It’s summertime, and the living is easy. The days are getting longer and warmer, which means making the most of your outdoor space and keeping yourself hydrated.
One of my favorite ways to do both? Iced espresso. It’s so simple and delicious and can be customized to taste like your favorite coffee shop drink.
In this article, I’ll tell you all about the iced espresso, how to make it, what coffee beans are best used, and how you can sweeten it however you like. Let’s get into it:
What is an iced espresso?
An iced espresso is a drink made by pouring espresso shots in an ice-filled glass, then adding cold tap water to dilute the drink a bit.
Diluting the iced espresso is optional. You can also make your iced espresso by just adding espresso shots to a glass filled with ice and giving it a good stir for that refreshing touch.
Below, I’ll talk about all the ways you can make this drink and how you can customize it to your liking.
How do you ice an espresso?
Iced espresso is easy to make, and you probably already have everything you need in your own kitchen to make it right now.
You can easily ice an espresso by filling a tall glass with enough ice cubes to fill it about halfway. Then, after brewing your amazing espresso shots, you can pour them into the ice-filled glass.
After that, you can dilute it with different ingredients of choice. I’ll talk more about this later on. First, let’s talk about the different ways to prepare the espresso ahead of time:
Can you make espresso and put it in the fridge?
You can store your freshly brewed espresso coffee in the fridge. To do so, let the espresso coffee cool slightly. Then, cover the espresso and place it in the refrigerator.
It’s best to cool the espresso in the fridge overnight. By storing it in the refrigerator, you can make an iced espresso within minutes the following day.
Because of the already cooled espresso coffee, you can also use fewer ice cubes to cool your coffee because the coffee is already chilled all the way.
How to prepare espresso coffee at home?
There are multiple ways to make espresso coffee at home. The best way to make espresso at home is with an espresso machine.
If you have an espresso machine at home, you can pull two espresso shots from your machine and use them for this recipe.
There are a few other ways to make espresso-like coffee at home, using different techniques:
- You can use a Moka pot to make espresso coffee.
- You can brew espresso-like coffee with an AeroPress.
- Using your Nespresso or Keurig machine is also an option for this recipe.
- Optionally, you can make espresso-like coffee in your French press.
The above-listed ways to make espresso-like coffee are all great, and it all depends on what coffee brewer you have at home.
If you pick either of the above, you’ll be making this iced espresso recipe within minutes!
Are you interested in learning to brew coffee with a Moka pot and AeroPress? Then can check out my beginner’s guide to brewing coffee. Over there, I’ll guide you through every step on making coffee with these brewers.
Tip: Do you want to try a new fun way to make espresso-like coffee at home? Then you can find more information about brewing espresso in a French press here.
What coffee beans are best used for this coffee?
When making espresso coffee at home, you want to use dark roasted coffee beans.
Dark roasted coffee beans have that unique, robust coffee flavor that we all know and love. The strong smell and coffee flavor it produces works amazing when served on ice.
If you don’t have dark roasted coffee beans at home, then you can also try one of the above-listed techniques using medium roasted coffee beans.
I’ve already tried brewing coffee with the Moka pot and AeroPress using medium roasted coffee beans, which turned out pretty well.
Although the robust flavors you can find in a dark roast are not there, you’ll still get a strong coffee flavor that tastes nice.
I don’t recommend using light roasted coffee beans to make espresso at home. Light roasted coffee beans have a unique flavor that doesn’t get the love it deserves when brewing with one of the above-listed coffee brewers.
Now that you know all about making espresso coffee, it’s time to make an iced espresso at home:
Iced Espresso
This iced espresso is a refreshing drink perfect for those hot summer months!
Ingredients
- Two espresso shots
- Ice cubes
- A splash of water or milk
- Optionally, a sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Start brewing your espresso shots using your coffee brewer of choice. I'm using the AeroPress to prepare the espresso shots.
- After brewing the espresso coffee, let it cool slightly. You can add one or two ice cubes to speed up this process.
- Fill a glass with a handful of ice cubes. I like to fill my glass to about halfway, so I'm sure my coffee is nice and cold.
- After cooling the espressos shots, add them to the ice-filled glass.
- Your iced espresso is now done. You can add a bit of cold tap water to dilute it slightly, which I prefer.
You can also add a splash of milk to your iced espresso. Do you like a sweeter coffee? Then you can also add your favorite sweetener to the glass.
Notes
Have a look below for inspiration about different sweeteners you can add to your freshly brewed iced espresso.
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Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1
If you're not using a sweetener or splash of milk for this recipe, this drink doesn't have any calories.
How to sweeten an iced espresso
After making your iced espresso, you can customize it the way you like. Because espresso coffee is quite strong in flavor, you might like to add a sweetener to your coffee.
Below, I’ve listed a few amazing sweeteners that you can make at home. All of these sweeteners are already used in coffee recipes, so they’ll work well with this iced espresso:
Whenever I make an iced espresso, I like to add just a splash of cold tap water. The added water will dilute the espresso coffee slightly while still retaining all its delicious flavor.
Because of the water, I can sip on it for longer, which is awesome when I enjoy it while sitting out in the sun.
If you like to add a splash of milk to your regular iced coffees, then you’ll also love the addition of milk in this iced espresso. (You can learn the difference between the two coffees here)
Do you have a favorite add-in? I’d love to hear about it below in the comments so that I can give it a try as well!
Conclusion
This iced espresso recipe is easy to make while still being delicious. Because it requires almost no effort to make espresso coffee, you’ll enjoy this refreshing drink within minutes!
I like icing my espressos whenever the warm weather rolls in. With warmer weather, hot coffee tastes less amazing. The iced espresso will still get me that excellent flavor and caffeine; with a refreshing touch, it’s just perfect.
If you like making iced coffee at home, you can have a look below for more inspiration. I’ve listed a few more iced coffee recipes that are easy to make, so it’s perfect for the time of year.
Do you like drinking espresso coffee? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!
