Keep the taste of your cold coffee, by using coffee ice cubes!

Summer is synonymus to iced coffee ... but frozen coffee has a common problem. How do we avoid its dilution? With easy to made ice cubes!

In Greece, we love iced coffee a little more than other countries, both because of our climatic conditions and possibly because of our temperament. It is also indicative that for years the Greek coffee culture was spinning around caffe  frappe while in the last few years the summer monopoly of another summer 'invention', Freddo Espresso, while Cold Brew begins to create its own audience in our country . The problem with each icy coffee is the same: the dillution resulting from the addition of ice!

Each frozen coffee needs ice cubes in order to maintain its temperature. As the ice melts, our coffee is diluted and its flavor is altered as it becomes weaker and lighter. It is not uncommon for the summer, frozen coffees to end up drowsy and greedy after a few minutes, especially on a warm, summer day.

The solution is relatively simple and comes from a simple "patent": ice cubes made of coffee! An idea that began in the United States cafes and spread lightning across the globe, guarantees an icy coffee with full, unaltered taste, easily, quickly and economically!

What coffee should we use for coffee ice cubes?

We can use any kind of coffee to make ice cubes, but it depends mainly on what coffee we like to enjoy cold. Our goal is to keep the flavor of our cold coffee, without being diluted by the melting of the ice and without the taste being diminishing as time passes. The ice cubes we use are good to be made of the same coffee we drink so that we do not have any taste alterations. When we say the same coffee, we definitely mean the same blend and - if possible - the same way of extraction. For example, if we are used to enjoy our Freddo based on a particular blend of Lavazza or Illy, it is good to "sacrifice" a quantity of our beans to prepare our ice cubes. Under no circumstances, we use inferior "cheap" coffee blends for our ice cubes, as this will affect the taste of our coffee sensibly.

The same applies to extraction. If we prefer Cold Brew, it is good to have our ice cubes made of Cold Brew, and for those who still prefer instant coffee, instant ice cubes are a good solution. In the case of Freddo, we can make ice cubes from a simple coffee filter, as long as we have extracted the same blend so that the flavors do not get together - although it is best to keep some espresso for our ice cubes. 

How are coffee ice cubes prepared?

The recipe for ice cubes could not be simpler, since all we need is to prepare our favorite coffee and, after letting it come to room temperature, fill our ice cubes and put them in the freezer. After a few hours, we will have ready-made ice cubes, easily and simply.

One area that needs attention is how much coffee we use. The whole philosophy of using ice cubes is to keep the flavor of our frozen coffee for as long as possible. But we should not forget that using a lot of ice cubes made of strong coffee, the flavor will also be altered as our coffee will become significantly stronger, while its caffeine content will also increase significantly.

There is a way to adjust this parameter either by looking at how many ice cubes we use or by diluting the coffee we will use for our ice cubes. Of course, this requires experimentation, both with the dilution of the coffee and with the amount of ice we will use for each of our beverages, but after a few tests, it is certain that we will enjoy the most delicious frozen coffee we have tasted.

Extra tips for a cool summer with coffee ice cubes

• Do not put hot coffee in the freezer, as the big difference in temperature can cause problems in our freezing. Always wait for the coffee to come at room temperature.
• If the ice cubes become difficult to take out, you can lightly dip the bottom of your ice case with warm or warm water.
• Frequent use of ice cases for ice cubes is likely to leave flavor residues in plastic. It is good to clean the icebox thoroughly after use with hot water and soap, or even use some of our ice cubes exclusively for ice cubes
• If you plan to make alcoholic cocktails with coffee for a party, yu can use imaginative ice cubes that give ice cubes in different original shapes.
• You can use it for the ice cubes that have gone stale, as long as we do not mix the blends and the extraction ways, which will significantly alter the taste in our glass.
• You can make a novelty by adding sugar, milk (regular or sweetened), syrup etc. to ice cubes. Do not forget that all these additions change the final taste and watch the calories.

This summer, the dilluted Freddo Espresso, the tasteless Cold Brew or even the sparse frappe can become past - as long as we always have our coffee ice cubes!