Green Smoothie

This summer, I have been enjoying iced coffee.   I never tried iced coffee until this year. I stopped into a Wawa and on a whim picked up an ice coffee.  I loved it.  I did not love the price.  The next day I decided to make iced coffee at home.  Well, lets just say that tasted like dirty mop water.

I asked my friend Chris (a coffee aficionado) how she made her ice coffee. She shared with me this simple, but delicious iced coffee recipe.  There is no brewing involved.. yes silly me thought you could just brew strong coffee and put it over ice.   It just isn’t the same.  The ice melts and it tastes like, said dirty mop water after about 10 minutes.

Also, when you cold brew, the coffee is less acidic and bitter – cold brew gives you a sweeter, richer coffee.

So here is the step by step to making the coffee that is just as good as Wawa and save about $1.50 per glass!

I started with whole beans.   I used a dark, bold coffee for a deep, rich flavor.   You will want to grind your beans coarse.  (Note, you can use pre-ground coffee for this, I just find that I prefer  the taste of freshly ground coffee).  You will need 1 cup of ground coffee per quart of water.   (this can be adjusted to your taste)

For this example, I have two quarts of cold water and two cups of ground coffee.  If you like your coffee a little less strong, just use less coffee.  Put your coffee in a glass or plastic container.  Pour water in.  Cover the container.  Yes, it will look like mud.  I promise it, tastes nothing like it looks.  Let it sit for atleast 10 hours.

Now, the fun part. You will need to drain all coffee from the grounds. I used a small strainer with a coffee filter in it. You can use cheese cloth as well. You will want to slowly pour the coffee into the strainer.  I put a bowl under the strainer to catch the coffee.

You will want to take your time, because it will take awhile for the liquid to get thru the grounds. (Don’t pour too much in — or you will have a mess on your hands!)  When you get to just grounds, use a spoon to push the liquid thru. Then you have your liquid concentrate. Put it in a pitcher and cover.

Fill a glass up with ice.  Fill the glass halfway with your coffee concentrate. Add your favorite  cream, half and half or sweeteners.  I did not fill it up to the top, as I like to leave a little room for the ice to melt. If you like your coffee black, remember this is a concentrate. You will need to add a little water or let your ice melt so it is not too strong.

This concentrate will last for about 7 days in the fridge.

Total Savings for drinking my own ice coffee vs. buying it at Wawa from June to August :  $138.00