Ugh yeah I’m not into the brew over ice technique, it always left me with really watered down lukewarm coffee haha.

      Reply

  25. Gina M (Wild Orchid) says

    I love caramel macchiatos.

    Entered the rafflecopter form as “Wild Orchid”

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  27. Gillian says

    OH man, I seriously need to save this post for later so that I can finally master iced coffee at home! For some reason I have always been really intimidated by this! Awesome post, and yeah I want that gift card for sure…. :)

    Reply

  31. Nancy says

    I love frappachino’s and I can never spell them. I also love hazelnut latte’s or peppermint white mochas, or….their gingerbread, and banana bread. I like starbucks. Clearly. Man. Yum.

    Reply

    • Chelsea says

      Oh my gosh I am obsessed with this. If I was the person winning the giveaway, I would literally spend $175 on these hahhahah

      Reply

  58. Christy Peeples DuBois says

    I use a cold coffee toddy to make my concentrate and love love ice coffee. I will have to say the iced vanilla latte is my favorite but I love most all of them.

    Reply

  61. Natalie says

    I love this! Yum, iced coffee! Can’t wait to try! And my favorite Starbucks drink is definitely an iced caramel macchiato, or if I’m not feeling like coffee, I’ll get a iced peach green tea lemonade. Yum!!!!

    Reply

  64. Monika says

    I have tried making my own iced coffee many times, this blog showed me what I was doing wrong. I am taking your advice and trying again. Thanks! :)

    Reply

  68. Lissa Cole says

    I’m so glad you made an iced coffee post! Seriously adding sugar into any drink you’re taking from hot to cold is the most important step. Nothing more depressing than drinking a bitter drink you wanted sweet!

    Reply

  69. Jennifer R says

    In summer my favorite Starbucks drink is Teavana shaken sweet tea and in the winter espresso topped with whipped cream. Yum!

    Reply

  72. Stephanie says

    I make a HUGE container of iced coffee and it lasts me about 2 weeks – not as long as it should, but I’m an addict, what can I say?

    Reply

  75. Dayanneth says

    These are some awesome tips && they work put really well. They are supper fast & easy. Thanks a lot for the help/tip .

    Reply

  86. Caitlyn S. says

    In the summer I love iced caramel frappucinos and in the winter I like caramel macchiato or white chocolate mocha.
    I love Starbucks! Going to target and getting a coffee first is the best!

    Reply

  96. melanie borhi says

    I am a huge Fan of Starbucks and always will be I have so many different drinks I enjoy hard to pick a favorite, but if I must I would say the caramel macchiatto :) its delicious

    Reply

  109. amanda says

    depends on the day but my normal is an iced nonfat caramel macchiato and if im really tired i love an iced americano and if im freezing i like soy chai latte

    Reply

  122. abedabun dawn says

    Actually, I do not have a favorite. I have tried and loved several, but I always try not to get the same thing twice.

    Reply

  127. Edmond says

    OMG, White chocolate mocha, non-fat, is to die for. Fab. 2 fingers snap. SOS. Help. Pick me, pick me! Your next winner!!! Show me the money!!! It would be a dream come true & means more to me than anyone else to win. Starving artist here desperately needs the Star bucksgc to shop & eat again. Winner, winnner. Chicken dinner. A life changing experience. Top of my bucket list. Thanks for the awesomeness, the contest, & generosity. Dear Santa: I have been nice. My X-Mas wish this year is to win this contest.

    Reply

  136. Sammi says

    I almost solely drink iced coffee, and I usually make it at home. When I do splurge on a coffeehouse drink, I like any of the Starbucks Frappuccinos (my favorite is the Mocha Cookie Crumble right now) or a hot Cinnamon Dolce Latte on cold days.

    Reply

  137. Jaime says

    I prefer my coffee hot but on extremely hot florida days I do like an iced latte. Instead of adding ice I make ice cubes out of coffee so i don’t have to worry about watering it down. I use the same concept for iced tea (tea ice cubes) and smoothies (kale juice ice cubes)

    Reply

  145. Surso S. says

    I dont drink starbucks but my wife does for a special treat once in a while, she always gets a caramel macchiato

    Reply

  156. Abby says

    Another option for sweetening iced coffee is to make a simple syrup so that the sugar is already dissolved. (Other flavors optional)

    My favorite Starbucks drink is a vanilla-cinnamon dolce Americano.

    Reply

  159. Kelly B says

    I always go for a caramel macciatto, but when I’m low on funds I brew at home. It never occurred to me that if I just cool the coffee down a bit before I ice it I won;t end up with the watery mess I always seem to end up with. Thanks for the tip!

    Reply

  162. Petra S says

    caramel macchiato

    or basically anything with caramel in it!

    although the pumpkin spice latte is delish too!

    Reply

  165. Nancy says

    I also want to add (not that I’ve done it before…but i’ve seen it!) is that you can pour your left over coffee into ice cube trays and freeze them. So it’s not water-ice cubes next time, it’s coffee-ice!!! Mmmm.

    Reply

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