How to Make Iced Coffee from Hot Coffee?

Since summer is just around the corner, knowing how to make an iced coffee can be extremely valuable knowledge – especially after a long day spend outside when the only thing you can think of is a cold dose of caffeine that will bring you back to life and restore the energy the beaming sun took from you.

But how can you transform a glass of steaming black coffee into a refreshing and delicious iced coffee? Let us tell you all about it in this article.

How to Make Iced Coffee

Making barista iced coffee is extremely easy. Below, you will find a step-by-step guide on how you can do it.

Step 1: Brew Hot Coffee

In order to transform hot coffee into cold coffee, you need to first make it, which is why the first step of making a perfect iced coffee is preparing hot brewed coffee.

Since you probably know best how you like your hot coffee, we will let this step up to you. The brewing method, as well as the strength of the hot coffee, are completely up to you. Just make sure that when you’re brewing coffee, you make the coffee extra strong or at least stronger than you usually would, as the ice, as well as other things you will put in it will make the taste less intense.

So, the first step of making iced coffee is brewing the hot coffee.

Step 2: Prepare the Ice Cubes

Iced coffee wouldn’t be called that way if it didn’t have ice in it, which is why the next step is preparing the ice.

Depending on how cold you want your coffee to be, you should prepare between one and two cups of ice. Place it in either a thick glass or a mixing container made of stainless steel – if you have a glass measuring cup or a milk frothing pitcher, it will work perfectly.

This is also the step where you prepare anything else that you would like to pour into it later – be that whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, plant-based milk, sugar, syrup, or whatever else you like to add.

Step 3: Pour the Coffee and Stir

Once you made your hot coffee and prepared the ice for the iced coffee, you can start the transformation. Simply pour the liquid into the mixing vessel you have put your ice cubes into. If the ice starts to melt and water down the coffee, don’t worry – that’s completely fine, and it’s also the reason why we told you to make your coffee stronger.

Once you have poured it, it’s time to stir. The melting ice will cool down the coffee – you need to stir so that the water and the coffee become one. When stirring, check the outside of the container – once it is quite chill, a little bit colder than lukewarm, you can stop stirring and move to the next step.

Step 4: Pour the Coffee Into a Drinking Cup

When the coffee has cooled down significantly, you can transfer it into the cup you want to drink it from – many people like to put their iced coffee into a mason jar, as it looks nicer to them.

Put some more ice cubes into the drinking cup and add the mixture you have prepared – this also includes the ice that hasn’t melted when you were stirring.

Step 5: Add the Rest of the Ingredients

When your iced coffee is ready and you have transferred it into the drinking cup, you can finish off your creation by adding everything else you want to drink it with.

Some of the things you can add to your iced coffee include:

• syrup – you can buy a pre-made one, or you can make simple syrup on your own; popular flavors include vanilla, caramel, chocolate, or more seasonal options like pumpkin spice

• sauce – just like a syrup, a sauce will add whatever flavor you wish to your coffee; some of the most commonly used ones include caramel, chocolate or butterscotch. Since the consistency is thicker than with syrups, it might take them a bit more to dissolve. However, you can also try iced coffee with sauce that isn’t stirred.

• alcohol – if it’s been a rough day, you can make it a bit more bearable by adding some alcohol to your iced coffee. A common addition is whiskey, but you can probably get away with adding any alcohol you like.

• ice cream – adding ice cream on top of your coffee can make it even better than it is on its own. Vanilla is a clear favorite, but truthfully you could add any ice cream flavor that you fancy and it would most likely still be the best iced coffee you’ve ever tasted. This type of iced coffee is also known as Australian iced coffee.

• whipped cream – this one is a classic. If you want to sweeten your coffee a bit so it won’t taste bitter, adding whipped cream is the perfect solution. What’s more, you can put something on top of it – for example, you can drizzle a sauce, sprinkle some cinnamon or cocoa or add some fruit.

Iced Coffee Variations

The iced coffee recipe we have shared above gives you the perfect classic iced coffee. However, if you want to spice it up a little, there are a few ways in which you can do it. In most cases, the main recipe stays the same, you just don’t transfer it into a drinking glass.

So, when a classic iced coffee is not what you are after, here are some variations that might be more up to your taste. You can:

• blend it – this is one of those instances where you don’t have to mix your iced coffee beforehand. Simply prepare everything you want to add into it, and put everything into a blender – and you’re done. Once the coffee is blended, you can transfer it into a glass.

• freeze it – once the coffee becomes cold, instead of adding it into a glass, pour it into an ice cube tray and pop it into the freezer. This way, you can create coffee ice cubes. Once the cubes are set, add them to a tall glass and pour milk into it. You can also use this method with leftover coffee, so it wouldn’t go to waste.

• shake it – add chilled coffee, milk, ice, and a little bit of syrup (although this is optional) into a cocktail shaker, and shake.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as cà phê đá or cafe da, has been gaining popularity in the last few years, especially in the United States. But what is it exactly and how does it differ from regular iced coffee?

Vietnamese iced coffee, as the name suggests, is part of Vietnamese culture. People in Vietnam tend to enjoy it in the evenings when it’s warm outside – in the morning, they usually drink hot coffee.

As for the differences – the main difference between Vietnamese iced coffee and normal iced coffee is that the former is made using a special pouring device called a phin. So, when someone says Vietnamese iced coffee, they are usually referring to dark roast coffee made in a phin that is then combined with other ingredients, like sweetened condensed milk.

Dalgona Coffee

Dalgona coffee, also known as whipped coffee gained significant popularity in the first half of 2020, as it became popular on Tiktok – everyone and their mother was preparing it. This type of iced coffee is made with instant coffee.

To prepare Dalgona coffee, you need to pour two tablespoons of instant coffee into a cup and add sugar (if you want your coffee to taste sweeter). Then, you add two tablespoons of water and whip it all together using a milk frother.

Once that is done, you can prepare the glass where you will put it. Simply add ice cubes and milk into a glass, and then put the whipped coffee on top of it. That’s it! You just made one of Tiktok’s most popular drinks of 2020.

Greek Frappe

Greek frappe is made with the same ingredients as Dalgona coffee. The difference, however, is in the way it is prepared – Greek frappe is made using a cocktail shaker. Pour the instant coffee, cold water, and milk into a shaker and shake. After about a minute, you should have delicious Greek frappe.

Iced Coffee vs Cold Brew Coffee

Although those might seem like the same thing, they aren’t. Sure, they are both a type of cold coffee, but there are certain differences between them.

Most importantly, making cold brew coffee is a lot more time-consuming when compared to normal iced coffee. The name in itself might be deceiving as, contrary to iced coffee, cold brew is not about the coffee’s temperature, but the way it is prepared. During the brewing process, you take whole beans, grind them, and then steep them at room temperature. Usually, you leave them for about 12 to 16 hours.

Making Iced Coffee – Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use leftover coffee instead of freshly brewed coffee to make iced coffee?

Yes, of course you can! Although the taste might not be as intense as it would be if you used coffee that was just brewed, it is still a great way of using something that would otherwise be poured out and thrown away. Just make sure that whenever you’re leaving some coffee for the next day, it should be put in an airtight container.

Will iced coffee go bad?

Just like all things, iced coffee can also go bad. How long it will take depends on what you have in mind when talking about it going bad.

If you mean when will the taste change, then the would be a few days. That’s because once your coffee is done, two things start to happen. The first one is oxidation, while the second is the break down of chlorogenic acid. Both of those things cause the coffee to taste off. That’s why you shouldn’t make more iced coffee than you will be able to drink within a few days.

On the other hand, if you mean when will the coffee become undrinkable, then this could take a few weeks, as long as you keep it in the fridge – and while this might seem like a no-brainer, it sometimes isn’t.

Can you make iced coffee with hot brewed coffee?

The answer is yes, of course you can. There’s nothing that would suggest that using hot brewed coffee to make iced coffee is a bad idea.

The Bottom Line

Once the summer comes and the sun starts shining so much that you will pray it will hide at least for a short while, iced coffee will be a real lifesaver, which is why it’s good to learn how to make a delicious iced coffee before the heat starts.

We hope our article showed you just that. As you could see, it is a very simple process – you don’t need to have any special abilities to make it. All you need to make a barista iced coffee is coffee, water, ice, milk, and whatever else you want to put into it or on it.

The best part about making iced coffee is that there isn’t one way to make it. There are so many different variations, and you can add so many different things to it, that you can try a new one every day of the summer, and you would probably still have some to try. Because of how many options there are, you can be sure to find one that will suit your taste. And who knows – you might even find your new favorite coffee along the way.