Aug 17, 2010

The lure of buying iced coffee


On my drive to work in the morning, I am tempted on several occasions to pull over and purchase a cool, refreshing iced coffee to start my day right. If I stop at Dunkin' Donuts, for less than $2, I can enjoy a iced coffee that frankly, tastes a lot like candy...and that's a good thing. I can also pull over and drive through McDonald's two lane expressway and grab a second tier iced coffee if I desire. But really, I am mostly tempted by Dunkin' Donuts.


Why do I have such a strong urge to by iced coffee on the run? Because it's difficult to perfect an iced coffee. Coffee shops have perfected it, they know how to do it right. Well, I've been doing some research on the topic, and I would like to share my success story on how I've mastered the home-brewed iced coffee and now enjoy one every single day on my way to work, saving myself a little less than $2 per day.

What you need:
Coffee
Travel Mug or cup
Straw (isn't mine cool?)

Step 1: Brew your coffee extra strong. I have a friend who works at Barnes and Nobles and has experience as a barista in the cafe. She says they brew their coffee used to make iced coffee twice as strong to make up for the water dilution that occurs when the ice cubes begin to melt. So brew it strong.

Step 2: Open the lid of your coffee pot and rest it on a wooden surface or other safe cooling surface to allow heat to be released from the coffee. There is nothing worse than pouring burning hot coffee into a cup of ice cubes; this melts the ice cubes and leaves you with watered-down coffee that's not chilled and not tasty. Basically, bad news bears. So, give yourself some extra minutes after you brew for cooling time.

Step 3: Grab a travel mug or other non-glass cup and fill it with ice. Put in preferred amounts of sugar and cream. By the way, the reason Dunkin' coffee tastes so good is they use the most fattening cream known to man when they create your beverage. So don't be alarmed when yours doesn't taste identical, even if you buy their coffee. But rest assured, if you make the coffee at home, you are saving lots of cash over long periods of time, and after awhile you won't even notice. You can also just add more creamer to more taste and fat, this works great too!
Hint: If all you have is a glass cup to use for your iced coffee, put a straw in before you pour the coffee in. This lets the heat be released threw the straw. This way you won't crack your glass.

Step 4: Pour cooled coffee in travel mug/cup. Stir and enjoy, know you've saved money. Day = success.
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