The idea left me, well, cold. Coffee is supposed to be hot. Very, very hot.
And then, I made a serious mistake. I accepted a sample of iced coffee in a popular coffee shop. It was strong, sweet, creamy, and icy, icy cold. Wow.
I needed to figure out how to make this myself—it was that good—because as much as I might want iced coffee again, I was not going to pay the outrageous price to have someone else make it for me.
One might think, as I did, that pouring hot coffee over ice and adding milk and sugar would do the trick. Not exactly. Not even close.
The problem is that the ice seriously dilutes the coffee. This dilemma sent me in search of the secret for why the sample was not at all diluted. That’s when I discovered that Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, is quite an iced coffee aficionado and quite willing to share her secrets.
Make Cold Brew
First, you must make a big batch of very strong cold brew coffee concentrate. This is the secret. You'll need a large container, ground coffee, and water. And time—at least eight hours (exact recipe and instructions below).
Cold-brew coffee is not just coffee served cold. The thing that makes it cold-brew coffee is that the brewing process itself happens without heat. Instead of steeping the grounds in hot water, you steep them in cold water for a lot longer.
And while you can make as little as 1 cup of cold brew concentrate at a time, why would you? I'd rather make 2 gallons at a time because it keeps well for up to six weeks in the refrigerator.
