113 Degrees... Seriously?
I've lived in Arizona for going on 27 years now, and every year there is a week that I wonder why I live here and how I could make it through another year. This week may not have been that bad, but it was close. The thing is, I still drink coffee... a lot of coffee. I still enjoy a hot cup of coffee in the morning. But when it's 2 pm and 113 out, that afternoon cup of hot coffee does not sound super appealing. So what do I do to enjoy the coffee in this heat?
I drink it iced. However, I have found that taking a normal cup of coffee and pouring it over ice does not cut it for me. It tastes too watered down and just loses some of what makes coffee great. I use one of a few different brewing methods to make the best cup of iced coffee. Here are my three favorites.
If I'm thinking ahead, I'll make Cold Brew concentrate. Our cold brew method takes 12 oz of ground coffee and 7 cups of water and 12 hours to make a coffee concentrate. This concentrate can keep for several weeks (although, I think it loses something after a few days). It is super crisp and clean and has great flavor. But 12oz of ground coffee is a lot of commitment.
The other method that I use regularly is the Hario iced pour over kit. It works in a very similar manner to a standard pour over, except there is a reservoir for ice and the proportions are perfect for a great pure cup of iced coffee. It's a single cup brewer that makes a fantastic cup of coffee.
The last method is pretty new to me, but I made it last weekend for my kids, and they enjoyed it (is it wrong that my 9-year-old asks, "Dad, what coffee is this" and means which country/region / farm/varietal / process?). It is the AeroPress iced latte brewed with the inverted brewing method. This one is great because there is minimal cleanup, you brew into the cup you're drinking out of, and it takes about a minute to make a cup of coffee. And hey, if a 9-year-old says it's the best cup of coffee he's ever had you know it's good.
