How to Make the Perfect Iced Coffee or Cold Brew

When the days are starting to warm up, there is no better way to get a caffeine hit than with a delicious iced coffee or a flavourful cold brew. Cool and refreshing, yet still packed with wonderful, robust flavours, iced coffees and cold brews make the perfect treat on those sunny days, but there are important differences between these two drinks.

What Coffee Should Be Used in Iced Coffees and Cold Brews?

When choosing a coffee bean for your iced coffee or cold brew, we recommend going for a rich, well-rounded flavour, in a coarse grind, such as our Percolator grind.

If you are looking for a sweet, creamy drink, look for a medium roast bean from Costa Rica or Guatemala, while Kenyan and Ethiopian coffee beans will result in fruitier, more refreshing iced coffees. 

How to Make the Perfect Iced Coffee

With an iced coffee, coffee is brewed in the usual way using hot water, before being cooled down and served over ice or added to cold milk.

Iced coffees are very versatile, and can be prepared through your favourite preparation method, whether that is with an espresso maker, bean-to-cup machine, cafetiere or filter machine.

For a quick and easy iced coffee, you’ll just need a few simple ingredients: 200ml black coffee, made using freshly roasted beans; 50ml milk; a few handfuls of ice; sugar or coffee syrups, but only if you prefer your drink a little sweeter.

1. Start by preparing a cup of black coffee through your usual method. We strongly recommend using freshly roasted coffee beans to make your coffee and suggest preparing 200ml of black coffee.
2. Allow the black coffee to go completely cold, either by chilling in the fridge or leaving out in a cool place.
3. Once the black coffee is cold, pour it into a blender along with 50ml of milk and a few handfuls of ice. You can add something to sweeten the coffee a bit if you like, such as sugar or syrup.
4. Blend until the drink is smooth, then pour into a chilled glass and enjoy.

How to Make the Perfect Cold Brew

A cold brew coffee differs from an iced coffee and involves a longer preparation method, whereby ground coffee is added to cold water and allowed to brew, in a cold environment, for usually for between 12 and 24 hours.

You may find that cold brew coffee is a little smoother and naturally sweeter than iced coffee, as the subtle characteristics of particular coffee beans are slowly and gently extracted over a longer period of time than with an iced coffee.

The process of making a cold brew creates a smooth and sweet-tasting drink, without the bitterness that you may find in an iced coffee.

1. Start with a quality coffee bean that has been coarsely ground. We would recommend our ‘Percolator’ grind pre-ground coffees as an ideal coarseness.
2. A good ratio of ground coffee to water is 1:8, so 50g of coffee to 400ml of water for example.
3. Put the coffee and water in a jug or jar and give it a very gentle stir.
4. Place the mixture in the refrigerator and leave it to infuse for at least 12 hours, but not more than 24 hours.
5. After 12-24 hours, you can discard the coffee grounds if using a device with a filter or strain the coffee through coffee filter paper or a few pieces of kitchen towel into another clean container.
6. Now your cold brew coffee is ready and can be enjoyed with the addition of ice or milk!