In case you don't know, coffee is awesome when it is iced. I mean, it's just so good. So much better than when it is hot. It is refreshing, revitalizing, and, apparently, good for your health! And your skin! (Coffee, that is, not just the iced variety.)
So when the weather starts getting warm, I immediately start drinking my coffee cold. Normally, I make a huge (like, two gallon) pitcher of cold brew coffee and keep it in the fridge, pre-sweetened. I use the Pioneer Woman method , which involves simply soaking ground coffee overnight in water, then straining it into a pitcher and adding a desired amount of water. I used Espresso Roast coffee, because it is strong, but not too bitter. Then I add Torani Cane Sugar syrup and mix it up good. It keeps in the fridge for a long time. Then I can get up in the morning and just pour it over ice and add a little cream.
If you don't feel the need to keep gallons of coffee on hand at all times like I do, there are other options. A lot of brands created iced coffee that you can buy in the grocery store. Starbucks has iced coffee that comes in little glass bottles in different flavors, namely Coffee, Coffee Light, Vanilla, and Caramel. I have tried all these flavors, and I can tell you that if you like the taste of coffee at all, definitely go for the plain Coffee flavor. It is the only one that even remotely tastes like coffee. Not that the others are bad, they are just significantly sweeter, and for serious coffee drinkers they probably won't do the trick.
I like the Starbucks iced coffee, but then this other thing came along and changed my life. And that is Chameleon Cold Brew. Chameleon comes in myriad flavors: Coffee, Vanilla, and Mocha. I have not tried the Vanilla yet, but I have had both the Coffee, and the Mocha. Now, to be clear, this is not an "iced coffee drink." This is straight up cold brew coffee. The hard stuff. It's clean, and bitter, and refreshing. And that's just the plain coffee.
But if you like a flavor, I cannot recommend the Mocha flavor enough. The chocolate flavor is subtle but present, making the whole drink taste kind of like a tootsie roll, but not as sweet. This isn't some cheap addition to plain coffee. This is a flavor infusion that is aromatic, emphatic, and altogether delightful. It's great by itself, with just cream, or with full on cream and sugar. The perfect chocolate/coffee flavor comes through no matter what and creates a perfect storm of deliciousness. It is hard to express fully the sublime nature of this iced coffee. This is what cold coffee should be.
I am officially in love with Chameleon Cold Brew coffee. Not only does it have absolutely glorious flavor, but it comes in these adorable glass bottles with adorable chameleons on their labels. Go forth and drink iced coffee!
Hi! This is bizarre because I just experimented with making my first batch of cold brew- and was drinking it- when I pulled up your blog! I used a "Magical Coffee" recipe from Pinterest, and honestly I was a little disappointed by the lightness and sweetness of flavor. It uses 2/3 cup of ground coffee and only made maybe 3 glasses of coffee, if that. But perhaps that is the nature of cold brew? All I know is I had a cold brew from Evoke once and it knocked my socks off! It's the kind of drink I'd choose if I were, say, meeting up with Ernest Hemingway to shoot the breeze. My homemade concoction would never have stood up to chats with Hemingway, so I think I'll try Pioneer Woman's instead. That is, until I come across a bottle of Chameleon. :) Thanks for sharing!
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