The Experience
It’s that time of year again, where the warmer weather calls for cold coffee. Coffee menu’s in most cafes are updated to include some of the more common cold coffees – iced coffee, iced espresso, caffe freddo, cold brew, coffee tonic, shakerato, frappe. Sound familiar? Of course the Affogato is also on the list, but this is a whole experience in itself. You would think creating a cold coffee would be easy. It’s just the hot version in the cold form right? Wrong. Finding that cold coffee that hits the spot without being too watery, light, lacking in coffee flavour, bitter or way too sweet is as hard as finding a new pair of summer shorts!
This is where home brewing comes in. Sometimes the best cold coffee you will actually brew yourself at home. If you have a good roast, coffee method and recipe – with to without good fresh milk – you are well on your way.
The Process – Espresso on Ice or Espresso on the Rocks
As an espresso lover, one of the worse things you can be served is an espresso with ice that becomes watery in minutes. The warmer the weather, the quicker you need to drink it, or you end up with a watery, cold espresso. Not good. After several experiments, I am ready to share my Espresso on Ice recipe with you all.
Part 1: Preparing the espresso. Select your espresso roast of choice and your own espresso home brewing method. For me, I stick with my family tradition, which is home espresso brewing using the Bialetti Moka. Take a look. Key things to remember: make sure you espresso grind is not too coarse or too fine. The fresher the ground coffee, the better the taste. That wonderful aroma will make you want to have the espresso hot before letting it cool down for Part 2.
Part 2: Espresso on Ice time. I never really understood why normal ice cubes are used in iced espresso or cold coffee drinks. Maybe it’s just a question of mass production of coffee icecubes. It is much easier to create espresso ice cubes at home. Baristas and cafés of the world, this is a call out to all of you to put espresso ice cubes inside your cold coffee drinks. Apart from Coldbrew and Nitro Coldbrew of course. Let the espresso ice cube craze take over the cold coffee world! Take a look.
The Coffee
Coffee: Santa Izabel – Terraces Lot
Roaster: Ozone Coffee Roasters, UK
Producer: Brazil
Process: Natural
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Almond, Rhubarb, Milk Chocolate
This coffee is WOW! If you have the chance to try it, I highly recommend it. One of the most delicious espresso roasts I’ve tried at home this year.