Cold Brew Iced Coffee Plus Iced Hazelnut Mocha

Summer’s just around the corner, despite unseasonably cold weather in the Northeast. (It was warmer on Christmas than it was on Easter this year in the Philadelphia area.) I find myself perfectly ready for the transition from hot morning coffee to iced morning coffee, and as my 35th birthday is tomorrow, I figured I’d treat myself a day early.

Cold brew iced coffee is super easy to make. A good friend of mine gave me a cold brewed coffee recipe and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I finally got to give it a shot this week!

Start with a high quality coffee you’d drink: you can grind your own or you can use pre-ground, as long as it’s a good coffee. A medium roast works just fine. I used Melitta Hazelnut Creme, because it’s one of my favorite coffees. You need:

Cold Brew Coffee

• 1/2 cup ground coffee
• 1 quart of water
• coffee filter

I have good tap water so I used that, you can used filtered or spring water if you prefer. Combine the coffee and water in a bottle (I used a paper towel to form a funnel to get the coffee inside this old orange juice bottle) and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Then filter the coffee through a standard coffee filter. Keep in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to a week. To use for iced coffee, simply pour over ice and add your favorite accoutrements, such as sugar and cream. To use for hot coffee, dilute slightly with water and warm in the microwave.

Here’s how I used it this morning:

Iced Hazelnut Mocha

• 1 cup cold brew coffee
• Ice
• 2 tbsp Hershey’s Lite Chocolate Syrup
• 2 oz. milk of your choice (I used Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Cashew Milk)

In a large glass, add ice.

Layer chocolate syrup, cold brew coffee, and milk and watch the beauty of the swirl.

Stir together (or don’t) and enjoy!

Do you like iced coffee? What’s your favorite way to enjoy it? Let me know in the comments!