Summer may have just started here in the northern hemisphere but it is dang hot already and that means people are turning their heads towards iced coffee beverages. So once more I pick up my standard and fight against calling an iced latte an iced coffee. Iced coffee, you see, is very easy to make. I have a graphic recipe for you to use, share and even copy if you dare. An iced latte adds milk to the party, where it may or may not need to be.
I have reviewed various products over the past several years that make it easy to produce good cold coffee. Now with the introduction of nitro cold brew, there are more buzzards flying around than you can shake several branches of a Coffea Arabica tree at. I decided to break down the terms for you.
Terms
Cold Brewed Coffee: Coffee brewed without adding heat to the mix. Usually, it takes a nice long time for the ground coffee to steep in the water, anywhere from 4 – 8 hours. stores usually only make so many batches the night before so they are ready for customers. Which is why if you try to order a cold brew late in the day at Starbucks you may end up disappointed.
Nitro Cold Brew: Is it faster than a speeding bullet? Nope, it is cold brewed coffee infused with nitrogen and pressurized to allow it to be served on draft like a beer. The nitrogen gives the black coffee a smoother even mouthfeel. it tastes creamy even when served black. Nitro Cold brew coffee forms a head similar to Guinness since they both use nitrogen to power the draft.
Iced Coffee: You forgot… didn’t you. Iced, coffee and consume. It is that simple.
Japanese Iced Coffee: Counter Culture Coffee put together a spiffy video explanation. but basically, it is water slowly poured over coffee grounds and dripped on top of ice. A kinder gentler method of getting very good coffee, but pouring this by hand takes patience.
Iced Latte: Any espresso and milk beverage poured over ice.
While I personally don’t do the pour-overs very often (I’m impatient) I do admire how simple and easy a trained hand makes it look. You can also pour a french press over ice to do something very similar. I would suggest though a fun science fact. Don’t put the ice in a glass carafe too long before you plan to pour or brew And make sure the hot coffee hits the ice…. not the glass or you can pop your glassware very easily.