This Is How To Make Iced Coffee Taste Like The Pros

Iced coffee is so dang expensive. This is why we should make it ourselves! But how?

It's summer, the time of year when we as a collective body of caffeine addicts all switch from hot cups to the refreshing crispness of coffee on ice. But it's so dang expensive (due to the fact that it actually takes more coffee, labor, and time to make it, but whatever).

This is why we should make it ourselves! But how? Since Hawaii is the only United State to grow coffee commercially, we figured they might know a thing or two about this.

Karen Paterson is the cofounder of Hula Daddy Kona Coffee, a farm in Holualoa on the Big Island that has produced high-end Kona coffee since 2002. Because of all the coffee she's tasted throughout the day, every day, for the past 12 years, she knows how to make a cup of coffee reach its full potential.

When it comes to iced coffee, she says there are two ways to do it: You can brew a stronger cup of hot coffee and pour it over ice cubes made from frozen coffee, or brew it cold.

Deciding which method to use depends on what you're after, Paterson told HuffPost. "Hot brewed has more flavor and higher acidity, but is harder to store." Cold brewed doesn't have as much flavor, losing the high and low notes that you find in hot coffee, she says, "but it has a lower acid level, which makes it a smoother-tasting coffee. And you can store it in the refrigerator until you're ready."

We also hear it's amazing with ginger.

Things you need:

  • 1/3 cup of heavier-bodied coffee beans: Paterson recommends darker roasts such as Sumatra and Brazilian.
  • 1 1/2 cups of cold, filtered water: "Filtered water makes better coffee," she says.
  • Coffee grinder
  • Spices (optional): Experiment by mixing the grinds with spices such as nutmeg, ginger, coconut or cinnamon.

What to do:

  • Grind the coffee coarse enough for a French press. "It's easiest in a French press," Paterson says.
  • Fill the press with the water and ground coffee, "but don't push the plunger down. Let it sit in the refrigerator for however long you want." It's best anywhere from 12 to 48 hours.
  • "Then press the plunger down and your coffee is ready to go." (If you don't have a French press, you can use a jar the same way, just pour the cold brew through a filter.)
  • Drink it up.

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