Nothing is more depressing than a watered down iced coffee. Save yourself from the heartbreak and make coffee ice cubes! No more melted ice making watery coffee drinks, just delicious flavor to the very last drop.
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Coffee Ice Cubes Recipe
I’m a sucker for a good iced coffee, and typically I drink it so fast that the ice doesn’t really have time to melt. No time like the present, right? But sometimes I choose to savor that iced caramel macchiato or iced Irish coffee; when the ice starts to melt and water it down, it affects the flavor.
That’s where these coffee ice cubes come in! These are so nice in cold coffee drinks because they won’t dilute the drink and make it watery like regular ice cubes do. But not only that, they can even be used in cocktails to add a nice coffee touch as they melt!
I love to toss one of these frozen coffee cubes into my thermos of hot coffee on the go, too. It helps to cool the coffee to a drinkable temperature since those heat-proof mugs can be super-insulated sometimes!
If you’ve got coffee, ice cubes trays and a freezer, then you can make homemade coffee ice cubes. They’re super useful and will keep that iced latte from getting watered down! You’re going to love it!
More coffee recipes: Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate • Whipped Coffee • Homemade Coffee Liqueur
Why you’ll love this recipe
Aside from making my coffee taste better, there are so many reasons I love this incredibly simple recipe:
- This is a wonderful way to repurpose leftover coffee! If you’ve got some coffee left in your french press, coffee pot or pour over typically it’s not enough for another cup of coffee. Instead of tossing it out, pour it into ice cube molds to make make coffee ice cubes.
- These work in tons of different drinks, even cocktails. They are multipurpose and incredibly helpful.
- To make these ice cubes, all you need is coffee. Really, that’s it! No crazy ingredients or weird add-ins, just your favorite coffee brewed to perfection.
Equipment needed
You will need to make coffee however you prefer to make it. Whether that is with a pour over, a drip coffee pot or french press. Make sure you have all of the equipment that you need to make that. My post on coffee essentials talks more about everything you need to make good coffee.
The only other thing you’ll need is an ice cube tray, or maybe a few trays.
Ingredients
The one sole ingredient to make these ice cubes is, of course, brewed coffee! It doesn’t get much more simple than that:
If you’re stumped on what kind of coffee to get and which way to brew it, then check out my coffee 101 post for all of the best tips on choosing coffee beans.
You can also change up these coffee ice cubes a bit to make them sweet. Some simple syrup, maple syrup or even honey can be mixed into the hot coffee. Really, any sweetener of choice will work. Then when the ice cubes melt, they’ll sweeten the drink and you can just stir it up!
How to make Coffee Ice Cubes
There’s virtually no prep time to this recipe, it’s fantastic! Here’s a step by step guide on how to make them:
First, brew your favorite coffee and allow it to cool completely so that it will take less time to freeze. You can even use leftover coffee from the pot.
Pour coffee into each slot of an ice cube tray and carefully transfer the tray to the freezer. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until frozen through.
Then pop them out of the tray and use in iced coffee drinks or cocktails as needed! Store them in a freezer-safe zipper-locking bag.
Tips & tricks
Follow these super basic steps and instructions and you’ll have these ice cubes ready in no time. But here’s a few tips if you need them:
- Make different sizes or shapes for different effects and looks. These can actually double as a cocktail garnish. I’ve used them in a White Russian!
- Try different kinds of coffee and find what flavor you like best. Whether you buy ground coffee or coffee beans, there are coffees that taste better than others.
- If you have ice cubes trays that are really flimsy, like silicone ice cube trays, then place them on a baking sheet before you pour coffee into the slots. This will keep them sturdy and steady as you transfer them to the freezer.
Uses for Coffee Ice Cubes
Freezing coffee into little cubes —who knew it’d have so many uses? These little cubes of happiness can be used to keep pumpkin cream cold brew coffee cold and that iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso from watering down. I love using them in Irish cream cold brew too.
For cocktails, you can use it in a coffee old-fashioned or Baileys iced coffee to keep them at the perfect temperature and provide the perfect flavor. Oh, and they keep the vanilla syrup and sparkling water in coffee soda from losing their luster by using coffee ice cubes.
These can even be used in mocha smoothies and coffee smoothies to make a bold flavor and thicker texture!
FAQ
Once frozen, remove the ice cubes from their trays and place them into an airtight container or freezer bag. Store for 2-3 weeks! You can store them longer than that, but the flavor may begin to change.
Full cubes or crescent shaped cubes are the slowest melting shapes, making them the best options for iced coffee. Ultimately, you can use any shape you want when making coffee ice cubes because they will just release coffee flavor as they melt. But if you would like a slow melting shape, those are the two to go with!
More unique ice cubes
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Coffee Ice Cubes
ingredients
- 1 cup fresh-brewed coffee cooled
instructions
- Brew coffee and allow it to cool slightly or completely.
- Pour cooled coffee into an ice cube tray. Freeze for at least four hours or overnight, until frozen through.
- Use coffee ice cubes in cocktails or coffee drinks.
notes
- Add them to hot coffee to cool it down without diluting it.
- Pop them into iced coffee drinks to add more coffee flavor without the dreaded dilution.
- Use them in smoothies for a hint of coffee flavor.
- Garnish coffee cocktails like a white Russian.
- Make different sizes or shapes for different effects and looks.
- Try different kinds of coffee and find what flavor you like best. Whether you buy ground coffee or coffee beans, some coffees taste better than others.
- If you have really flimsy ice cube trays, like silicone ice cube trays, place them on a baking sheet before you pour coffee into the slots. This will keep them sturdy and steady as you transfer them to the freezer.
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