How to Make Iced Coffee

Whether you want to make it special or just have some leftover coffee from breakfast, iced coffee can be a refreshing afternoon treat. If it's really hot outside and you want to cool down but still get your caffeine and coffee flavor, iced coffee is the way to go.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Pitcher or carafe
• Dark-roasted coffee grounds
• Sweetener
• Coffee maker
• Ice
• 10- to 12-oz. glass
• Milk
• Water
• Tall plastic cups

Standard Iced Coffee

1. Brew a pot of fresh coffee using 2 tablespoons of dark-roasted ground coffee per cup.

2. 

   Transfer the hot coffee to a carafe or pitcher.

3. Let the coffee stand at room temperature for 3 to 5 hours, or refrigerate it until cold, about 1 1/2 to 3 hours.

4. 

   Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.

5. 

   Pour the chilled coffee into the glass.

6. 

   Stir the coffee to equalize its temperature. Add milk if you like.

Quick Iced Coffee

1. Brew a pot of fresh coffee using 3 to 4 tablespoons of dark-roasted ground coffee per cup.

2. Add sugar to the hot coffee if you would like to sweeten the whole pot of coffee; it will dissolve more easily in hot coffee than in iced coffee.

3. Fill tall, plastic (not glass!) glasses with ice cubes and pour the hot coffee over them.

Tips & Warnings

• Iced coffee is best with darker-roast coffee blends. Experiment to find the one you like best.

• Make ice cubes out of room-temperature coffee. Store them in the freezer and make undiluted iced coffee any time.

• For a decadent version of iced coffee, stir sweetened condensed milk into warm coffee before pouring it over ice.

• Never put a pot of hot coffee directly in the refrigerator. The rapid change in temperature can crack the glass.