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How To Make Frozen Coffee
How to make blended iced coffee at home that’s super refreshing.
Published February 7, 2022
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Chandra Melo
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Coffee is definitely one of the most versatile drinks there is. While it might be best associated with chilly mornings where a hot cup of coffee warms you up and provides the caffeine boost you need to start your day, coffee can also work just as well as a cooling, thirst-quenching drink on a hot summer’s dray. Frozen coffee is a popular drink throughout the summer months. It’s not really frozen, but rather coffee blended with ice. These drinks are sold by many popular coffee shops including Starbucks, where you can get a range of coffee-based and non-coffee Frappucinos.
If you have never blended coffee with ice before, then it’s important to be prepared because it is really not as easy as it looks. You need to get all the factors right, including the temperature of your coffee. If you pour hot coffee straight from the coffee machine into the ice, then it’s just going to be a melted, watery mess. To get the best results you need coffee that is room temperature – the colder, the better.
Cold brew coffee is a great choice for making blended iced coffee due to the intense flavors. In fact, you don’t even have to brew the coffee, just fill a lidded jar with coffee beans and water and let it sit overnight before stirring and allowing the water to become infused with the flavors.
How to Make Blended Frozen Coffee
If you are wondering how to make a blended coffee at home, you’re in the right place. You can make an iced coffee recipe with blender and a few simple ingredients. There are a few challenges to be aware of before you start gathering everything that you need. If you add too little liquid, your blender might end up getting stuck. On the other hand, if you add too much liquid, your iced coffee is going to be too watery.
You should also consider how you are going to sweeten your coffee if you like it sweet. Sugar is an ideal choice since this can be used to sweeten the coffee beforehand, preventing too many ingredients from ending up in the blender and giving you more control over the process.
Finally, the ice cubes that you use are also important. Fresh ice cubes will get you the best results; they should be completely solid and not melted at all. This will also prevent the drink from becoming watered down. Since frozen coffee will melt rather quickly, you should always pour and serve it immediately.
Variations of Frozen Coffee
There are several things that you can do to make your frozen coffee taste a little bit different. A few ounces of chocolate syrup added to the mixture will turn the frozen coffee into a tasty frozen mocha, or you can add various coffee syrups or extracts to change the flavor of your coffee entirely. You can also easily make your coffee creamier by adding a splash of milk.
Making Frozen Blended Coffee
How to make cold coffee at home with blender? You will need the following ingredients:
- One cup of fresh ice
- One cup of chilled coffee
- Two teaspoons of sugar
- Two tablespoons of whipped cream
To make your coffee:
- Make the cold brew coffee using the method that you prefer. A common method is to soak roasted coffee beans with water in the fridge for twenty-four hours. Mix it well and sweeten with the sugar.
- Place the ice and half a cup of coffee into your blender. Start the blender, and slowly add more coffee through the hole in the lid.
- Pour in a glass and top with whipped cream to serve.
Tips for Making Better Blended Iced Coffee
Making the perfect blended coffee at home can take some practice, but if you love a frozen coffee drink on a hot day and don’t want to spend a lot of money getting Frappuccinos from Starbucks all the time, then it’s well worth perfecting your method. To get the best results from your cold coffee recipes, keep the following in mind:
Choosing the Right Amount of Ice
The recipe for blended coffee has a lot of ice in it, as the main aim is to create a light, frozen drink that has a texture that is somewhere between ice cream and a smoothie. If you’re not happy with the final texture of your blended coffee, then you might want to consider experimenting with the amount of ice that you use. You may be surprised to find just how different your coffee tastes with a different texture. More ice will result in a granular texture, while less ice will be similar to a smoothie. However, bear in mind that since it is frozen water after all, changing the amount of ice that you use in the drink will also have an impact on the flavor. Ideally, the best ratio of coffee to ice for the perfect balance and taste is 2:1.
Choosing the Right Coffee
When making blended frozen coffee at home, the type of coffee that you use is up to you. Since there are many ingredients, it might not always be the best idea to use an expensive specialty coffee as you simply won’t be able to appreciate all those subtle coffee hints and flavors once it has been blended with ice, whipped cream, and any other flavors that you use. A medium-dark roast is often a perfect choice. Darker roasts tend to have more powerful flavors that will cut through the ice, cream, and other flavorings so that your coffee flavor doesn’t end up getting lost in the drink.
Making Cold Brew
For the best results from your iced coffee, one of the best tricks is to replace regular brewed coffee with cold brew. A cold brew concentrate can work a lot better than brewing a hot cup of coffee and waiting for it to cool down, even though it will take a little bit more preparation, so be sure to adjust the time you need accordingly. Cold brewing coffee will emphasize and highlight the natural sweetness of the coffee, making it a perfect choice for a frozen coffee drink.
To make cold brew, use a 7:1 ratio of water to coffee and steep it for around sixteen hours at room temperature. Coarsely ground coffee is the best choice for cold brew. Pre-ground coffee can work, however, make sure that the grind size is right as if your grinds are too fine, you will risk the coffee over-extracting and the last thing that you want is bitterness in your frozen coffee drink. When you follow the 7:1 water to coffee ratio to make cold brew, you should end up with a concentrated cold brew that you will have no problem tasting in your drink. However, bear in mind that concentrated cold brew is higher in caffeine compared to regular coffee, so be careful not to get the jitters.
How to Choose the Right Blender for Frozen Coffee
If you want to start making your own blended frozen coffee drinks at home for the summer, then the last thing that you want is to switch your blender on to find that it’s not going to cut through the ice and make the drink that you want. Whether you need to replace your existing blender or are buying a blender for the first time to start making frozen coffee, there are a few things to look out for before parting with your money.
Functions:
Most blenders have the same basic functions with different speed settings. This will vary from one up to twenty different speed sections depending on the blender that you go for. Ideally, if you want a blender to make frozen coffee, you should pick one that has a good smoothie setting since this will be designed for crushing ice.
Blender Type:
A countertop blender is the best choice of blender for making frozen coffee. These are full-size blenders that come with a large base and a large pitcher that you place food or liquids inside to blend. However, if you don’t have a lot of space in your kitchen, you may want to consider getting an immersion blender to make frozen coffee. These are inserted into a pot containing the food or drink that you want to blend. However, they are not as fast as a countertop blender, so there is a higher risk of the ice melting as a result. Another good option to consider if you want to save space is a personal blender. These are small blenders with a pitcher that usually doubles up as a cup, designed for making one drink for yourself and ideal if you’re only making iced coffee for one.
In the summer, blended frozen coffee can be an energy-boosting, refreshing drink to enjoy. But before you head to Starbucks and pay full price for a frappucino, why not learn how to make your own blended coffee at home?
About the author
Chandra Melo
Marketing as job, barista as passion. An authentic coffee lover, looking for the next fantastic cup of coffee that I will fall in love with. Coffee, for me, is more than a beverage. It's about community and connection - how can all the world consume the same fruit? And differently? How can we have so many different tastes? I also don't know. And because of this, I feel in love each day more for this world. Happy to share and make a change in the coffee community.
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