Iced Coffee

I'm a coffee addict. I admit it. For quite some time I've really enjoyed visiting the local coffee shop ( Lakes Latte) for an iced Americano. YUM!! I'm not really into those sweet drinks, so I always order mine a little more on the bitter side. It tastes like a stronger coffee rather than a dessert. I do have them 'doctor it up' a little, tho. They take a glass of ice, add the espresso, and the rest of the cup is filled almost to the top with water. On top of that they add about a half a squirt of vanilla syrup and just a tad bit of half and half. PERFECTION at its best!

While on Facebook I happened to catch a new show that was coming up...it's called The Pioneer Woman.

She also loves her iced coffees and has a neat recipe she makes herself, so awhile back I gave it a try. OMGoodness! Is that ever good!! You have to be a true coffee junkie to do this because the preparation gets quite messy, but for me it's definatly worth it! I've made a 2-gallon batch of this stuff about 4 times so far, and each time I am totally amazed! I can't believe that I can now make my own iced coffee that tastes every bit as good as I get at the coffee shop! I'm not saying I don't still visit the coffee shop, however...It's a great place to go just to hang out and visit awhile, with friendly staff and neighbors. So I still buy their coffee and other goodies while I'm there. (they have really good food, too!) I just enjoy having my iced coffees available to me at home....any time or the day or nite...whenever I'm craving one!

Check out her recipe and tweek it however you wish. She has some different ideas on her website on how to change it up a bit for those who like a more dessert type of coffee. But here's how I've tweeked the recipe for myself:

Iced Coffee

I take 1 pound of the darkest, cheapest coffee I can find, and dump it in a big stock pan. Then I add 2 gallons of cold water to that, making sure I get all the coffee grounds good and wet. Put the lid on the pan and let that sit overnight. (8-10 hours) After that time has passed, I grab a 5 quart ice cream bucket, a fine mesh strainer, and a flour-sack towel. I put the towel over the strainer and put the strainer on the bucket, and start pouring the coffee grounds and water mixture thru that. If you don't use the towel you'll still get coffee grounds that will come thru the strainer, and you don't want those in your iced coffee, so use the towel. Ü When the bucket gets almost full I remove the strainer and dump that liquid into the container I store it in, in the fridge. (I have one of those cheap plastic containers from Walmart with the plastic spout so I can just put my cup up to it and press the spout handle to pour into my cup when I want it.) Just keep repeating that process until you've dumped all of your soaked coffee and liquid into your own pitcher or dispenser. This coffee tastes better when it's ice cold, so don't be tempted to try it until it's been in the fridge another 8 hours.

When you want an iced coffee, fill a glass with ice cubes, then pour the coffee over the ice. At this point, what I do is add a couple teaspoons of vanilla syrup (they have different flavors in the grocery store by the coffee), and on top of that I add just a little bit of half and half. I don't add any sweetener because like I said, I don't like a dessert-type of coffee. The vanilla syrup adds just enough sweetness for my taste, and the little bit of half and half takes away just enough of the bitterness of the strong coffee to make it just right, in my opinion. Ü

Pioneer Woman also has some variations on this recipe you might like better. Chek out her website! She's also on Facebook. Some people like to add Sweetened Condensed milk or use other flavored syrups like hazelnut, caramel, etc. It's all in what you like. Experiment! Once you have the recipe for the basic iced coffee, the things you can add to it are limitless!

Enjoy!! I think I'll go make me a glass right now.....

~AuntyB~