Iced coffee.
Ice coffee is chilled black coffee. There are a huge number of variations of the drink; milk, cream, ice cream, sugar, syrups, and alcohol are added to it. But it differs from all other types of coffee in that it is always served cool, and often with ice. This explains the name iced coffee, which translated means ice coffee.
History of ice coffee
Back in the 17th century, Dutch colonists in the East Indies escaped the heat with chilled coffee. In Europe, a cool coffee drink came into fashion in the 40s of the 19th century and was called mazagran. During the long siege, the French soldiers of the garrison of the Algerian fortress of Mazagran fortified their strength with cool coffee sweetened with syrup.
Honore de Balzac explained his incredible ability to work by actively drinking coffee infusion. The great writer preferred to pour cool water over the ground beans and argued that such coffee invigorates better than coffee brewed using the usual method. Modern scientists have confirmed that the classic was right: coffee prepared using the cool method (cold brew) actually contains more caffeine and less acids.
The name “ice coffee” first appeared in the 20s of the 20th century, when a brutal advertising campaign for the drink was carried out by the Joint Committee on Coffee Advertising in the United States. Later, iced coffee entered the menu of large chains of fast food establishments: Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks.
Different countries have their own traditions of making and serving ice coffee:
- in Australia - with ice cream and whipped cream, from time to time - with syrup;
- in Canada, Ice Capps is popular - ice cappuccino, which is included in the menu of the large Tim Hortons coffee shop chain;
- In Chile, iced coffee is called cafe helado. It features espresso with ice cream, vanilla and cinnamon;
- in Germany the drink is called Eiskaffee and served with whipped cream;
- in India, instant coffee is whipped in a blender with cool or frozen milk;
- in the Land of the Rising Sun - with syrup and milk;
- in Slovenia the drink is called ledena kava. It consists of a double espresso with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and topped with shaved almonds or grated chocolate;
- in Sri Lanka - with cognac. The drink is certainly served at weddings.
During an exhibition held in Greece in 1957, Nescafe representative Dimitrios Vakondios did not find boiling water. Therefore, he beat instant coffee with a mixer (according to other sources - a dried coffee-milk drink) with sugar and a small amount of water. He filled the foam with cool water and added ice to the glass. This is how one of the most recognizable varieties of iced coffee, frappe, was prepared for the first time.
After the 2004 Olympic Games, frappe fashion spread throughout the world. Nowadays, the drink is prepared not only with instant coffee, but also with natural coffee; liqueurs, syrups, and whipped cream are added to it. Starbucks scientists have invented the Frappuccino drink. Unlike frappe, it is not served with whole ice cubes, but is whipped with a blender until the ice turns into crumbs.
When is the best time to avoid warm spice tea?
Although cinnamon tea has many health benefits, you should not drink too much of it. Coumarins present in the spice are relatively toxic substances. In high doses, they can cause liver and kidney damage. What are the contraindications to consuming cinnamon?
Pregnancy
Consumption of brown spice is not recommended for pregnant women. It stimulates blood flow, which can cause uterine contractions and harm the fetus.
Ulcer
If you have a stomach or intestinal ulcer, consuming cinnamon can irritate the mucous membranes. The use of spices should be consulted with a doctor.
Heart problems
Cinnamon slightly increases your heart rate. For this reason, people with serious illnesses are not recommended to drink cinnamon tea. An increase in heart rate can jeopardize their health.
Methods for making iced coffee
You can prepare a coffee base for iced coffee using several methods:
- traditional method - coffee is boiled using any method, then cooled and served with ice cubes;
- quick cooling – freshly brewed coffee is immediately cooled using a heat exchange system;
- cold brew - ground coffee is poured with water at room temperature in a ratio of 1:4 or 1:5 and left for 3-24 hours. Then the drink is filtered and combined with ice. This method was used by Balzac;
- cold brew “hot bloom” - coffee is poured with a small amount of hot water, and when gas bubbles come to the surface, cool water is added. After the gas is removed, extraction proceeds more evenly;
- slow-drip cold brew - cool water slowly drips onto a coffee pill, and after passing through it, flows into the vessel;
- Japanese method (flash brew) - coffee, which is boiled in a Chemex or pour-over, is poured straight onto the ice;
- freezing – brewed coffee is frozen and then topped with milk before serving.
Ingredients for iced coffee
To make iced coffee, it is better to use cheap 100% Arabica coffee. If milk, cream or ice cream is added to the drink, then blends with 10–20% robusta are also suitable.
Grinding depends on the manufacturing method. But you shouldn’t grind the grains into dust: there should be no grains of grounds in the drink. When brewing coffee in a French press or Turk, the drink will have to be additionally filtered.
Roasting level – light or medium (Viennese). If the coffee is roasted very dark, it will be very bitter, but when combined with milk, the taste is not for everyone.
Water for both coffee and freezing should be bottled, with a mineralization range of 75–250 mg/l, normal – 150 mg/l.
Milk, cream and ice cream can be of any fat content.
Ice coffee in Vietnamese style.
Technology Basics
The basic rules for making iced coffee differ little from the requirements for brewing coffee in general, however, the technology for making a cool coffee drink may differ from the traditional one.
- The main rule is the choice of ingredients. A good coffee drink can be made from instant coffee, but this is not the best choice. If you want iced coffee to be truly tasty and aromatic, use only natural coffee, beans or ground (depending on the recipe).
- Coffee should be brewed correctly. The basis for preparing iced coffee is most often strong black expresso or Turkish coffee. To obtain strong coffee when brewing it in a Turk, you need to bring the drink to a boil several times, but do not boil.
- To prepare a refreshing coffee drink, brewed coffee is cooled and filtered - no coffee grounds should get into it.
The technology for preparing iced coffee may have its own characteristics depending on the recipe. After reading them, you will see for yourself.
Manufacturing process
Vietnamese iced coffee is perhaps the same face of Vietnamese cuisine as pho bo soup! This is what is served everywhere, and what you must experience in Vietnam!
The climate of Vietnam is very hot, so they drink Vietnamese iced coffee all year round and at any time of the day. It must be served in large glasses filled with ice, with a straw and a very, very long teaspoon. There is ice of all sizes. I liked the medium and large ones the most, but I didn’t like the smallest one, which was practically a slurry of ice. With it, the coffee, it seemed to me, tasted very liquid. But this may be my personal opinion.
In Vietnam, they even sell special condensed milk to make Vietnamese iced coffee! Well, I won’t insist on condensed milk, but I would like to definitely note the point that to make this drink with a real proper taste you need Vietnamese coffee.
In the glass in which we will brew coffee, put 2 tablespoons of condensed milk, or even more. Don’t be afraid, nothing will stick together with this amount of condensed milk. Ice later removes the excess sweetness.
Pour 2 teaspoons of coffee into the filter installed on the glass for making Vietnamese coffee, level it and tamp it with distemper.
Fill the filter with boiling water over the tempera and close the lid. We wait until the coffee drips through the filter.
Fill a tall, narrow glass about three-quarters full with ice.
Stir the finished coffee with condensed milk.
Well, pour Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk into a glass with ice (with a straw and a long teaspoon).
Now we have Vietnamese iced coffee, and the summer day has become magnificent!
Ice coffee is a popular summer drink that tones and invigorates. Prepared from coffee, milk and ice, with the addition of various ingredients. Learn how to prepare traditional, unusual and Vietnamese ice coffee recipes, find out how many calories are in one serving of ice coffee, where you can order it and how much a cup of ice coffee costs. You can simply make great iced coffee in your own home kitchen.
