While hot coffee is almost always how the beverage is consumed, coffee is also extremely versatile, and over the centuries different cultures have created various methods of preparing their favourite caffeinated beverages.
From espressos to cappuccinos to frappes, there is almost an endless variety of coffee types to choose from, and one that has gained popularity immensely in recent years is iced coffee.
With the strong and bold flavour of the coffee itself, but cooled down, it makes for a unique and tasty way of drinking coffee, especially on a hot summer day. Here we will look at some of the common styles of iced coffee.
Cold Brew
One common kind of iced coffee is known as a cold brew, and it’s just as easy to find as it to make at home, using minimal equipment. It’s made by combining cool water and coffee grounds, and then making a concentrate through cold extraction.
It’s both sweet and incredibly smooth, and it’s possible to make an iced coffee concentrate that can last up to a week or longer. A cold brew concentrate can also be heated up and served hot, which can help in reducing the amount of acid that’s in the cup.
Pour Over Coffee
This is very common to find in small coffee shops, as it allows them to make a quick iced coffee which is both simple but also flexible enough for a few different flavours to be introduced.
Coffee is prepared and added to warm water, which is then combined with a pour over device. Different devices can be used, but one of the most popular is the Chemex, although a cone can also be used. It drips the mixture onto ice, quickly cooling it down and making it cool enough to drink right away.
This kind of coffee was first made popular in the country of Japan, which is why it’s often known as a Japanese style of iced coffee preparation. It’s also fairly easy to make at home, especially for those that don’t have a huge amount of time to devote to make iced coffee, but still want all the intricate flavours of an iced beverage, and makes for a fantastic choice for sipping on a hot day while checking the news, reading texts, or getting in a few rounds of online slots in Canada.
Iced Americano
Along with the cappuccino, an Americano is a popular drink that’s made by using a single shot of espresso and adding it to hot water, making for a strong and flavourful drink.
The idea here is to make it cold, and instead of it being consumed hot, the shot of espresso is poured directly on to some ice, which is then usually topped with either more ice or iced water.
Iced Americano often boasts a more robust flavour than most other kinds of iced coffee, but with the added bonus of being cold enough to drink immediately. It usually has a bit of bitterness to it, but this can easily be eliminated by adding a sweetener of some kind, such as honey.