Iced Coffee Done Right

I read a great piece in the NY Times yesterday about iced coffee, the drink you see in every New Yorker's fist from Memorial Day until Labor Day, that's just catching on in the rest of the country. And I'm not talking about a 600 calorie pseudo-milkshake from Starbucks. I'm talking cold coffee. On ice, and how you take it. The simplicity is the beauty, and while I still prefer hot coffee most days, I do enjoy the occasional iced coffee as an afternoon pick-me-up, or on the weekends. It's easier to drink and carry than a hot cup.

Even though I just discovered the joy of ice coffee only 3 years ago, after being a resister, I have to say what the writer said in this article is true: that NY iced coffee is generally a weak, watery concoction barely able to claim itself as iced coffee. The key, she says, it to brew it double strength, with coffee ice cubes. And it must be done at home. This woman is my new guru.

I am a one cup-drinker in the mornings, at home. I have a pod coffee maker that I love, but can't seem to find the pods anymore. So I've moved on to making coffee in my French Press the evening before and chilling it for a nice ice in the morning. It works well, and I like the consistency (little thicker, but not syrupy) than what I'd buy at say Dunkin' Donuts or my local cart vendor. But I made the coffee ice cubes yesterday. And it was that much better. Like, WOW.

Take heed - homemade iced coffee is the best you can get. Especially when you make the coffee cubes.