Funny to admit – I’m finally starting to feel like an adult, because I’ve figured out how to make a good cup of coffee at home. I’m going to share how to make a Starbucks iced coffee copycat recipe via two methods: cold pressed iced coffee and French press iced coffee.
Reading: how to make frozen coffee drinks like starbucks
There’s nothing I enjoy more than a cold, delicious iced coffee from Starbucks. But sometimes I don’t have the time (or, let’s be real, the money) to pick one of these bad boys up in the mornings, so I was determined to figure out how to make Starbucks iced coffee at home, which is exactly what I did!
The trick to making the iced coffee is to cold press it or use a French press, and then serve it with a simple syrup and cream. Having a simple syrup is the smooth sweetness that compliments the coffee so well and because it is already a liquid, you won’t have any pesky sugar granules coming through the straw! Coffee made via these methods are so smooth, you’re going to love it, so lets dive in.
Read more: How to make shrimp cocktail sauce at home
How to make iced coffee via the French Press method:
- You’ll need a French press, and a bag of ground coffee
- Warm water – you want it very hot, but not boiling. I microwave water for 3 minutes per 2 cups of water.
- Pour water into French press, add coffee grounds (my magic number is 2.5 scoops per cup of water).
- Stir with a plastic or wooden spoon or reusable plastic straw – you don’t want a metal spoon to scratch the bottom of the French press.
- Let sit for 4 minutes, then put the lid on, press gently, and pour coffee over a big glass of ice.
- Stir in simple syrup and creamer or make sweet cream coffee creamer. Enjoy.
- Save leftovers in the fridge and serve over ice.
How to make iced coffee via the cold pressed method:
- You’ll need a large pitcher or measuring cup, a bag of ground coffee, and a coffee filter.
- Start by measuring out 8 cups of water, pour bag of coffee grounds (12 oz) into the water, stir once (with a plastic or paper straw or spoon) and cover. Let sit for 24 hrs.
- After 24 hrs strain through coffee filter into a pitcher. Refrigerate for 8 hours and then your coffee is ready to enjoy!
- This makes a really strong ‘concentrate’ – mix 1/2 cup concentrate with 1/2 cup water and pour over ice (this is for strong coffee, if you like it weaker, add more water.) Add simple syrup and creamer or make sweet coffee creamer.
Read more: ice milk tea how to make
To me, a cold glass of iced coffee is the ‘cat’s meow.’
Out of curiosity, I looked up what the phrase ‘cat’s meow’ meant, and totally got a laugh out of Urban Dictionary’s use of it in a sentence ‘George, your zoot suit is quite the cat’s meow!’ aaahhhhahaha! I’m still going with it in this context ‘Phi, this iced coffee is the cat’s meow!’
And how perfect- this Starbucks iced coffee copycat drink has less than 5 ingredients making it perfect for this week’s Five Ingredient Friday!
I originally shared this post back in 2014 and have updated it to include both methods!
Read more: How to make lemonade without simple syrup
