~Ice, Ice, Baby~

~Ice, Ice, Baby~
~by Sarah Calvello~

  The traveling coffee; here is my recommend for the girl, or

   anyone, on the go. The key to smooth tasting iced

   coffee is to cold brew it with no water involved. But

   that doesn't make too much sense when you hear

   about it, right? It took me awhile to figure that out.

   I’d tried to make iced coffee simply by cooling my

   leftover morning coffee and pouring it over ice. It

   always tasted way too bitter. Turns out that cold-

   brewed coffee is 67% less acidic than when it’s hot-

   brewed. That acid is what causes the bitter taste that

   is especially pronounced when it’s drunk cold.” The

   acid taste is not too friendly to your tummy, is it?

   This is a simple way to make a strong iced coffee to

   last you for most of the day.  Make it a day ahead by

   soaking ground coffee in water overnight, which is 12

   hours. Strain out the grounds, and what's left is a

   liquid coffee concentrate that can be stored in the

   fridge for up to 4 weeks. Pretty interesting to know to

   impress people with, right? If you want to make a

   glass of iced coffee at any time, just pour some of the

   coffee concentrate over ice, add milk and sweetener if

   you want any, and stir. Thats all you have to do. It's

   smooth, refreshing, and delicious without any

   bitterness. Who knew something this good you

   usually buy in cafes could be so easy?

   You can drink it hot, too. This method isn't just for

   making iced coffee. It's becoming more popular these

   days to cold-brew coffee, store the coffee

   concentrate in the fridge, and heat it for a cup of hot

   coffee.  The low acidity and bitterness makes for a

   smooth and nice cup of hot coffee. It looks weird, but

   once it's made, its worth it.

   Cold-Brew Iced Coffee

   It's a breeze to cold-brew coffee. I'll bet you on it.

   ~Get It Together~

   Coffee: Medium ground of whatever brand you prefer.

   It tastes better if you grind the beans yourself before

   you brew it. But who has time for that, really, I don't.

   If you want it in a hurry, buy it ground or get it

   ground at the store. You'll need 1 cup of ground

   coffee to make 3 cups of cold-brew coffee

   concentrate, which is enough for six 8-oz iced  

   coffees.

   Filtered water--I use a Brita pitcher to filter our tap

   water. Filtered water is used by Starbucks and other
 
                        cafes to make clean tasting coffee. It's not just about
 
                        the coffee, the water needs to be clean and good

                        tasting as well. A filter pitcher is the easiest way to

                        accomplish that. You can buy it at pretty much any

                        grocery stores, or even online at Amazon. I don't

                        know about you, but I want my coffee to taste fresh  
 
                        and clean.

                       To Be Sweet or not to be Sweet. There's no correct

                       answer; so only if you want them to be. Do you like your

                     coffee black and unsweetened, or creamy and

                     desserty? I use Lucerne creamer at Safeway or any

                    grocery store, thats the cheapest and good brand I've
 
                    seen around so far. If you like it sweeter, I

                   recommend the Mexican Chocolate or Mochiatto

                   creamer, or on the softer tasting side Cinnamon

                   vanilla.  Its fun to be able to do whatever you want

                  with your iced coffee, huh? It's also good with brown

                 sugar and milk if you want to go in that direction.

                Iced coffee is a traveling something extra to power

               through the day. Make everything just a little bit sweeter.

               Brew it black, then change it to suit your personality, like your

               daily coffee mood ring.