July 15, 2010

Iced Java

I kinda have this thing for coffee. And coffee shops.

I don't know if you knew.

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I was looking at my budget and I realized that I also spend an obscene amount of money on coffee. Obscene. Like probably over $20 a week. Which is over $80 a month. Which is over $960 a year. Which is close to $1000.

I don't know about your life, but in mine one thousand dollars is a lot of money. A lot of money indeed.

So, I have determined that I must cut back. I must be strong. I must because that much money on coffee is ridiculous.

Although I can walk through the doors and the baristas get my drink prepared without me asking for my iced, skim, sugar-free caramel latte that doesn't mean that I need to go every day. Or even five days a week. I could cut back to three. I can do that.

Therefore, I will make iced coffee for the summer. It's easy. It's delicious. It's cheap.
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First, I'm going to start with a simple syrup. Simple syrup is made for cold beverages. Because regular sugar and cold beverages don't mix.
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Remember that wah-nilla bean from my vanilla bean buttercream? I saved it. There was a lot of flavor left! I stuck it in a baggie with one cup of plain, white sugar. It sat there for 3 weeks. Then I decided to use it.
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See all those floaty bits? They're the deliciousness of wah-nilla.

Simple syrup is a one to one ratio of sugar to water.

The recipe:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Boil until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour into a container. Use in your iced coffee. So easy-peasy.
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I did strain out the big bits. No one likes chunky coffee.
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Now for the iced coffee. I don't actually like iced coffee from most coffee shops. They usually do a double-strength brew and then get it cold and it's just waaaaaaaaaay too bitter for me. I have delicate taste buds. This recipe is for a cold-pressed iced coffee from over at Smitten Kitchen, my prep is a little different, but her prep is more multi-tasking equipment friendly.

Here's how I roll:

Two-thirds a cup of ground coffee beans. If you're me you grind your own on your roommate's fancy coffee equipment.
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These beans are from Hawaii.

Three cups of water. If you want to go all out, use some filtered H2O, but mine's straight from the tap. Thank you, Durham.
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I put it all in my french press and let it sit overnight.
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The next morning I push it down to strain out the coffee grounds, pour my coffee over ice, add some half-n-half and my vanilla simple syrup.
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I probably saved myself $3. 50 today.
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That's a savings of $17.50 for the week...$70 for the month and $840 for the year. If I make this every day. Which I probably won't.

BUT, I could do it for the summer. Or even 50% of the time. Then I'd still save myself some moolah.

Try it out! Let me know what you think.

Mmmmmm....coffee.

1 comment :

  1. now i want some Iced Coffee. maybe Ill get some since I'm at Panera, or I'll just wait and make some at home.

    ReplyDelete