Barista Training Academy: Cold Coffee Recipes

In the previous online barista training course, you’ve learned about the main differences between the cold brew method and iced coffee, as well as a few iced coffee recipes.

As a part of your online barista training, let’s have a look at other most popular summertime drinks. Be sure that you’ll be mixing them more often as the days get hotter and hotter.

Of course, the recipes we describe below don't cover the whole variety of iced coffees. Coffee brewing allows your imagination to fly. When you think about iced coffee, don’t be afraid to experiment. Be creative! Maybe your recipe will get on a menu board!

Classic Iced Coffee

You can use simple ice cubes to cool down your drink, whether it’s an espresso, Americano, or pour-over coffee. Keep in mind that these drinks will become more diluted and watery as the ice melts down, so be sure to use more coffee to preserve your drink's body and taste qualities.

Affogato or Ice Cream Coffee

The name “affogato” comes from the Italian word “drowned,” which basically means “drowning,” a scoop of ice cream in a coffee drink. It’s a wonderful and refreshing coffee dessert that will be a perfect treat on a nice sunny day.

Usually, you submerge a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cup and pour a double espresso over it. You can serve it up with a spoon and let the customer decide if he/she wants to eat it as a dessert or allow it to melt in a drink.

In this recipe, ice cream has two roles: it cools down the coffee and sweetens it. So there’s no need for extra sugar.

Iced Coffee with Strawberries

It’s an easy recipe that will surely become a delightful drink for anyone. Brew your coffee and pour it into the blender. Blend it with a few strawberries. Prepare tall glasses and put a few ice cubes into them. Pour coffee and strawberry mix over them. You can add some whipped cream with a strawberry on top.

Instead of strawberries, you may use any berries or fruits: raspberries, blackberries, bananas, pears, etc.

Coffee Ice Cubes

One of the most unusual ways to prepare a cold coffee drink is to make coffee ice cubes. All you need to do is brew strong coffee, pour it into an ice cubes tray, and leave it in the freezer. When you are ready to make a drink, just put a few coffee ice cubes into hot water and let it melt there. As the coffee ice cubes melt, the drink will become stronger and more concentrated.

Not many people have heard about this barista trick, so use it to surprise your friends and customers. You can also blend coffee ice cubes in a blender and add some milk to it. You’ll get a wonderful coffee and milkshake.

Use a Cold Cup

During your barista training, you probably have been taught to keep your coffee cups on top of the espresso machine covered with a towel so that your cups are always warm and preserve the heat longer.

In summer, you might want to keep a few cups or tall glasses in the fridge so that when you pour your iced coffee, they stay cold longer. You can also use a cold cup to cool a hot espresso faster. In this case, make sure that you use a cup from thick and solid material to crack from the temperature change.

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