Sometimes you want to have the best of both worlds. On the one hand you want to enjoy the roasted deliciousness of a good cup of coffee. On the other hand, you want something cold and refreshing. One way to satisfy both these cravings is by making some iced coffee. At its most basic, iced coffee is cold coffee, ice cubes and a glass. At its most elaborate iced coffee can become a smooth, creamy whipped cream topped frappe of a drink.
Below, I've come up with two basic ways to make some iced coffee. If you want to make adjustments to these drinks, try one or more of the following tips. Milk and sugar are almost too obvious to mention. You know those flavored syrups you like in your morning coffee? They work nicely in iced coffee, too. A little bit of cinnamon when you're brewing your coffee can add a nice flavor, too. So can some of that syrup you make hot chocolate with.

BASIC ICED COFFEE
1) Brew a good, strong pot of coffee. for every two scoops of coffee you normally use, add at least one more.
2) When the coffee's ready, pour the coffee into a heavy pitcher and set aside to come down to room temperature. Don't put it in the fridge right away. The sudden change in temperature can crack glass pitchers.
3) Refrigerate the coffee. When cold, serve over ice.

ICED COFFEE FRAPPE
1) Follow the first two steps in the recipe above.
2) Fill a blender at least 1/3 full with ice.
3) Add coffee plus cream and sugar to taste.
4) Blend until smooth and thick.
5) Serve in your favorite glass topped with whipping cream and some chocolate shavings.

Don't be afraid to go a little nuts and experiment. There's no reason you can't make an iced mocha milkshake or an iced coffee float. Instead of plain water, you can use the basic iced coffee to make a coffee flavored simple syrup. Simple coffee syrup can open up a whole new world of mix drinks for your next party. Coffee martini anyone? Well, you get the idea. Whatever you decide to do, just have fun.

Learn more about this author, Brian Vandenbroek.
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