Recipes
The Perfect Iced Latte in 5 Minutes
The whole game is one rule: start strong, because the ice is coming for your flavor. Plus how to make it stronger, sweeter, or lighter.
The short answer. An iced latte is 3 to 4 fl oz (90 to 120 ml) of concentrated coffee poured over a glass full of ice and topped with 4 to 6 fl oz (120 to 180 ml) of cold milk. The one thing that makes it work: start strong, because melting ice comes for your flavor. Give the hot coffee two minutes to cool before it hits the ice and the drink stays cold, strong, and clear-tasting.
The iced latte is summer's answer to the morning ritual, and it's almost embarrassingly easy to make well. The whole game is one principle: start strong, because the ice is coming for your flavor. Get that right and you'll never pay six bucks for one again.
Brew the coffee concentrated: moka pot, AeroPress, espresso, or double-strength drip.
The watered-down problem
Regular-strength coffee over ice tastes thin and sad within minutes. The fix is brewing concentrated: moka pot, AeroPress, espresso if you've got it, or double-strength drip (same water, twice the grounds). You want roughly 3 to 4 oz of strong coffee per glass.
How to make it
1. Brew strong, brew small
A moka pot's worth of Resurrection Espresso is perfect here. The milk chocolate notes taste like dessert over ice. (Moka pot guide.)
2. Cool it 2 minutes
Pouring boiling coffee straight onto ice melts half of it instantly and waters your drink down. Two minutes of patience keeps it cold and strong. In a hurry? Stir the hot coffee with a metal spoon for 30 seconds.
3. Build the glass
Fill a tall glass all the way with ice. Pour in the coffee. Top with 4 to 6 oz of cold milk and watch the swirl, which is the best part.
4. Sweeten smart
Granulated sugar won't dissolve in a cold drink (hello, sad gritty bottom). Use honey or maple stirred into the hot coffee, or keep simple syrup in the fridge.
Dial It Your Way
- Stronger: add a shot or use less milk; coffee ice cubes (frozen leftover coffee) keep it from watering down at all.
- Sweeter: more simple syrup, or a flavored syrup stirred into the warm coffee.
- Lighter: unsweetened almond milk and a no-cal sweetener (see the skinny version).
- Zero-effort: keep cold brew concentrate in the fridge and it's a 30-second pour.
Sunshine, a sweating glass, and good coffee you made with your own two hands. Lovely. Make a second one for the person on the porch next to you.
Coffee after the guide
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