Some people can enjoy hot coffee in hot weather. For the rest of us, a cold beverage is preferable to cool down in the summer. Here's how to make a great, smooth cup of cold coffee.

Iced Coffee is a refreshing beverage on a hot day.

Step One: Make a Hot Pour-over

Basically you'll make a hot pour-over like normally. You can read our step-by-step for making pour-over here. I would advise using a coffee that is fruit-forward with a light mouthfeel and low body. I used our Kenya Othaya coffee.

Step Two: Sweet to taste

We recommend 1 gram of sugar (or alternative) for 100 grams of brewed coffee. I made a half-liter, 500 grams, so I added 5 grams of sugar. You could make a liter in a full-size Ball jar and add 10 grams of the sweet stuff. Cold coffee can get bitter, so the sugar cuts that. But I also believe that sugar, like salt with food, can accent and pull out the flavor of the coffee that you would not notice unsweetened. Also, I just like a little sugar in my brew, whether hot or cold. I add this to the coffee before chilling it because I've noticed that heat dissolves the granules faster than when cold.

Step Three: Chill

You can do this slowly by putting your decanter in the fridge. To do it faster, you can immerse it in an ice bath. I did this second option. A thin-walled metal decanter in the ice bath will chill the hot brew most quickly. I used a thick-walled glass Ball jar. After 10 minutes, the liquid was still hot. I think that is because the thick-wall insulated the hot beverage from the ice outside the jar. Still, within a half hour, the drink was cold and lovely.

Source

Full disclosure, I based this how-to on the work of world-renowned barista, Tim Wendelboe. Tim W is a cafe-owner based in Oslo, Norway. I looked to a lot of sources for a great recipe and tried many methods. Tim's is the best I found for my taste preference. You can watch his video below.