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.
Louis Katz says
Just recently discovered how wonderful maple syrup goes with coffee when on vacation in Minnesota. The Steamship Cafe had a special drink there, and I fell in love with both the drink and the concept. I brought it back to California and have dubbed it the MNM (Minnesota Maple) to help spread the word here on the west coast. Your cold brew method is reallly the best, but since I’m lazy and don’t want to wait overnight, I make it in a french press using less water than I should, then mix with half/half and maple syrup in a tall glass. Then I pour into a 32 oz HydroFlask full of ice. To my unsophisticated palate, it tastes just fine!
Brenda Lenz says
I made almost that very thing this afternoon. I already had some cold-brewed coffee in the fridge. I added a little coconut nectar AND a little maple syrup. I like vanilla almond milk so that was my creamer. I thought I was being a little crazy, but it’s nice to discover I’m out. 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Ann Marie Heasley says
Mmm, that sounds so good! Where do you get coconut nectar? That sounds delicious!
Brenda says
I got mine at Whole Foods.
Ann Marie Heasley says
Thank you for replying! I will look for it.
Parsley says
I keep reading about cold brew coffee but have never attempted it. The fact that you used maple syrup (my friend turned me onto it for my coffee three years ago) and cream might just get me to try it your method. I purchase Starbucks Via for my iced coffees, I use the decaf, so strong and delicious. I buy them from sellers on Ebay for +/-$.50 a piece, they make a great glass of coffee for small money.
Gloria says
Beside the straws, I will give this recipe a try!
Gloria says
I would love if you did not recommend plastic straws! In the Los Angeles area alone, 10 metric tons of plastic fragments—like grocery bags, straws and soda bottles—are carried into the Pacific Ocean every day.source: http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/07/22-facts-plastic-pollution-10-things-can-do-about-it/
There are reusable ones!
About Us – The Last Plastic Straw
thelastplasticstraw.org/about-us/
The Last Plastic Straw is a volunteer community project for Save Our Shores. Read on … Plastic pollution was everywhere, there was no getting away from it.
Reduce waste by going plastic straw-free! – Causes
https://www.causes.com/…/1687959-reduce-waste-by-going-plastic-straw…
According to Simply Straws, about 500 million plastic straws are used in the U.S. every day. Help us get … Simply Straws is a Plastic Pollution Coalition member.
Straw Wars
strawwars.org/
Soho, London is the first community to support Straw Wars. London … The idea is simple – either get rid of plastic straws completely or provide them only when …
Plastic Straws Can Suck It! | Ian Somerhalder Foundation
http://www.isfoundation.com/campaign/kids/plastic-straws-can-suck-it
… means they have a greater chance of reaching our oceans and polluting our land. … These are just a few facts about plastic straws, but I think that is enough
Jan says
I know this is old, but I just had maple cinnamon iced coffee at a local coffee shop yesterday and it was really good! I was looking for a recipe when I came across your site. Thank you for reminding me to make cold brew coffee! I made it last year but got away from it because I just don’t like cold brewed coffee HOT! (sort of like having hot brewed cold huh? : )
I did want to comment about the Grade B vs Grade A syrup. I live amongst the Amish, where I currently get my real maple syrup and I also lived on a farm years back and we tapped trees, hauled sap, and boiled our own syrup.
There is a difference between Grades A and B, and , like you, I like B better. In general, Grade A is what they call “table syrup” around here. It is first run, early season, lighter color and flavor, and also commands a higher price. Grade B is late season, darker, and contains more minerals than Grade A.
Thanks for the recipe, I am definitely going to try it!
Heather Dolan says
I am a huge iced espresso drinker with vanilla syrup. Do you think you could make this with espresso and has anyone tried? I am not a big regular mild coffee drinker but this looks so awesome I am going to try some!!!
Thanks for this (and the homemade baby wipes – they are the greatest thing I have ever made – except my baby:) )
Heather
Barbara Ranegar says
Ann Marie,
I haphazardly found your link through Pinterest and was thrilled. Your ideas on iced coffee making are fantastic and so delicious! I think the thing I like best about your site is that you answer back! I love that you share your ideas and are still interested enough in taking in new ideas. Keep up the great work and know I am on board…
Barbara…
Rachel T. says
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! 🙂
Ann Marie says
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!!
amanda adams says
So yummy! Where can I get one of those fancy drink dispensers? That would make this a luxury experience for sure!
Rhonda says
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! 🙂
Kristen says
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.
Michelle says
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 😉
Heather Novak says
Maple. Syrup. FANTASTIC idear. Also if you are lazy like me, cold leftover coffee from the morning does great too!
Kim - Vintage Paints says
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!
Megan says
Yum! I feel ya on the coffee splurge. I just cannot help myself.
Kristy says
Looks so good! I have got to try cold brew coffee!
Ann Marie says
you do! Thanks, Kristy 🙂
Sharon @ Parents of a Dozen says
I will have to try this one! It looks sooo good. I never knew you could make coffee cold like that, makes sense.
Ann Marie says
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!
Ashleen Moreen says
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!
Jenn/Rook No. 17 says
Sounds wonderful and I love that technique for the cold brewed coffee! Pinning!
Ann Marie lives here says
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! 🙂
Kim @ Sand & Sisal says
Yay, You posted it! Guess what I’ll be making tomorrow!? YUM
Ann Marie lives here says
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! 😉
Kelsey says
This looks devine! I may just have to try this as I am intrigued by the use of maple syrup instead of sugar!!?
Ann Marie lives here says
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. 😉
James says
My downstairs neighbor is a barista and saw me putting maple syrup in my cold brew and she said I was making what her coffee shop calls a “Mounty” as in a Canadian Mounty. It’s true, once you use maple syrup you’ll never go back!
Ann Marie Heasley says
hahaha! That’s great, I’ve never heard of the drink called that. And you’re right, I think this post was written almost 2 years ago? Guess what. I’m still using maple syrup! 🙂
Have a great evening. Thanks for the comment, James!
Ann Marie lives here says
(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.)
Erin @ DIY On the Cheap says
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!
Ann Marie lives here says
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!!