Homemade Ice Coffee

The last time I wrote something here it was freezing in Oklahoma. Then we moved. Then I fell off the face of the earth. Now I'm back, and the weather is gorgeous. I wasn't gone that long, was I?

Yes, for all my talk about trying to make the old house work, nothing quite worked. Just as we were starting another round of "maybe if we move this stuff over here, and buy one of these, it will work" our local property manager let us know he had a bigger house about to be available. And it had HALLWAYS. We jumped on it and moved as soon as it was available. The bedrooms are all off loooong hallways away from the living room and kitchen and it is fabulous. The boys don't wake up when the husband has an early morning flight and tries to make coffee. We can get grownup time at night without having to hear them playing in the room right behind our couch anymore. And honestly, moving right down the road when you already have friends, a hair salon and schools is so.much.easier than PCS'ing. (Permanent Change of Station for the non-military folks)

Back to the ice coffee. I started making this a few years ago after I saw it make the rounds of the blogosphere. I thought it might be fun to be able to make an ice coffee at home now and then, but we both got hooked on these. The base is stored in the fridge, so you start cold, instead of trying to get the coffee to ice cube ratio right without watering it down. This brews overnight so the flavor is strong, and holds up to the sugar, milk and ice without getting lost.

As soon as the weather is warm the is a staple in our fridge. Living in a town without a drive-thru coffee shop means that we never let ourselves run out. You might just find yourself making one for your husbands entire office every afternoon!

Ice Coffee 

adapted from The Pioneer Woman

12 oz bag of ground coffee beans
6 quarts water

Pour ground coffee and water into large container and leave out for 8-12 hours. I usually do this right before going to bed. Strain the liquid so that no grounds remain and store in the fridge. It will freeze well, so if you have more than you'd like to keep in the fridge just pop it in some tupperware and store in the freezer.
To make ice coffee, combine coffee base with milk, sweetener and ice. This works really well with the simple syrup I posted a few months ago. I like mine very sweet with lots of milk, but my husband prefers to just add a splash of milk.