So this is definitely not breaking news or anything, but summer is here and it’s HOT out there folks! So hot that I (who loves a good cup of Joe) feel like a fool drinking hot coffee in the mornings. I’m so glad my brother-in-law (Hey Doug!) introduced me to Cold Brew Iced Coffee! It’s so easy to make (easier than regular coffee) and it’s simply the best way to enjoy iced coffee.
The taste is so much smoother and less acidic than when the coffee is brewed with hot water. You may find that you need less sweetener. And let’s talk about the $avings$ here! This method is much cheaper than the $4.oo coffee shop variety, and no crazy sweet syrups either.
There are lots of tips and tricks out there for cold brewing coffee. I’ve been working on my recipe for the last couple of weeks, and this is what works best for me! Feel free to use it as a starting point and adapt it to your own taste.
What you need:
Filtered water
Ground Coffee
French press (Optional, but helpful. I use this inexpensive one and it works great.)
Cone shaped coffee filter
Jar with lid
Here’s what you do:
Mix 4 cups of water with 1 cup of ground coffee. I use a medium roast. Stir together in a French press and allow to steep in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours.
Press the French press plunger down, and then further filter the coffee (so you don’t get any sediment) by pouring it through a coffee filter and into a jar. I used a cone shaped coffee filter because it fits nicely on the top of my jar.
Some people like to dilute their coffee with water at this point, but I like it as is. Well, I take that back. I like it as is plus a generous splash of my Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer.
It’s SO good! Smooth, creamy, refreshing, and just slightly sweet.
Hope you coffee lovers out there enjoy this summertime pick me up! Let me know if you try it or have any helpful tips to share!
Did you make this recipe?
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Cold Brew and Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy to make and so creamy, smooth, and refreshing!
Ingredients
Cold Brew Coffee
- 1 cup medium roast ground coffee
- 4 cups filtered water
Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer
- 1 cup half and half
- 2–3 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pour water into french press and stir in ground coffee. Cover (but do not press) and refrigerate for 12-18 hours.
- Press the french press plunger down, and then pour coffee through a filter into a jar. Cover and refrigerate.
- Pour cold brew coffee over ice, and stir in coffee creamer to taste. I like a ratio of 1 cup coffee to 1/4 cup creamer.
Notes
Drink your iced coffee out of an insulated cup so your ice will melt more slowly. This prevents your cold brew from becoming diluted if you like to sip it slowly like me. You can make this recipe without a French press. Just mix the water and coffee in a 4 cup glass measuring cup and cover with plastic wrap. Catch the coffee grinds before they hit the coffee filter with a fine mesh strainer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup coffee with 1/4 cup creamer
- Calories: 115
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 43mg
- Fat: 6.3g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 11g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2.2g
- Cholesterol: 21mg
Disclaimer: the links in this post for the French press are Amazon affiliate links.
Jess M says
Yes! Yes! Yes! I haven’t even read the post yet, but the pictures say enough. I am convinced that I need to make this now. Haha. Stunning pictures on this post, by the way! I can’t wait to try this!!
Julie says
Thanks so much Jess! I hope you love it too.
Diane Joyce says
Love this site!!! Just made the ice cream sundae cookie cups for my daughters birthday dinner tonight. Heading to the store to get a french press. I love iced coffee. this will be cheaper and better tasting than the franchise stuff! I agree, your pictures are beautiful. I signed up to receive your e-mails. Can’t wait to see what show up next in my inbox!
Sue says
Love this! At first, I was just so excited to have a recipe for creamer — I love coffee but have to drink it with creamer and have always felt badly about buying ones with stuff in it I don’t like… your creamer is great and I’ll be making batch after batch from now on!
Then a friend and I tried the iced coffee — and although I didn’t think I’d care much about it… I’m now addicted! We made it with 1/2 vanilla coffee and 1/2 decaf so that we didn’t feel as guilty about drinking it in the middle of the afternoon… delish!
Thank you!
Julie says
I’m so glad you like it Sue! I’m definitely addicted too. So happy not to be spending money on the store-bought creamer.
Lisa says
I am so excited for this! My coffee is cold brewing and is in the fridge and I just made up your vanilla coffee creamer. I added the last 3 tbsp of 35% cream I had and finished it with 10%. It tastes like ice cream! I’m 19 weeks pregnant and missing my coffee fix. Thank you for this recipe that I adapted to be decaf. So excited for tomorrow morning!
Julie says
Hi Lisa, I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets excited about coffee! I hope you enjoy every little sip. Wishing you a smooth and healthy pregnancy. You are almost halfway there!
Felishia says
How exactly did you mix the creamer? You don’t say.
Julie says
I just pour everything into a jar either stir with a spoon, or screw the lid on and shake. Hope you enjoy!
Felishia says
Okay, that’s what I actually did but after it was in the refrigerator it started to clump up and get a funky film, didn’t know what you did about that. I thought of putting everything into a saucepan and simmering it off for about 5 minutes or so.
Christine says
Hi Lisa,
I’m so excited to try this! When you make the creamer, do you typically go by the expiration date on the half and half? I don’t use much creamer, so I hate to make a big batch for just myself and have it go bad! But if it’s the date on the half and half, I’m hoping it will be fine to have in the fridge for a little.
Julie says
I usually make enough creamer for my husband and I to use for the week. I’m not really sure how long it would be beyond that. It may be possible that adding more sugar from the maple syrup to the half and half or heavy cream could make the expiration date shorter.
Sharlette Rivera says
its a easy steps to make a ice cold coffee, I use coffee brewer because it feels like you provided an effort for the morning coffee., and my coffee brewer is tough been using this for 1 year already.. , But with this, I prefer blender when doing a cold coffee. I accidentally come across to an online store where I bought these… from home cleaning…to appliance.. you can go to http://www.shorisuperstore.com for reffernce
LeCase COFFEE says
This is very simple to do during summer. Alternatives for the heat of the sun is match with iced coffee. Well done! Love it.