No-Fail Iced Coffee

5 from 6 votes

Save money and make perfectly sweet and delicious iced coffee at home with easy step-by-step instructions.

Prep Time3

Total Time3

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Servings: serving (16 ounces)

Author: Jee Choe

Make and cool strongly brewed coffee.
Make strong coffee in a drip coffee machine or a Nespresso using a coffee/mug capsule. Strong coffee is key to making great iced coffee so that the ice doesn't dilute the drink.
Cool down hot coffee by putting it in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for an hour.
1 cup strong brewed coffee
Pour cooled coffee into a cup with ice. Add brown sugar simple syrup. Add half & half.
Stir before drinking.
1 cup ice, 2 tablespoons brown sugar simple syrup, 2 tablespoons half & half

Use 2-3 tablespoons of ground coffee and 1 ¼ cups of water to brew strong coffee in a coffee machine. If using a Nespresso, use 1 coffee/mug capsule (not an espresso capsule) to make 1 full cup of coffee.
Don't pour hot coffee into a cup of ice since the ice will melt too quickly, leaving a drink that's too watered down. Use coffee that has cooled down a bit.
Cool down hot coffee is by putting it in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for an hour.
If you don't want to wait for hot coffee to cool down in the freezer or refrigerator, put ½ cup of ice and a cup of hot coffee into a cocktail shaker and shake 10 times. Pour cooled down coffee into a cup and add ½ cup of more ice.
The coffee and the simple syrup are great to make ahead of time and both can be stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers. Make coffee the night or two before and let it chill in the refrigerator. The simple simple syrup will last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.