How to Make Iced Coffee at Home

During Winter, you probably don’t feel like leaving your house, walking to a coffee shop, or getting into a hot car just to grab a cold drink. The best way to stay prepared is to learn how to make iced coffee at home. This way, you can keep a fresh pitcher in your refrigerator and enjoy a cold cup whenever you want.
This is one of the easiest and best ways to make iced coffee at home. By following the steps below, you’ll prepare a cold-brew coffee concentrate. It is quite strong, so you’ll need to mix it with water or cream before drinking. Although most of the process requires very little effort, it can take up to 24 hours to complete. So, make sure you plan ahead. I usually start preparing it in the evening and finish the process the next day after coming home from work.

To make iced coffee at home, you will need:

Two 1-gallon pitchers
Coffee filters
Fine mesh strainer
16 oz. Ground Coffee

Start by taking 16 ounces of your favorite ground coffee and a clean 1-gallon pitcher. You don’t need to buy any special coffee for this recipe. I usually use Dunkin Donuts or Tim Hortons ground coffee, which I can easily find at my local grocery store.
Pour the entire package of ground coffee into the pitcher.
Add cold water until the pitcher reaches the 1/2-gallon mark, then give it a good stir. After that, continue adding water until you reach the 1-gallon mark.
Stir everything again to make sure the coffee grounds and water are properly mixed.
Cover the pitcher and leave it at room temperature for 12–24 hours. The longer you let it sit, the better the coffee will be.
Next, take another clean pitcher and place a fine mesh strainer on top of it.
Make sure the strainer is sitting securely on the pitcher. You don’t want it to fall or spill because cleaning up coffee grounds can be quite messy. Place a coffee filter inside the strainer.
Slowly pour the coffee mixture into the strainer. At first, the coffee will pass through the filter quickly. However, the process will become slower as more coffee grounds collect inside the strainer.
When you reach this stage, you have two options. You can put the wet coffee grounds into the strainer and gently press them with the back of a spoon to get the remaining coffee out. Or, you can skip this step and simply throw the used grounds away. I usually skip this part because I don’t think pressing the grounds gives me much extra coffee. It’s completely up to you!
And there you have it: a fresh pitcher of cold brew coffee concentrate! You can store it in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
That’s it! You’ve successfully learned how to make iced coffee at home. Pour yourself a glass, add plenty of ice, and enjoy. If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably want to add some cream as well. Just remember that this is a coffee concentrate, so even if you prefer drinking your coffee black, you’ll still want to add some water to make it less strong. Enjoy your homemade iced coffee!