Iced Coffee Liquid Concentrate

Care to join me for a glass?

If you remember to make extra coffee in the morning, you can refrigerate it for iced coffee. This requires planning ahead, though, which isn’t always my strong suit.

If you want to enjoy iced coffee whenever you like, you can instead make a cold-brewed concentrate. I learned this technique from The Pioneer Woman’s blog, and it couldn’t be easier.

Ingredients You’ll Need

To make the concentrate, you’ll need just two ingredients:

1 1/3 cups ground coffee (about 1/4 pound). You can use regular or decaf coffee, flavored coffee, or whatever you like best. The finer the grind, the stronger the concentrate will be.

6 2/3 cups cold filtered water

Cooking Equipment

You’ll need:

1 2-quart glass jar or bottle with a tight fitting lid. Make sure it’s very clean.

A wire mesh strainer for the first straining.

A paper coffee filter for the second straining.

Step by Step Directions

I start with a 2-quart recycled glass bottle to make the strong brew, but you can use any size container you like and just adjust the quantities.

To begin, add 1 1/3 cups of finely-ground organic coffee to the bottle. You can use caffeinated or decaf coffee.

Then add about 6 2/3 cups of cold, filtered water (you may not need quite all of the water) and give it a good shake. Let it steep in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours if you want extra-strong concentrate.

The next day, strain out the larger coffee grounds in a fine-mesh strainer:

Then put a coffee filter inside the strainer…

and strain the coffee mixture once again. This makes the concentrate nice and clear.

Wash out the bottle, and pour the strained coffee back in. You can store the cold coffee in the refrigerator for two to three weeks.

How to Serve Homemade Iced Coffee Concentrate

To make a perfect iced coffee, fill a glass with ice cubes and pour some of the strong coffee over it. You can drink it just like that if you’re a purist, or add milk and your favorite sweetener (I’m currently partial to organic coconut palm sugar) if you like.

Or you can be extra-decadent and stir in a generous spoonful of sweetened condensed milk and top it off with half and half. It’s so, so good…

About Eliza Cross

Eliza Cross is the author of 16 books, including Small Bites, 101 Things To Do With Bacon, and BERRIES. She enjoys sharing ideas to simplify cooking, gardening, and home projects. She is also the owner of Cross Media, Inc. and founder of the BENSA Bacon Lovers Society.