I’m cheap, but iced coffee is the one thing I splurge on. It’s cold, it makes me happy, and it gives me energy. And I don’t care if that makes me sound like an addict, cause I flat out L-O-V-E love it and I don’t care who knows. But I hate spending money and regular homemade iced coffee doesn’t cut it.
And then I tried cold brewed coffee. And coffee ice cubes. And maple syrup instead of sugar.
Oh my gosh.
I did it. And it only takes a minute to make, and costs $1.03 per cup.
Like your coffee black? This is all you need:
Like your coffee with cream and sugar? This is what you need:
minus the heavy whipping cream which is optional
coffee, Half & half, and maple syrup. That’s it.
When it comes to cold brewed coffee, a mild roast is best because the beans aren’t heated up like crazy.
A cold brew is quick and easy, and it is what makes this recipe so good. Think about it, why would you take coffee, make it hot, then make it cold? Doesn’t that sound wrong? It takes 5 extra minutes. Try it.
put coffee into your pitcher, add water, put it in your fridge
I used a 1/4 of the bag of coffee for my size pitcher. 1 gallon water = 1/2 the bag, 2 gallons water = all of it.
I am warning you, it will not look appetizing. Yet.
Leave it alone (to brew)
You could wait overnight like me, or 8 hours if you’re impatient.
put some leftover coffee into an ice cube tray for next time (so you won’t have to wait)
pour the swamp water coffee through cheesecloth & a mesh strainer
and pour it into your schmancy glass drink dispenser. This is not required, but it’s fancy and should be.
put your coffee cubes in a cup
pour coffee into the cup
(if you like it black, stop now)
watch out, here’s the secret ingredient:
pour in some maple syrup
edited to add: Make sure it is REAL maple syrup! Avoid the kind that contains “high fructose corn syrup” because it probably does not contain any maple syrup, just maple flavoring. If given a choice between Grade A & B, pick B.
what?!?!?!!?! maple syrup?! I’m not crazy, hear me out. Don’t you hate when you have clumps of sugar on the bottom of your iced coffee? Think of maple syrup as liquid sugar, and it makes more sense.
add creamer
and then on a normal day, stop to enjoy your coffee.
But we’re feeling fancy today.
Put some heavy whipping cream in a bowl and put your kids to work making whipped cream for mommy.
when you’ve had enough of that, just put it in a mixer and let that do the upper body workout.
Top your coffee with whipped cream, and a sprinkle of sugar and coffee grounds. TRUST ME.
To be honest, I could just call this iced coffee. You really don’t taste maple syrup. But I wanted to hook ya in and make you go, “huh?!” Put in your straw and suck down every last drop. Let it take you away.
Since I’m a math girl, I broke down the price and here’s what it looks like:
$0.38 – black iced coffee
$1.03 – w/ organic cream & organic maple syrup
$1.53 – fancy w/ whipping creamGoing to the coffee shop every day: $90-150 a month.
Making iced coffee this way every day: $30 a month.MONEY SAVED: $60-120 a month, $720-1440 a year!
What do you think? Easy? Cheap? Will you try it?
How do you like your iced coffee?
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Seattle’s Best Coffee #CBias #SocialFabric. The opinions shared are my own, and I only work with brands I love and can recommend.
However, I do love coffee and this recipe, and no one can pay me to say that.
Looks yummy, even for a non coffee drinker like myself! My husband would love it (he makes up for my non coffee drinking by guzzling enough for the both of us.) Pinned this! Great job!
it is really, really good! You sound like my husband, he only likes coffee if it tastes nothing like coffee. ;)
You’re the best, Erin :) Thank you for the pin!!
Ann Marie lives here recently posted..Homemade Maple Iced Coffee
This looks devine! I may just have to try this as I am intrigued by the use of maple syrup instead of sugar!!?
Kelsey recently posted..Funfetti Cupcake Cones by See Vanessa Craft
I promise, you will not go back to using sugar in your iced coffee and maple syrup will become a staple in your house.
If I’m wrong, come let me know. ;)
(P.S. I tried it over a year ago and only use sugar when I’m out. It even works in hot coffee. And it’s healthier.)
Sounds wonderful and I love that technique for the cold brewed coffee! Pinning!
Jenn/Rook No. 17 recently posted..Have Your Tea and Coffee Too ~ Hong Kong Yuanyang Iced Coffee Tea with Seattle’s Best
thank you so much for the pin, Jenn! The extra 5 minutes of prep work are worth it once you taste the cold brewed coffee, it doesn’t taste bitter. While I don’t like black coffee, I would totally drink this black because it tasted that smooth.
Come back and lemme know how you like it! :)
Yay, You posted it! Guess what I’ll be making tomorrow!? YUM
Kim @ Sand & Sisal recently posted..Painting with Chalk Paint
YAY! Lemme know how you like it, Kim! I swear. Life changing. And I’m not just saying that to make people want to read/pin/try it, haha! ;)
Wow, that looks yummy and delicious! When I was not a pregnant before I used to drink coffee. Love to try this one. By the way thanks a lot for sharing this!
I will have to try this one! It looks sooo good. I never knew you could make coffee cold like that, makes sense.
Sharon @ Parents of a Dozen recently posted..My Parent’s: Staining a Deck with Solid Color Stain
it was so simple and easy! I never knew either until last week, but it made a huge difference. Thanks for the tip on the coffee cubes, they make it!
Looks so good! I have got to try cold brew coffee!
Kristy recently posted..Oven Roasted Okra
you do! Thanks, Kristy :)
Yum! I feel ya on the coffee splurge. I just cannot help myself.
Megan recently posted..Sidewalk Chalk Superhero
This looks and sounds delicious! I am definately going to try this tomorrow!!
Yum! I recently started making my own iced coffee too—it’s so easy and you whip up so many different concoctions! I’m on a Coconut kick at the moment which means: Jamaica Me Crazy Coffee (with liquer–yum!), a splash of Coconut Milk AND Coconut Creamer. So easy–loved your tutorial and the cute kids!
Maple. Syrup. FANTASTIC idear. Also if you are lazy like me, cold leftover coffee from the morning does great too!
Heather Novak recently posted..TRK Box vs. Scratch: How Good Can Chocolate Cake Really Be?
Yum. I love this idea, and I’m with you on the cost. And they now have “syrup” that isn’t with HFCS but that is purely corn syrup. Still yuck. I’m with you on the real maple. That or try it with agave. That works, too. Yum. I’d love a little chocolate sauce on it as well… but that’s just me ;)
Michelle recently posted..All I Want For Christmas (In July) Is My Two Front Teeth
Grade B syrup is not less refined or processed than grade A. They are both boiled the same, come off the evaporator at the same temp. The only thing that’s different is the bacteria that causes one to be more dark than the other. Either way the producers have no control over it, or the grades they produce.
I didn’t have maple syrup on hand, but tried agave nectar, and it worked great! Thanks for this fantastic idea! I’m loving me some homemade iced coffees here in Washington state! :)
So yummy! Where can I get one of those fancy drink dispensers? That would make this a luxury experience for sure!
Great post on the cold-brewing process! In my past life as a barista, we never did cold brew coffee. We would [hot] brew our darkest roast and then stick it in the fridge overnight.. but that does seem counterintuitive; not to mention wasteful! So, I had to try your cold brewing method and it did its thing wonderfully! I love more of a robust coffee flavor, so next time I will add more grounds– and yes, there WILL be a next time!
One thing to add to the instructions: STIR your coffee grounds into the water. If you just pour the water over the top and wet all the grounds without stirring, it does this thing called “blooming” and forms a semi-crust on top. The only grounds that will brew are the ones underneath that are touching the water. This equates to weak, watery iced coffee. So, stir it up like Bob Marley! ;)
Anyways, I mention something about the syrup.. Maple is a GREAT idea! (Plus I’m a maple syrup fiend anyways, haha!) But, also in my past life as a barista, I learned to make a simple syrup (water+sugar) as a sweetener for cold beverages– anything from lemonade to lattes. Sugar will just not mix in with an icy drink!
What’s great about making a simple syrup is that you can add your own favorite coffee shop flavorings! I added a few drops of pure vanilla extract to my iced coffee this morning– perfection! But you could also add hazelnut, or amaretto, or almond, or pumpkin spice in the fall, or peppermint in the wintertime! The possibilities are endless!
Again– great post! I’ve got’cha pinned now! :-)
okay, Rachel. You are the best for leaving such a helpful comment!! I totally bookmarked the direct link to your comment so I can go back to it later. I need to try making some of my own flavored simple syrup!
thanks for taking the time to share your wise barista advice and for pinning this :) Have a great weekend!!