Let’s face it, we can’t always find the time to stand in line, place our order and wait for a paper cup with our name misspelled on it. So, while it is nice to go to Starbucks, what’s even better is if you can make their drinks at home. Our Starbucks iced coffee recipe is just as good as the original, and you’ll probably have all the ingredients already at home. Here’s how you do it.
How to Make Starbucks Iced Coffee
There are several ways to make a Starbucks iced coffee. We’ve tried them all, and we have to be honest, there isn’t much difference between them. Today we are going to focus on the French Press method.
The French press method is the quickest. The downside is that you have to plan ahead a little, as a French press only works with hot water. Hot water and Iced coffee aren’t two things that you’ll ever find together.
We brew our coffee, press the plunger, and then allow it to cool for around 30-40 minutes (it is so much quicker if you put it in the fridge as soon as you have brewed it. Once it is chilled, we pour a couple of cups of fresh aromatic coffee over some ice, add a little sweetness in the form of sugar syrup (or just regular old white sugar if you haven’t got time), and a layer of cream over the top.
As the cream sinks through the black coffee, it produces a really nice marbling effect and really adds to the drink’s visual appeal.
You occasionally see other methods used, such as using cold brew coffee. But we want to make our recipe as quick and as easy as possible. So our idea of a quick and easy copycat Starbucks recipe isn’t waiting for 24 hours for coffee to cold brew.
Starbucks Iced Coffee Recipe
Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings30
minutes10
minutes150
kcalNot all drinks are equal and in particular that’s true when you try make this copycat iced coffee drink from Starbucks. Simple but delicious.
Ingredients
3 cups 3 of boiling water
8 scoops of ground coffee
1 cup 1 of ice per serving
2 tablespoons 2 sugar syrup (or white sugar)
½ cup half and half.
Directions
- Place your coffee grounds into your French press. Add all of the hot water, then give it a good stir. Leave the coffee to brew for around 10 minutes until it is nice and strong. Gently push the plunger down until the filter has captured all of the coffee grounds, and you are left with a nice strong coffee.
- Once your coffee has brewed, decant it into a bottle or jug and place it in the fridge to cool for around 30 minutes. It cools quicker if you place it in the freezer.
- When the time has elapsed, remove your coffee from the fridge. In a tall glass, add large handfuls of ice until it reaches the top of the glass. Pour in your coffee, and then add in the sugar syrup or sugar. Stir the glass until the sweetener is incorporated, and then leave to rest for a minute.
- Using the back of a spoon, gently pour over the half and half. The creamy white dairy will sink in rivulets between the ice cubes and coffee if you’ve done it right.
- We find the easiest way to serve this drink is with a straw. That way, you don’t end up spilling ice cubes down your front.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
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Tips and Tricks
- You can make this recipe for as many people as you like. Our recipe is designed to serve up to six. However, if you have double the number of people, just double the number of ingredients.
- We find that half and half gives the best texture and flavor to our Starbucks coffee. It also tastes just like the original. If you love dairy, we find a really opulent touch is to use heavy cream.
- If you are trying to steer clear of dairy, no problem! You can still enjoy this drink. We have tried it with dairy alternatives like almond and soy and found that it makes very little difference to the final taste.
- If you aren’t sure which method to use, allow us to help you. If you want to have a delicious homemade Starbucks coffee the same day, then go for the French press method…. There is very little difference between the taste of this and the cold brew method.
- If you are really pushed for time, consider putting your French-pressed coffee in the freezer. Just be sure to keep an eye on it as it tends to freeze quite quickly.
- There are lots of ways to get a fresh cup of coffee. While we use a French press, don’t feel limited by this. If you have an espresso machine, then feel free to make a cup of coffee this way. We have even tried using a good brand of instant coffee and were pleasantly surprised by the results. It doesn’t taste exactly like Starbucks, but it is close enough.
- This is a great drink if you want to use left over coffee. We use a dark Colombian roast, but it works with just about any type of coffee grounds. If you are unsure, just experiment until you find one whose taste is to your liking.
- You can easily scale up or down the recipe
Conclusion
You’ll tend to find that Starbucks drinks recipes are really quick to make. While there are different methods, we find that the French press gives you all of the taste and convenience. The only bad thing about this homemade Starbucks iced coffee recipe is that we always have more than one… meaning we are wide awake for the day! So what is your favorite Starbucks recipe? Let us know in the comments below. We love hearing from you guys.
