Coffee Recipes

Yes, a cortado can be iced, but why are some coffee purists up in arms about this drink? Just about any milk and espresso drink can be iced. An iced latte/cortado/cappuccino is basically the same drink – espresso with varying amounts of cold milk. But since a cortado is a small drink (usually a double espresso with equal parts steamed/frothed milk – 4oz total), it just ends up being somewhat of an awkward drink where you have more ice than liquid.

When served hot, there are varying amounts of foam that is frothed – with the cappuccino getting a thicker microfoam than the others. When you ice it and just add milk to the espresso, you can really lose the original character of the hot drink. With that said, if you enjoy it iced, then go for it! Cold milk can be frothed as well, so some cafes may add some cold foam to the iced espresso drinks with milk.

My quick recipe for an iced cortado calls for a double shot of espresso over ice. Use as large as a piece of ice as possible to chill the espresso quickly without diluting too much. Whip up 2-3oz of milk into a cold foam with a frother and pour on top of your espresso. Enjoy!

Why so much hate in specialty coffee?

It’s true that if you order an iced cortado or an iced cappuccino at most cafes, you might get a condescending or annoyed look from the barista. But why are coffee people so judgmental about how other people want to drink their coffee? Usually you get an answer like “the barista takes special effort to craft the beverage in order to showcase certain flavor profiles and nuances. When someone customizes their drink, it can greatly affect the way the drink was originally intended to taste.” That’s absolutely can be true, and I have my own quirks and pet peeves about my drinks (no extra hot milk! It changes the flavor and texture! I’ll write about this later and link here).

However, not everyone is super into tasting blueberries and floral notes in their coffee…they just want what they are used to. And that’s ok! I think the coffee world should be more accepting of different preferences in coffee drinks. One trait that can greatly affect the type of coffee you like is whether or not you are a supertaster!

I like my cold brew super strong and concentrated. And I like to use a pretty dark roast. (If you don’t agree with my choice of roast, at least read my bit on Why all the hate on cold brew)My whole bean of choice is Corsica dark roast by La Colombe. I use a 5:1 ratio of water:coffee and I let it steep for 12-24 hours. I filter it and store in the fridge. When I’m ready to drink it, I don’t dilute it with any water. I add some simple syrup, half and half, and some ice cubes. It tastes super chocolatey and delicious!

Here is my exact recipe that I use to make my cold brew. You can obviously scale the recipe to your liking, or you can adjust to your own taste. Other tools and equipment may be substituted as well.

List of ingredients and tools/equipment:

• 200 grams of La Colombe Corsica whole bean coffee. [I prefer a dark roast]
• 1000 grams of filtered water at room temp or tap temp. [1 liter or 1000ml or 1 quart is close enough]
• Baratza Virtuoso burr grinder
• Glass mason jar – 8 cup capacity [2 quarts or 2 liters]
• Hario v60 pourover dripper [clear plastic size 02]
• Hario v60 paper filters [tabbed size 02]
• 2 cups of sugar
• Half and half
• [optional] My favorite container for storing and serving cold brew – Counterscaping Tupperware Liquid

Grind 200g of coffee to a medium/fine size, similar to drip coffee. Add to the mason jar with the filtered tap water and stir until all the grounds are saturated. Cover and leave on the counter or in the fridge for at least 12 hours – I generally go 24 hours. The filtering step can get a bit messy and this is where a Toddy or other cold brew apparatus might come in handy. I set the v60 on top of my tupperware with a paper filter and pour the cold brew through it. Even with a good grinder like the Baratza, I still get quite a bit of fines or powdery coffee grounds which will clog the filter after a few pours. If you have the patience, you can wait for it to drain; or after it starts to clog, just replace the paper filter with a new one. Store in the fridge (most say for up to 2 weeks, but I’ve gone longer without bodily harm).

Combine 2 cups of sugar with 2 cups of water and heat on the stove until the sugar is fully dissolved. Pour into a storage container (I have a smaller Tupperware container for this) and store in the fridge.

Ready for a delicious, refreshing cup of cold coffee? I start with about half a cup of cold brew concentrate, then add half-and-half and some simple syrup to taste. Stir, add in a few ice cubes, and enjoy! If you add the half-and-half last, then you can get these Instagram worthy photos of the creamer mixing into the coffee with these cool turbulent patterns!

If you are short on time and need a quicker iced coffee fix, here are two other options for cold coffee. For something that is close to the dessert-ish dark roast cold brew recipe above, I’d recommend brewing hot as a concentrate then chilling the coffee. This still might take a couple hours to wait for the concentrate to chill in the fridge, but you can speed it up with an ice bath or even throwing it in the freezer. If you are looking for an iced coffee with a light or medium roast, I’d recommend a flash brew recipe sometimes known as Japanese style iced coffee.