Everyone loves iced coffee — but no one loves paying $3–$4 for a cup of what is basically plain old joe poured over ice cubes. Of course, there’s a better way: make it at home.
The hubbub lately has been over cold-brewing coffee, a multi-step home approach that involves soaking your ground beans overnight in cold water to extract the flavor and then straining the sludge twice before diluting it to your taste. When we asked our favorite baristas how they made their frosty java, though, we learned that everyone has a method that they think is just right.
Karl Scholz, a barista at Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint, was happy to give us tips on how to do it — and do it right. His first lesson: iced coffee is not just regular java served over cubes.
At Grumpy’s, baristas use one-third to one-half less water when making drip coffee destined for a sub-freezing future. This double-strength coffee is then poured into a large jar filled with ice.
Some local establishments aren’t content with plain old frozen water in their coffee, though. Carolina Whitson, owner of the Red Horse Cafe in Park Slope, not only brews organic coffee, but then pours it over coffee ice cubes. Another bonus? Affordability. A 12-ounce iced-coffee is $2, 16-ounce is $2.50 and a 20-ounce is $3. And, if you’re making iced coffee at home, it’s an easy step to follow.
Cafe Grumpy’s Manhattan location uses an $11,000 coffee maker called the Clover, but Scholz said that nothing so fancy is necessary for home brewing.
He recommended Grumpy’s Bolivian, Ethiopian or Rwandan blend and told GO Brooklyn that as long as you’ve got a coffeemaker and a freezer, a quality cup of iced coffee is only a few cubes away.
Haven’t got the time to make your own iced coffee? GO Brooklyn’s Juliana Bunim filtered out Brooklyn’s five best beaneries for cold caffeine.
Cafe Grumpy (193 Meserole Ave., at Diamond Street in Greenpoint) is open Monday through Friday from 7 am–7 pm, Saturday from 9 am–7 pm and Sunday from 9 am–6 pm. For information, call (718) 349-7623
Red Horse Cafe (497 Sixth Ave., at 12th Street in Park Slope) is open Monday through Thursday from 7 am–10 pm, Friday from 7 am–midnight, Saturday from 8 am–midnight and Sunday from 8 am–10 pm. For information, call (718) 499-4973.
