Iced Shaken Espresso: An Easy 5-Minute Recipe for Summer

Once the weather starts heating up, it feels like the only way to make it through the day is with an iced coffee in hand.

Iced shaken espresso is an easy, no-fuss way to make easy, foamy cold coffee. It’s not only refreshing but also very satisfying.

This is an easy, tasty drink that you can make in less than five minutes. It’s a great summer drink because it’s chilled, and it has lots of flavors.

What is an iced shaken espresso?

We all need a little more caffeine in our lives, and this iced shaken espresso is the perfect sweet and cool summertime treat. But what exactly is an iced shaken espresso?

An iced shaken espresso is made by shaking espresso shots and simple syrup on ice to create an airy and full-bodied cold espresso; this is then poured over ice with a splash of milk added.

The flavor of an iced shaken espresso is just slightly sweet, but with all the robust espresso flavors coming through.

Then, there’s the added milk that perfectly balances the drink and makes it an easygoing drink to enjoy whenever you need a pick-me-up!

You can use the same shaken espresso technique to make a Freddo cappuccino and iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso.

What ingredients do I need to make an iced shaken espresso?

To make an iced shaken espresso at home, you need four components that you probably already have at home. You’ll need the following items:

• Espresso coffee
• Whole milk
• Simple syrup
• Ice cubes

That’s everything you need. The best part? You can make it with any kind of milk you have at home!

It’s the perfect drink to finish that last bit of milk or milk alternative you have in your fridge. With every kind of milk or dairy-free alternative, you’ll create a different flavored iced shaken espresso.

You can choose to use regular ice cubes or make a batch of coffee ice cubes beforehand.

The coffee ice cubes will slowly release more coffee flavor into your drink once they begin to melt, whereas regular ice cubes will just dilute your coffee with water, making it less strong.

If you want to learn how to make coffee ice cubes at home, you can check out my easy guide to making them here.

I’ll talk more about how to make good espresso coffee at home, which coffee roast works well, and how to make the simple syrup yourself below.

After that, I’ve listed the recipe card and some variation tips, so you can make a shaken espresso that suits your flavor perfectly!

How do you make a good espresso at home?

Making a great iced shaken espresso starts with an amazing basis; the espresso.

If you want to make great-tasting espresso coffee at home, you can use multiple techniques and coffee brewers.

Have a look below for the different ways you can make the basis to this drink:

• Use an espresso machine for the best espresso coffee with a good crema.
• You can use an AeroPress if you want to use a coffee brewer that produces great espresso-like coffee and can also brew other coffees.
• Try using a Moka pot if you want to brew espresso-like coffee that is close to the flavor of espresso made with an espresso machine but is a lot more affordable.
• Use your Nespresso or Keurig machine to produce some espresso shots for you. Choose a coffee pod with good strength for the most balanced iced shaken espresso.

Depending on the equipment you have at home, you can choose one of the techniques.

All of the above-listed coffee brewers will produce some amazing coffee that is good in strength and will be a great basis for this recipe.

Are you interested in learning to brew coffee with these coffee brewers? You can check out my beginner’s guide to brewing coffee to learn everything about it!

To make this recipe as delicious as possible, I suggest using your favorite coffee beans. Read along for my thoughts on the coffee roasts that work well with this recipe:

Which coffee roast works best with this recipe?

To make a strong espresso basis, you can best use dark roasted coffee beans. I recommend the following coffee roasts for the coffee brewer you’re using:

Coffee brewer:	Coffee roast:
Espresso machine	Dark roast or light roast
Moka pot	Dark roast
AeroPress	Dark or medium roast

These are my recommendations on the different coffee roasts you can use; you can change them depending on your preferred flavor profile.

A very interesting combination that I recently found is using a lighter roast while brewing with an espresso machine.

I’ve used Starbucks’ light roast in iced coffee before, but brewing it with an espresso machine made it even more interesting.

For the AeroPress and Moka pot, you can use a dark to medium roast, which will give you the strength of espresso coffee while still having a bit more depth.

Do you have a great coffee bean or coffee roast you like to use? Let me know in the comments so that I can give it a try myself!

How do you shake the espresso?

Making shaken espresso is easy, and you can use different techniques for this. You can use a cocktail shaker or mason jar.

A cocktail shaker will get you the best result the quickest, but you can also use a mason jar or other resealable jar that you have at home.

Then, once you have collected the jar of choice, brewed the espresso coffee, and have some ice cubes ready, you can follow the steps below:

1. Add ice cubes to the cocktail shaker or resealable jar of choice. I like to use about six ice cubes for this.
2. Pour the espresso coffee and simple syrup into the jar and close the lid.
3. Shake the iced espresso until a nice layer of foam appears and the espresso is cooled completely. This takes about 30 seconds of generous shaking.

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Now that you know how to shake the espresso, let’s get into the full recipe:

How do you make simple syrup at home?

Simple syrup is just as simple as it sounds. By combining just two ingredients, you can make a delicious sweetener for coffee. You’ll need:

• 1/2 cup (0.12 l) of cold tap water
• 120 grams of white granulated sugar

Once you’ve collected those ingredients, you can start making the syrup following the steps listed below:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and place it on the stove on medium heat.
2. While stirring, heat the mixture until the sugar starts to dissolve; this takes about two minutes.
3. After the sugar has fully dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and let the syrup cool.
4. Once it’s cooled fully, transfer it to a resealable jar and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
5. You can keep it well in the fridge for about a week, but let’s be honest, it’ll probably be finished within a few days (this happens to me most of the time).

5 recipe variation tips to make a unique iced shaken espresso

If you want to switch things up and make a different variation to this recipe, have a look below for some inspiration:

1. Use cold foam to create a different texture. You can best use lower-fat milk for this.
2. Sweeten your iced shaken espresso with different coffee syrups; blueberry syrup combines perfectly.
3. Add some pumpkin spices to your drink, just like an iced pumpkin spice latte for a unique combination.
4. Leave out the simple syrup and sweeten the coffee with condensed milk instead. (Which is also great for iced coffee)
5. Mix in some white chocolate sauce for a decadent twist on this recipe.

Those are some of my favorite ways to make this recipe stand out. Do you have a great add-in you like to add? Let me know in the comments.

Conclusion

If you like to drink espresso coffee on a daily basis, you’ll love this refreshing and easy-to-make iced shaken espresso.

It uses enough espresso coffee to make it taste strong, but the added simple syrup and milk give it that extra layer of sweetness and roundness.

This is the perfect drink to enjoy on a hot summer day, but it also works well as a great start to your day. Just don’t forget to give the regular iced espresso recipe a try as well!

Do you like the taste of 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!

More iced coffee recipes

• Vanilla Iced Coffee: An Easy 5-Minute Recipe You Should Try
• Iced Cappuccino Recipe: A Lovely Iced Version of the Classic
• Iced White Chocolate Mocha: An Easy Recipe to Try