Iced Coffee

My coffee addiction started in college.  It got me through the days of classes and double workouts at the gym.  When I got hired on at the local coffeehouse in town, it was over (in a good way I mean.)  I am 100% honest when I say that it changed my life.  It gave me an appreciation for different personalities and types of people.  You will not find more personality or character than at a legit, non-commercial, coffee house.  It gave me a love for baking (the owner made all of her food fresh daily,) and it gave me my dream of one day opening my own coffee place. 

With that said, when I saw this recipe for an iced coffee concentrate, I absolutely had to try it out.  The hubs and I make our own version of iced coffee at night from that mornings leftovers, and it’s good but not always up to par.  Sometimes, there isn’t any left from the morning and sometimes, the coffee just isn’t strong enough to taste good when you add the milk and ice to it.  To have bulk coffee concentrate on hand at all times sounded lovely.  Plus, I needed something to get me through this pile of laundry tonight:

 Eeeek!

The actual name of the recipe from the pioneer woman is “Perfect Iced Coffee,” and I must say that it held up to its name.  It’s everything I had hoped for and more.

Rhee (no, we are not on a first name basis at all, but I can pretend) claims that it’s super easy to make.  I won’t say she is wrong, but it took more work than our normal method of pouring some old coffee into a cup with some milk.    It’s worth the extra work and it makes enough that you only have to do it once a month, depending on how much you drink.  Her recipe called for restaurant style containers to hold the amount of liquid needed.  I adjusted the recipe to fit the biggest container I had. 

 Grab the largest bowl, pan, horse trough you can find and pour in the coffee grounds.

Pour in the water

Stir it all around to get the coffee incorporated

Put a lid on it and don't touch for at least 8 hours.  This will be difficult to do when you got a caffeine craving.

......

 .....

   .....

8 hours later  

Line another pan (or large tea pitcher as I did) with a sieve and then a layer of cheese cloth.  I couldn't find any cheese cloth in time so I used paper towels.  

Start slowly pouring in the coffee, careful not to make a mess.  This took a good 30 min. for all the coffee to filter.  Patience young grasshopper!!!

Transfer the yummy goodness to whatever your going to store it in. 

Then, this is the hardest part yet.  Do Not, I repeat, do not pour yourself a glass at this point.  It has to be cold.  

Put in the refrigerator until cold.

When it's ready, 

Get yourself a glass of ice, 

Fill half way with the coffee

And top off with your choice of dairy. I chose half and half.  I guess I got so excited, I spilled some.  

And there you have it.  You won't find anything better, anywhere.

*on a side note, if your feeling really frisky, you can pour in a little sweetened condensed milk.  It will make your forget all your worries*  Speaking of, where's that laundry?

The recipe: (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

3 Cups of fresh ground coffee (something bold)

14 Cups of cold water

Ice

Whatever milk you want to add