Julie Van Rosendaal

Iced coffee

Since Tim Hortons first introduced its iced cappuccino (which has evolved into the iced capp supreme, complete with whipped topping, sprinkles and blend-ins such as brownie chunks), most fast-food retailers have hopped onto the iced-coffee bandwagon. Last summer, 7-11 introduced Slurpuccinos, and this year, iced coffees are the new big thing on the McDonald’s menu board.

Many large-chain concoctions aren’t even made with coffee, but with coffee-flavoured syrups (the McDonald’s iced coffees are an exception). Fortunately, some of Calgary’s better coffee houses have come up with their own cold joes using nothing but the good stuff. These cups will keep you cool when you need your coffee but can’t take the heat:

• Espresso float at Café Beano (1613 Ninth St. S.W.) — Hot espresso poured over a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass mug. The hot coffee warms the ice cream enough that the two really get to know each other.

• Shakerato at Caffe Rosso (803 24th Ave. S.E.) — A double shot of espresso, shaken with coarse sugar and ice in a martini shaker and poured into a martini glass. Shaking with ice froths the espresso up, dissolves the sugar and cools it without really diluting it. Drink it straight up or add a splash of cream.

• Espresso Frappé at Bumpy’s Café (1040 Eighth St. S.W.) — If you’re the ice capp type but are looking to upgrade from the Tim Hortons version, Bumpy’s adds a real shot of espresso to its blended espresso frappé.

• Affogatto at Bite Groceteria (1212 Ninth Ave. S.E.) — Similar to the espresso float at Beano, an Affogatto is made with a single or double shot of espresso poured over a scoop of Fiasco gelati. Choose from pistachio, vanilla or hazelnut. Bite also carries a bottled carbonated Italian espresso called BibiCaffe, made with sparkling water, coffee, sugar, caramel and vanilla.

• Iced latte at Nectar Desserts (upstairs, 1216 Ninth Ave. S.E.) — Most coffee shops will pour an Americano or latte over ice for you; Nectar spikes its iced latte with house-made Mexican vanilla syrup.

• The do-it-yourself method — Here I was, traipsing through life thinking that an iced coffee was no more than a regular coffee, cooled down and poured over ice. However, there’s a trick to it. The good news is, it’s a simple one. The secret: cold brewing.

Cold-brewed coffee has a lower acidity and less bitterness than the heat-brewed coffee we’re accustomed to, allowing for flavour nuances in the beans to come through. Although it’s entirely possible to get iced coffee out of a brew that began its life hot, you save yourself a lot of cooling-down time (and energy for hot brewing) if it’s at room temperature to begin with.

All you need is some medium-ground coffee, water and a jar. The ratio is half a pound of coffee to five cups of water (or for a smaller batch, one-third cup coffee to 1.5 cups water). Stir them together in a bowl or jar, cover and let the mixture steep overnight. There is some debate over whether a 12-hour versus 24-hour soaking time is best. Either way, you have a 12-hour window in between that allows about as much flexibility as anyone could ask for.

After steeping, strain the sludge — first through a fine-meshed sieve and then through a coffee filter to get rid of all the grit. (Alternately, this whole process could take place in a French press — let it sit for as long as you want it to, then press and pour it out.) Dilute the resulting coffee concentrate 1:1 with cool water or milk, or pour it straight over ice. (Pop your blend in the microwave or use a kettle of boiling water if it’s a hot cup you’re after. Besides the fact that this method makes a fine cup of iced coffee, it’s a revelation to know it’s possible to “brew” with nothing but your beans and a jar. Hello camp coffee.)

This homemade coffee concentrate will also suit the purpose if your goal is to re-create an ice capp in your blender: to a quarter cup concentrate add a quarter cup coffee cream (18 per cent) or half and half (10 per cent), two to three tablespoons of sugar and five ice cubes, and pulse until it’s a sippable consistency.

Julie Van Rosendaal is a food journalist and cookbook author, food and nutrition columnist for the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio and co-host (with Ned Bell) of It’s Just Food on Access and Canadian Learning Television.