Iced Espresso Step by Step
This is, we believe, the best possible iced coffee drink you can make today. It surpasses all other methods in terms of what is delivered in the cup. It’s not a long drink by any stretch, but if you want the pinnacle of an iced coffee beverage, and you want it quick, this is the one to do. The trick is, cool the beverage down in steps. We also recommend sweetening the beverage with either sugar or whipped cream, and explain why below.
Time Needed: 3 minutes
Equipment Cost $ 400
Necessary Supplies
Necessary Tools
Iced Espresso Steps
Prep your Items
Pre-Chill Glassware
Grind the Coffee
Assuming your espresso machine is fully heated up and ready to go, grind your coffee exactly the same way you’d do for a normal double espresso shot. The goal here is to make the best possible espresso you can. Use our Espresso How To as a reference point.
Tamp the Dose
Dump the Ice
Optional: Add Sugar
Press the Shot Brew Button
Brew a Double Shot
Add Ice for Chilling
Add your ice to the beverage, one cube at a time. Add one cube, give it a few stirs, then add the second cube, and more stirs, then add the rest of your ice. This helps with the gradual cool down we’re looking for.
Serve Iced Espresso
Stir the heck out of the drink, fast and even. You want to cool it down quickly and with as little dilution as possible. The cubes serve two purposes: to rapidly chill the drink, and then still be big enough to be served with the drink and keep it cold.
Iced EspressoFurther Exploration
At CoffeeGeek, we’re completely adamant that espresso needs to be cooled down in stages when making iced versions of espresso based beverages. This same rule doesn’t apply to brewed coffee that becomes iced, only espresso. Why is that?
We ran a series of tests in the CoffeeGeek Lab back in 2009 to see taste differences between espresso chilled the instant it was brewed (by brewing onto ice), vs espresso that is cooled down in rapid stages (first into a steel pitcher, then into a chilled glass, then ice added), and the staged cooldown espresso always tasted better, even in blind tasting by visitors to the Lab.
We never quite figured out the science why, other than to speculate: it was about the crema. The crema of espresso, which is CO2 bubbles surrounded by oils, fats, and lipids from the extractions of the ground coffee, had a harsh chemical reaction and change when exposed immediately to ice. By cooling the beverage down in stages (first into a heat-siphoning steel container, then into a chilled glass), you gave those oils, fats and lipids a chance to mellow and settle down without shocking them.
The last stage is ice – lots of it and big cubes. To use a seasoned bartender trick — larger ice cubes for chilling mean less dilution (compared to using crushed ice) — means we keep more espresso and less added water while chilling the drink down to a 2-4C temperature range.
Try this yourself – try brewing espresso right onto ice, stir it vigorously, and drink. Then brew espresso into a chilled glass, stir it, then add ice and stir again and taste. Or add a step – the steel milk frothing pitcher, which will leach away heat, then add to a chilled glass.
Why Sugar?
Why are we adding sugar (optionally) here? It’s simple really: the colder a beverage is, the harder it is for your tongue to perceive any possible sweetness. It gets muted by cold temperatures. Try this: enjoy some of your favourite ice cream. Then melt some ice cream to room temperature, and drink it. It’s much more sweet once warmed up. Or try this: enjoy part of a Freeze Pop (my partial flavour is blue raspberry!), then let the rest melt, and drink it.
Where a great espresso shot is balanced and has some sweetness playing with the many levels of bitter, when it’s iced, all that sweet hides and fades away. To truly enjoy the drink, a modifier is called for – either some sugar in the glassware before brewing, or add some whipped cream to the drink after.
Of course, you can prove your coffee gravitas by having it straight, but we prefer to restore some balance lost by the chilling process!
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