Anyone make their own iced coffee?

[Shortie]

Once in a while I stop at Dunkin Donuts on my way to work and treat myself to an iced coffee. Today I stopped and discovered that the price for a medium iced coffee has gone up to $2.45. This is silly, especially since I have a coffee maker at home.

Can anyone recommend a good off-the-shelf coffee that's yummy cold? Dunks iced coffee is double brewed as far as I know, so something that will give me a good kick in the pants in the morning is preferable 

[TiAvenger]

brew coffee, mix with sugar and cream, pour over ice?


I always assumed it was the sugar and milk that really gave it the flavor.....

[cyrus buelton]

TiAvenger is about spot on.


If you want the same taste as DD, then buy their brand coffee and make.


If you want really good coffee, then find some Cubita (producto of Cuba).

[Shortie]

brew coffee, mix with sugar and cream, pour over ice?


I always assumed it was the sugar and milk that really gave it the flavor.....

Eh... there's a big flavor difference between, say, Kona and Folgers. Also a big difference in price... which is why I asked for a recommendation on a store brand. I'm too cheap to buy Kona  

I've had Dunks brewed at home. It's not nearly the same. I think it's the 5 pounds of sugar they add and the cream that make it. I'd rather have a coffee that's tasty enough on its own to not have to add a ton of crap to it. That's another reason I'd like to get away from Dunks in the morning... that's 200 some odd extra calories I just don't need to add to my diet...

[TiAvenger]

edit:

[the_Journeyman]

Every now and then I do.  I usually just forget where I put it and by the time I find it I've got iced coffee 

JM

[T]

I like to make whatever coffee I have a bit stronger than usual. Fill glass with ice add coffee, extra sugar and cream and then shake it up bartender style so it gets all frothy.. yum. Or just toss it back and forth between two glasses to make it frothy.   

[Kyna]

I used to (more) addicted to coffee in my college days and would make iced coffee regularly.  I was also extremely cheap/poor.  My solution - make a pot of coffee with a medium/dark roast maxwell house (or whatever was on sale) have my cup of hot coffee for the morning before I had to get to class.  The extra I'd pour into a pitcher with some store brand vanilla creamer, I prefer the sugar free.  Quick stir and Viola: Iced Coffee that'll last me a few days with breakfast.  By the next morning it was cold and awesome.    Repeat when pitcher empties.

I realize you didn't want to use the creamer, but the sugar free or fat free options will at least lower the calorie count.  With crappy coffee it's really the creamer that makes it tasty.

[Howie]

I don't use store brand coffees.  One thing to keep in mind is most store bought coffees turn bitter when brewed strong.  Also, for years now, the coffee can has stayed the same size but the weight has been decreasing, you are now no longer getting a pound.   Another is, hey, with the money you are  saving you can buy better coffee and still be spending less.  In terms of store brands, try Chock Full O Nuts if you can get it up there or even Dunkin Donuts, or any Italian or Spanish Espresso.  If you have a Trader Joe's up by you they have good prices.  You can blend them. All a matter of personal taste.  You want extra strong for ice coffee, yesterday's left overs work too.  Have fun!

[Grio]

My .02:

You don't want to pour hot coffee over ice.  It should be brewed strong to taste and then immediately chilled (not diluted).  A quick chill will take a lot of the bitter edge off and result in a sweeter, mellower finish product.  After the coffee is cold, you can sweeten and pour over ice.

[yamifixer]

IMO: COLD BREW put 1 lb of good grounds in 1 gallon of water lid up and set on counter for 12-24 hours. strain VERY well and chill. mix with sugar and milk to your level and  enjoy.

the difference is lovely with no bitterness.

as an extra treat make a batch and freeze in cube trays. your coffee will not get all watery.

[Kyna]

It should be brewed strong to taste and then immediately chilled (not diluted).  A quick chill will take a lot of the bitter edge off and result in a sweeter, mellower finish product.  After the coffee is cold, you can sweeten and pour over ice.

Okay, I'm a little clueless here.  How do you quick chill the coffee?  Would putting it in a pitcher in the freezer (sans ice) work?

I may try the cold brew method. I would imagine a french press would strain it well enough.

[tommys67]

I have used a french press to do the cold-brew method.

Basically, I triple the amount of coffee I'd normally put in the french press, I add cold water then let it sit in the fridge for over 24 hours.

I then press out the grounds.  What you have here is a cold brew concentrate of sorts.

I generally fill a big glass with ice, pour in the concentrate, add in milk and sugar to taste, and mix.

The ice will melt enough to dilute the concentrate to something closer to regular coffee but still really, really rich.

Also - I tend to use Peets coffee.  Other fresh ground (ground for french press) coffee will do wonders.

[Fresh Pants]

There's a coffee shop around my house that has a "cold brewed" coffee, which tends to be stronger than "hot brewed" coffee. I can't remember what it was that was different, so there's my useless information of the day.

Slightly related, but not saving any money -
Anyone try this?

http://www.bibicaffe.com/

Mmm... Bubbly tasty. It's really good over ice, with a splash of 1/2+1/2 or cream.

[c_rex]

There's a coffee shop around my house that has a "cold brewed" coffee, which tends to be stronger than "hot brewed" coffee. I can't remember what it was that was different, so there's my useless information of the day.

Well I'm no Alton Brown but the reason that espresso is less bitter and has less caffeine than regular coffee is that hot water is highly pressurized and more rapidly forced through the ground coffee when making espresso.  The water leaches more flavor and less oils/acids- or so I've been told. So it stands to reason that cold brewed DRIP coffee, which is bound to be more expansive between molecules would more readily saturate with caffeine making it more 'powerful' as the cold water more slowly passes through the coffee grounds.  Ask your coffee dewds though- I'm really curious to know what they say!

Slightly related, but not saving any money -
Anyone try this?

http://www.bibicaffe.com/
Yes- I think they're **yucky** but my wife loves them.  To each their own though!  I've only found one canned/bottled coffee that I enjoyed and that was in Tokyo from a vending machine on the street.  I think anything would have tasted good there though as I'm not into typical Japanese cuisine.  /shrug

Mmm... Bubbly tasty. It's really good over ice, with a splash of 1/2+1/2 or cream.