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How to Make an Iced Espresso

The CoffeeGeek definitive guide to making iced espresso - the best cold coffee method you can follow!
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IntroductionIced Espresso How To

This is optional, but we find the sweetness from half and half (10% fat) milk really gives a boost to the cup We don’t add to much, but you can do it to taste. If you prefer, add a sweetener instead to balance the taste.

We’re rolling into summer, and summer weather (at least where I am) so what better drink to start with than the one that might be the trickiest of cold coffee drinks to get right and proper.

There’s a lot of ways to brew espresso and serve it cold: straight up with as little dilution as possible; as an iced americano, as an iced cortado style, or a full blown iced latte (not to mention an iced moka, iced cappuccino, and so on, and so forth). For this How To, we’re going to focus on making the smallest iced version: the iced espresso, but we’ll also add two optional steps: using sugar, and topping with whipped cream.

The CoffeeGeek technique for this drink build has come from years of tinkering with exactly when to chill the espresso and how best to preserve the savoury sweetness of the aromatic oils, lipids and fats. All while keeping the dilution to a minimum.

After the How To Steps, we’ll get a bit into this theory that was developed in our community forums and some classes I tought, over the past two decades. We’ll also discuss why two additional steps are added to this guide for sweetening the beverage, and why they may be necessary for many.

We’re using the rather excellent Breville Barista Pro espresso machine (Breville Barista Pro (available in the USA from Amazon ($899US)). The Pro is Breville’s big step up machine from their super popular Barista Express model.

To whip the cream to any level of thickness, we’re using the  Breville All-in-One Immersion Blender System. Also, the glass ware is important — you want something that can handle thermal shock — we’re using the Schott Tritan Crystal Whiskey Glasses for this How To.

Also if you’re looking for a much more in-depth discussion on Iced Coffee and Espresso Theory, we wrote an extensive article on the subject.

Let’s get into the How To!

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Step by StepGuide

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.

icedespressostepsoops-1.jpg

Time Needed: 3 minutes

Equipment Cost $ 400

Necessary Supplies

Fresh Roasted Coffee
Filtered Water
Ice Cubes
Sugar (Optional)

Necessary Tools

Pump Driven Espresso Machine ($250 minimum)
Quality Burr Grinder ($125 minimum)
Espresso Tamper ($25 minimum)
Glassware
Spoon

Iced Espresso Steps

Prep your Items

When making an iced espresso, there’s stages to the drink build, and it’s good to have everything handy and in arms length. We have our espresso machine ready, ice in a bowl ready to use, the glass, and some sugar and a spoon on standby.
icedespressosteps-1.jpg

Pre-Chill Glassware

When making any iced drink based on espresso, it’s important to cool the espresso down in stages; having a pre chilled glass to brew into is part of those stages. Get the glass super cold (and make sure you’re using glassware that can handle thermal shock). Instead of ice for active cooling, you could also just leave your favourite (thermal shock resistant) glassware in the freezer).
icedespressosteps-2.jpg

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.

icedespressosteps-3.jpg

Tamp the Dose

Again, providing as much care and attention as you would to a normal espresso shot preparation, tamp your coffee carefully and very level.
icedespressosteps-4.jpg

Dump the Ice

Once the portafilter is locked into your machine, dump the ice from your cup. Note how absolutely chilled this glassware is. It will provide an important stage to the espresso’s cooling down.
icedespressosteps-5.jpg

Optional: Add Sugar

For reasons we’ll outline later in this article, you may want to add sugar at this point (a healthy teaspoon will do it), to balance the espresso better.
icedespressosteps-6.jpg

Press the Shot Brew Button

However your machine is activated to brew espresso (button press, lever lift, paddle turn, etc), now’s the time to do so. Again, we’re trying to brew the best possible espresso shot, so use all your tricks to get a good one here. We’re holding the button to extend pre-infusion on the Breville Barista Pro, to 10 seconds, with the aim of brewing 50g of liquid.
icedespressosteps-7.jpg

Brew a Double Shot

Let your normal double espresso brew; in this case, we’re brewing about 50g (50ml give or take) of espresso. As the espresso hits the chilled cup, it’s going to drop in temperature very quickly – from it’s 93C grouphead temp, to about 75C hitting the cup, to about 55-60C as it cools down a bit. Give it a good stir once the shot is done.
icedespressosteps-8.jpg

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.

icedespressosteps-9.jpg

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.

icedespressosteps-10.jpg

Serve Iced Espresso

By quickly stirring and using larger cubes, the dilution amounts are controlled and you get an iced drink that is definitely much shorter than an iced americano. Enjoy your iced espresso!

icedespresso-2.jpg

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?

adding a spoon of sugar to an iced espresso
Adding sugar to iced espresso

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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Revisions to this How To Guide

This is the fourth iteration of this guide, which was first published back in 2018 on CoffeeGeek as part of our Espresso Compendium Event. It has been updated several times since, to include new information and to format it for the new site we launched in 2021. The last update added one additional step to the process, and formatted it correctly for search engine SCHEMA listings.

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