10 Minute Iced Coffee

… this post is part two in the series on Wedding Brain. A.K.A the absence of mental prowess in the presence of a major upcoming life event. More here.

On a recent shopping trip, I had a mental list. Which is almost always a bad idea.

Storing a list in my head means running through the items in my brain over and over, talking to myself, making acronyms, counting on my fingers how many things I have left to buy, and inevitably forgetting something.

Physical lists are better.

Amidst the distracted talking to myself and counting on my fingers, I found myself explaining to a pharmacist that I needed to buy nose plugs in bulk. For my wedding.

His perplexed expression led me to babble on about how we needed them because we’re all sleeping in close quarters (bunk beds and whatnot) and I thought they would be a nice thing to provide.

He continued to look confused, shooting me sideways “are you a nut job?” glances, while he led me to the aisle where the nose plugs could be found.

I MEANT EAR PLUGS!

For the love of all that is holy, I wanted plugs for the EARS! Not for the NOSE!

How embarrassing and inconvenient. Now I need a new pharmacist.

And I’m stuck with the hilarious visual of doling out nose plugs to puzzled wedding guests as they arrive. “Welcome to our wedding! We have a bit of a B.O. situation…”.

It keeps cracking me up at inopportune moments – while jogging, on the bus, in the waiting room to get my passport… always by myself, of course.

Really, caffeinated beverages are not the thing I should be blogging about these days as I jitter around saying moronic things to intelligent people.

Oh well. Iced coffee is a cooling treat on a scorching summer day, but one that generally requires some forethought. Brew the coffee, chill it for hours…

Not anymore! Ice bath, baby, all the way. I took the idea from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – she chills her ice cream base the same way. Prepare an ice bath while your coffee is percolating, then pour the hot brew into a freezer bag and submerge it in the frigid water until cool. It only takes 10 minutes to chill, versus the several hours it would take in the fridge.

I’m not sure if there is something happening chemically to substantiate this, but I swear that this method produces the smoothest iced coffee I’ve ever had. Practically no bitter edge that is usually present (cold coffee is more bitter than its steaming counterpart).

Try it, and let me know what you think!

You can brew your beans however you like, but can I just say, the french press makes by far the most delicious mug I’ve ever had at home. How do you make your coffee?

On the mental list: pick up some decaf…

Speedy Iced Coffee

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: Jennifer Hill

Serves: 1 or more

Ingredients

• brewed coffee
• ice
• sugar, optional
• milk, optional

Instructions

1. Brew coffee according to your usual method. While coffee is brewing, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and cold water.
2. Stir sugar into hot coffee until dissolved (about 1 teaspoon per cup of coffee for not-too-sweet). Pour into a large freezer bag, seal, and immediately submerge in the ice bath. Chill about 10 minutes, until cool, replenishing ice as it melts.
3. Open zipper top, and pour coffee into ice-filled glasses. Top with milk, if desired, and stir.

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