How to Make Cold Coffee at Home: 4 Easy Recipes

On a hot, humid day in Dhaka, nothing beats a glass of cold coffee. The good news: you don't need to visit a café. With a few simple ingredients, you can make delicious cold coffee at home, often better and much cheaper.

Here are four easy recipes, from the classic creamy cold coffee to smooth cold brew.

Recipe 1: Classic Creamy Cold Coffee (with Instant Coffee)

This is the thick, frothy cold coffee everyone loves, and it's ready in 5 minutes.

Ingredients (1 large glass):

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 2–3 teaspoons sugar (to taste)
• 1 cup cold milk
• 6–8 ice cubes
• Optional: 1 scoop vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup

Method:

1. Dissolve the instant coffee and sugar in the hot water.
2. Add the cold milk, ice and the coffee mixture to a blender. Add ice cream if you want it extra thick.
3. Blend for 30–60 seconds until frothy.
4. Drizzle chocolate syrup inside a glass, pour the coffee in and serve immediately.

No blender? Put everything in a jar with a tight lid and shake hard for a minute.

Which coffee? Good-quality instant coffee makes a big difference. Davidoff Crema Intense gives a smooth, rich flavour, and Davidoff Origins Brazil is great if you like a softer, nutty taste.

Recipe 2: Iced Americano (No Milk)

Light, refreshing and almost zero calories if you skip the sugar. Read more about the benefits of black coffee.

1. Make a strong coffee: a shot of espresso, half a moka pot of coffee, or 2 teaspoons of instant coffee in 3 tablespoons of hot water.
2. Fill a tall glass with ice.
3. Pour 3/4 cup of cold water over the ice, then pour the hot coffee on top.
4. Stir, and sweeten with sugar syrup if you like (sugar doesn't dissolve well in cold drinks).

Recipe 3: Iced Latte

Smooth and milky, but still tastes clearly of coffee.

1. Brew a strong coffee with a moka pot or an espresso machine: about 60 ml.
2. Fill a glass with ice and pour in 3/4 cup of cold milk.
3. Pour the coffee slowly over the milk for a nice layered look, then stir before drinking.

Tip: ground coffee made for moka pots, such as Lavazza Qualità Rossa, gives a rich, chocolatey iced latte.

Recipe 4: Cold Brew (Smoothest Cold Coffee)

Cold brew is made by steeping coffee in cold water for many hours. It is naturally smooth, low in bitterness and slightly sweet. Make a batch and keep it in the fridge for the whole week.

You need: 100 g coarsely ground coffee, 800 ml cold filtered water, and a French press or any jar.

1. Mix the coffee and cold water in the French press or jar. Stir well.
2. Cover and put it in the fridge for 12–18 hours.
3. Press the plunger (or strain through a paper filter or clean cloth).
4. This is a concentrate. Mix 1 part cold brew with 1 part water or milk, and pour over ice.

Stored in a closed bottle in the fridge, cold brew concentrate stays good for about a week.

Tips for Better Cold Coffee

• Make coffee ice cubes: freeze leftover coffee in an ice tray so your drink doesn't get watery.
• Use sugar syrup: boil equal amounts of sugar and water, cool, and keep in the fridge. It mixes instantly into cold drinks.
• Brew it stronger: ice dilutes coffee, so make it stronger than you'd make hot coffee.
• Chill your glass in the freezer for 10 minutes for an extra-cold drink.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make cold coffee without a blender?
Yes. Shake it in a jar with a tight lid, or whisk the coffee and sugar with a little water until foamy, then add cold milk and ice.

Which is better for cold coffee, instant or ground coffee?
Instant coffee is fastest and great for creamy blended cold coffee. Ground coffee (moka pot, espresso or cold brew) gives a richer, more natural coffee taste.

How many calories are in cold coffee?
It depends on the milk, sugar and ice cream. An iced americano without sugar has almost none, while a creamy cold coffee with ice cream can be a few hundred. See our guide to coffee calories.

Get Your Cold Coffee Ingredients

Find instant coffee, ground coffee and brewers in our coffee and accessories collections.

At Coffee Kahf you can pay with cash on delivery or bKash. We deliver within 24 hours in Dhaka and in 2–3 days anywhere in Bangladesh, for ৳70 inside Dhaka and ৳150 outside Dhaka.