Cold Brewing Iced Latte's - DIY

There's coffee and then there's iced latte's.  For me, having a tall iced latte in the morning is much better than the hot stuff.  Of course if I were to buy an iced latte every day, I'd be spending a fortune and I can think of much better things to spend my money on like this awesome cheese making book I've had my eye on for a few days.

Iced latte's are made with espresso, or a concentrated brew of coffee.  Because it's basically 1/2 milk and 1/2 coffee, the coffee needs to very strong.  Through a lot of trial and error, I finally came up with a great recipe that resembles the latte's I love from Starbucks.  It starts with cold brewing your coffee.

What's Needed

Large bowl with lid or Ziplock Bag, gallon size

1/2 lb. coffee, ground

5 cups water

Start by placing 1/2 pound of coffee in bowl and mixing in 5 cups of water.  You can also use a zip top bag.  Stir this together, making sure it's blended well.  If using a bowl, cover with plastic wrap.  Store in fridge for 12-24 hours.

Figuring out this part included a lot of different things but what I found that works best is straining the muddy mixture through a cheesecloth OR in a traditional coffee pot.  

If you are using a coffee pot, simply set a filter in the basket of your coffee pot, place the carafe under and pour the mixture directly into the filter.  You may have to change out your filter 1 or 2 times during this process...but it really is the easiest way - well, for me anyway.  :)

If you don't have a traditional coffee pot, you can strain your coffee in cheesecloth over a sieve.  Cheesecloth can be found in your local Wal-mart or from here.

You'll be left with a coffee concentrate.  Use a 1:1 ratio adding milk for latte's and hot water for a traditional cup of coffee. 

Just keep your cold brewed coffee in the fridge and it'll last a couple of days.  I usually have 1 bowl brewing at all times - it doesn't last long in this house.  ;)

When you're ready, just add 1 part coffee and 1 part milk with whatever sweetener you prefer and that's it!  If you want to get fancy, you can add in flavorings.  They're pretty much available everywhere so get creative!

:)

Happy Brewing!