How To Make Perfect Iced Coffee

This recipe is quick, easy, budget-friendly, and tastes just like the gourmet coffee-shops, if not better!

I received samples of coffee to facilitate this post. This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

 When the weather gets warm it is time to switch up that cup of hot coffee with a delicious cup of creamy ice coffee. A glass of smooth cold ice coffee is so refreshing on a hot summer day. It is my favorite way to enjoy coffee. Ice coffee is great for those days that you forgot to make a batch of cold brew coffee. Ice coffee is also the best use of leftover coffee. So when you brew too much coffee, don't toss it, instead, pour it in a pitcher and place it in the fridge. While you are saving the leftover coffee, make sure to fill up an ice cube tray with some, so you will have coffee-flavored ice cubes. The coffee-flavored ice cubes are perfect for ice coffee so you will not have water-down coffee.



Ice Coffee for one

 You can make a large batch of ice coffee or simply make ice coffee for one. Ice coffee stores wonderfully in the fridge for many days but if you forgot to make a large batch of coffee, you can easily brew a cup or two of coffee for the perfect cup of ice coffee. Did you know that you can also make cold brew coffee for one?

I Gave Up Coffee For A Week With The #MATI30 Challenge

The secret to the best tasting ice coffee
The best tasting perfect iced coffee starts with a dark roast coffee. Dark roasted coffee has a rich bold flavor that gives cold iced coffee a flavorful taste. You can use whole bean coffee or ground coffee, the choice is yours. I find that dark coffee holds up great over ice and is flavorful even once the ice starts melting and diluting the coffee. My choice of coffee is always made from 100% select Arabica coffee beans.



  Iced coffee vs. Cold brew coffee

Check out this recipe for 

Coffee & Chili Rubbed Steak Tip Skewers 

How to make perfect iced coffee

For each serving, you’ll need

• 1 cup cold coffee
• Large glass or Masson jar
• Ice cubes

Directions

1. Fill a tall glass with ice cubes
2. Pour the cold coffee over the ice cubes
3. Add milk and sweetener to taste
4. Enjoy!

Pro Tips

• You can make the coffee fresh and let it cool down or you can use leftover coffee 
• Freeze leftover coffee in ice cube trays. Use coffee cubes instead of regular ice cubes to avoid diluting your beverage.
• Add your favorite milk or plant-based milk to taste, I like my iced coffee creamy so I use 1/4 cup of milk
• Add sugar or sweetener to taste, my favorite sweetener is Stevia as is all-natural.
• Everyone knows the best way to enjoy iced coffee is through a straw. Be kind to the environment – buy reusable, dishwasher-safe straws! Check out these fun reusable BPA-free straws!

Now it’s time to win summer with Iced Coffee in 5 delightful variations.

RECIPE #1:  ICED COFFEE LATTE

You’ll need

• 1/2 cup Cold coffee
• A tall glass
• 1/2 cup Milk or dairy substitute such as almond milk
• Ice
• Sugar or sweetener

Directions

1. Fill a glass with ice
2. Add 1/2 cup cold coffee and 1/2 cup milk
3. Sweeten to taste with sugar or sweetener, use Torani flavored syrups for different tastes like caramel
4. Stir well

RECIPE #2: FRAPPUCCINO-STYLE ICED COFFEE

You’ll need

• 1 cup Cold coffee
• A tall glass
• Milk or plant-based milk
• Blender
• Ice
• Whipped cream
• Optional: sweetener or flavored coffee syrup

Directions

1. Fill a blender with a glass full of ice
2. Add 1 cup cold coffee and 1/2 cup milk (or dairy substitute)
3. Sweeten to your preference or use a flavored coffee syrup to make a vanilla latte, caramel latte, or other classics
4. Blend for 1 minute
5. Pour into a chilled glass
6. Top with whipped cream to taste

RECIPE #3:  ICED MOCHA

You’ll need

• 1 cup cold coffee
• A tall glass
• Chocolate syrup
• Ice
• milk or preferred dairy substitute
• Whipped cream

Directions

1. Pour the cold coffee into the glass
2. Stir in chocolate syrup and milk or dairy substitute, leaving space for ice
3. Add ice to the glass until full and stir
4. Top with whipped cream to taste 

RECIPE #4: VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE

You’ll need

• 1 cup cold coffee 
• A tall glass
• 1/4 cup Sweetened condensed milk or coconut cream
• Ice

Directions

1. Fill the glass to the top with ice 
2. Slowly pour the cold coffee into the glass
3. Stir in sweetened condensed milk or coconut cream

RECIPE #5: THAI ICED COFFEE

You’ll need

• A tall glass
• 1 cup extra-strong cold coffee, brew the coffee with twice the amount of ground coffee
• 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk or coconut cream
• Ground cardamom
• Ice

Directions

1. Fill the glass to the top with ice 
2. Slowly pour the strong cold coffee into the glass
3. Stir in your choice of sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, or coconut cream 
4. Sweeten to taste
5. Sprinkle with ground cardamom

 So now that you know how to make a perfect glass of iced coffee, go brew up some coffee, place the coffee in the fridge and once the coffee is cold-make a refreshing glass of iced coffee. If you are not a coffee person or need a change of pace, you could always brew up a batch of cold brew ice tea.

Check out my delicious recipe for flavorful Cold Brew Ice Tea 
https://www.momknowsbest.net/2019/07/how-to-make-flavorful-cold-brew-ice-tea.html

Coffee & Chili Rubbed Steak Tip Skewers

Looking for an easy way to upgrade your favorite BBQ recipe? Aside from helping us wake up in the morning, coffee also makes for a great ingredient—instantly adding flavor and complexity to any dish.

I received a sample from Community Coffee to facilitate this post. This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

Check out the coffee-inspired steak skewer recipe from Community Coffee Company below!

 I love drinking coffee and also baking with coffee in recipes like brownies and cakes. Did you know that you can also use coffee as a nice rub for meats? Coffee can add some amazing flavor to meats like steak. Just add some other spices to ground coffee and rub it all over the meat before you grill it. Coffee will take your next summer BBQ to a whole new level. While you are busy making this delicious steak recipe, enjoy a glass of iced coffee. Check out this amazing recipe for ice coffee, it is the perfect way to enjoy coffee all summer long.

Coffee goes great with steak

Coffee & Chili Rubbed Steak Tip Skewers
The recipe was provided by Community Coffee

Serves: 10 / Prep: 25 mins / Cook: 6-12 mins

Ingredients
2 ½ pounds Beef filet or skirt steak (¼” to ½” cubes)
20 Skewers, metal or bamboo*
4 tsp. Chili powder
6 tsp. Community® coffee Dark Roast, ground
4 tsp. Dark brown sugar, tightly packed
2 tsp. Dry mustard
1 tsp. Cilantro, ground
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black pepper, ground
4 tsp. Garlic powder
*Bamboo must be soaked in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Directions

1. Cut beef into cubes and skewer 4 cubes on to each skewer.

2. In a small bowl, make dry rub by combining chili powder, coffee, brown sugar, mustard, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic.

3. Evenly coat each meat skewer with dry rub.

4. Cook on charcoal or gas grill for approximately 6-10 minutes (medium-high heat) OR sear in a cast iron skillet with one tablespoon of olive oil for approximately 7-12 minutes (medium-high heat). When cooked, serve with your favorite BBQ or steak sauce.

Safe Ways For Pest Control In And Around Your Home

When you see evidence of bugs in your home, your first inclination may be to reach for the strongest bug spray you can find. 

 This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases

   No one likes bugs in there home and when we see bugs like ants, cockroaches, or spiders we tend to reach for a can of strong bug spray as we think that only toxic chemicals will eliminate the bug infestation. That can of bug spray may kill the bugs but it may also harm your children and pets. That toxic bug spray that is loaded with harmful chemicals may also only kill the bugs that you see but may not even prevent further bugs from entering your home.



Easy To Make All Natural Homemade Weed Killer Spray That Works In A Day 

Keep kids and pets safe
  If you have children or pets, you should rethink how you control the pests in your home. Kids and pets are more likely to be exposed to pesticides as they are crawling on the floor. They also touch objects that are on the floor where the bug spray is. Toxic bug sprays are really not good for anyone to use as you are breathing in dangerous chemicals and these chemicals can get into our water system.

Bugs are dangerous
 Household pests can be a danger to your family. Cockroaches produce allergens that can trigger asthma and allergies. Ants can get into your food and spiders can bite. Fortunately, there are ways to control pests and keep your family safe, too. Following an approach that includes prevention and using safer pest control products is better for your family and the environment. Using pest control products that are safe around kids and pets is always a better option.



Pest Control: Practice Prevention First
 The best way to control pests is to make your home unappealing to them. Just like us, pests need water, food, and shelter to survive, and if they can’t find these in your home, it’s likely they’ll go elsewhere.

• Pick up all food spills and crumbs right away.

• Keep your counters, tables, sinks, and floors clean. Clean and dry dishes after having meals or snacks.

• Clean under large kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators and stoves. Food debris can often collect in these spaces and attract pests.

• Store food in containers with airtight lids or in the refrigerator. If food is stored in cardboard boxes, make sure the boxes are sealed. Cockroaches like cardboard and can get into opened boxes easily.

• Keep your trash in a container with a tight lid, and take out the trash often. Place outdoor trash bins as far from your house as possible.

• Fix household leaks and clean up any excess moisture on counters or sinks right away. Cockroaches like water and can swim.

• Close sink drains when not in use as cockroaches may enter the house through drains.

• Vacuum carpets and cracks and crevices regularly.

• Don’t leave pet food out overnight.

• Fix any screens that have holes to prevent pests from entering.

• Check for any openings or cracks where pests may enter your house, such as behind sinks, along baseboards, and around windows. Seal them.

• If carpenter ants are a problem, look for damaged or wet wood and replace it. Carpenter ants are often attracted to damaged wood.

How To Eliminate Ants In Your Home 



Choosing a safer pesticide
 If you’ve already tried prevention techniques and you still have a pest problem, you may need to use some kind of pesticide to treat the area. Many times you can use a natural pesticide to eliminate bugs and naturally safe products should be tried first before reaching for chemical pesticides. I first use DIY homemade pest control products around my home to control the bugs and will only reach for the chemical pesticides in extreme cases, in areas that my kids don't have access to.

Natural homemade DIY solutions for pest prevention
  I have several natural safe DIY solutions that I use for bug prevention around my home. I will use these natural products in places that I store food and they work with natural scents that are not appealing to the bugs. Some of these natural bug products are even food safe. I have used with great success baby powder, cinnamon, black pepper, and peppermint. Ants don't like these scents and they will stay away from them. These scents will also cover up any scent trail that the ants leave. When I use the above natural products like baby powder, I will use it around the edges of a cabinet or floor. Just make a thin line with the powder or spices all around the edges of the shelf or pantry floor. To prevent the spice or powder from sticking to the bottom of containers or dishes, I cut up a plastic placemat and lay in on the pantry shelf. Peppermint is a great scent to spray in areas that you don't spiders or ants. I will also use the peppermint spray outside on my patio and on my outdoor furniture. I find that the peppermint spray prevents ants from making webs on my outdoor Adirondack chairs. When you use the peppermint spray outdoors, you may have to spray it once a week or after it rains.

Homemade peppermint spray for ants and spiders prevention
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon peppermint essential oil

Put all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. Spray this in areas like your cabinets and pantry to prevent ants and spiders away. I also use this spray regularly on my patio furniture to prevent spiders from making webs.

Boric acid
 Boric acid can be used as an insecticide and can be very effective at controlling cockroaches, as well as small ants. Boric acid should be used only in areas that kids and pets do not have access to. Roaches crawl through the boric acid powder and the tiny particles cling on to their bodies. When they clean their bodies by licking themselves clean, they ingest the boric acid (which acts as a stomach poison). They die shortly after. Since roaches are not very picky eaters, the roaches killed from the poison is eaten and the cycle continues. It also sticks on to food dragged through it. When the food is brought back for other roaches to eat, they all feast on the poison. I like to spread boric acid around the edges of my garage to prevent the roaches from entering my house.

To use boric acid to kill ants you have to mix it with sugar and water. The ants will eat the solution and bring it back to the hive to feed to the other ants. The boric acid will then kill the ants.



Homemade Boric Acid Ant Traps
 To make your own boric acid ant traps, mix about 1 teaspoon boric acid, with 10 teaspoons sugar and 2 cups of water. Next, spread the mixture on cardboard or absorb it onto cotton balls. Leave the ant traps in areas where the ants are present, who will then take the poison back to their hive. It may take a week for the boric acid to work so you may have to reapply the solution. It is important to use them away from small children and animals. So place the solution behind things like appliances and bookshelves.

The best ant killer
 If the above solutions do not work and you still have an ant problem, this ant killer gel is safer to use than other bug sprays. I live in the desert of New Mexico and ants are a huge problem here. The ants tend to form hives in the house walls and all over the yard. I will use Combat Ant Killing Gel when I have an infestation of ants in my house or outside. This ant killing product should be used with caution around kids and pets as it is a chemical product. Since it is a gel it is easier to place in areas that kids and pets can not access. This ant killing gel bait kills the ants and the entire colony within 24 hours. The ants eat the non-messy ant killer gel and then take it back to the hive to feed the other ants and the queen ant. I like that the ant killing product comes in a syringe applicator so you can place the gel in hard to reach areas where ants travel, such as cracks and crevices. I just place a couple drops of gel near the areas I see ants and the ant problem is gone by the next day. This ant killer gel attracts the ants to eat it and you will see lots of ants feeding on the gel. So I tell my friends to ignore the area for 24 hours. I am always amazed to see the area ant-free the next day.