I don't really care for summer.
There, I said it.
Summer in the city? No, thank you. 100-degree days with no end in sight? Nope, not interested. Pools the temperature of bathwater? Ugh.
Every year I plot a move to the coast. I tell my husband that I'm going to just shove everything we own in our suite of suitcases and ship off to San Francisco. Just us and the dog in our favorite city. And one of these days, I swear Texas temperatures are going to send me packing, but that day is not today.
Today, I'm making iced coffee.
There isn't a better option for keeping cool and caffeinated in the summer. Yeah, I'm on board with iced tea, but
coffee is what makes the world go 'round.
You only need a few ingredients to pull this off: sugar/syrup (if you want), ice, coffee concentrate and your choice of milk. I'm a full-out dairy eater, but I have to tell you that Vanilla Almond Milk
makes this. Dairy milk just doesn't blend as well/taste the same/have the same consistency/have the same lasting power in my fridge.
Also, the measurements on the actual brew you put in your glass are kind of fluid. I need coffee like I need air, so I make mine with a definite bite of coffee flavor. If you're not a "coffee person," I don't understand you, but I understand your need for more milk/flavoring, although just barely. Adjust my steps to your liking.
Jessica's Iced Coffee:
1 TBS Vanilla syrup (find it on the coffee aisle at Target)
Small handful of ice
Coffee concentrate (recipe below)
Silk Vanilla Almond Milk
Directions: Flavoring first into your glass
du jour. Add a small handful of ice (bonus points if you made coffee ice cubes), then pour your concentrate over the ice and fill the cup about halfway. Then, shake up your almond milk and add that to the mixture, filling up almost the rest of the way. Stir, adjust to taste. I almost always add a little coffee "floater" on top, because I crave the cold brew flavor. You do you.
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How to make the concentrate:
1 cup coffee grounds (whatever you have on hand works, but I like using hazelnut)
3 1/2 cups of cold water
Mix grounds and water together in a large pitcher, and set in the fridge overnight, or until you remember that you set a pitcher of iced coffee in there.
Strain the contents through a mesh strainer into another pitcher. Do this as many times as you want to/as many times as you have time for.
Viola! Iced coffee concentrate. You can multiply the recipe and keep in the fridge for about a week.
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