by Sayaka Matsuoka
I’m obsessed with ice coffee.
Like can’t-live-breathe-function-without-it obsessed. That’s why I once frequented the Starbucks across the street from my job on the regular, dropped $12 a week on tall iced-coffees before my shift. I even downloaded the coffee giant’s app and stopped paying for the drinks like a normal human being and just had the employees scan my phone so I could acquire one free drink for every 20 I bought.
It was bad.
After a while, I realized that I had been wasting way too much money. I mean they were good, but not worth $2.65 a day. That’s when I decided to start making my own iced coffee. I know what it sounds like. It’s not that big of a deal, right? While iced coffee isn’t necessarily hard to make, good iced coffee is. And I’ve had the bad kind all over place. Watered down leftover pours with a few ice cubes thrown in that make it so watery you can’t even tell if you’re drinking coffee or dirt water after the first few sips.
No, if I was going to do this, I had to do it right.
So I went to heaven on earth for girls — TJ Maxx — and found myself a French press, a small glass bottle, and a larger glass carafe. I made my first batch that night.
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I read online somewhere that you’re supposed to use a 4:1 ratio to get anything close to the good stuff, so I use one whole cup of dark coffee grounds (anything besides Folgers will do), to about four cups of water. I throw the grounds in first after taking out the lid and then pour filtered water up to the top, setting the lid loosely on the layer of floating grounds. Stick the press in the fridge, wait 12 hours and press the grounds the next day. After two or three times, I got a pitcher full and continue to make some every night. Now, I fill up a glass almost every morning.
My boyfriend made simple syrup in a small bottle. Throw some of that magic in with a little half-and-half and you got yourself homemade, dark, aromatic, cold-brew coffee.
Now, I save a few bucks every day and my coffee tastes even better than the store-bought alternative. Just in time for summer.
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We @ Loco for Coco have just started selling really good fresh cold brew Syncronicity iced coffee in pint growlers for three bucks a refill. Come and check it out sometime.