
Chilled coffee makes it possible to drink a cuppa any day of the year regardless of the season. Even on the hottest day in Australia, you can stay caffeinated without worrying about breaking into a sweat. There are two main ways to get chilled coffee: iced coffee and cold brew. While they might seem similar, the processes to make them are completely different. Iced coffee is prepared with hot water like a normal coffee and then instantly chilled over ice. Cold brew is traditionally prepared by immersion in cold or room temperature water. It takes much longer to make a cold brew coffee this way as it needs to steep for up to 24 hours. Luckily there are cold brew coffee machines on the market today that speed up the process without sacrificing flavour.
Another difference is that iced coffee doesn’t stay fresh for as long and is usually drunk immediately while cold brew coffee can be stored in the fridge undiluted for up to a week. Iced coffee has the bold and acidic taste of regular hot coffee while cold brew has more muted and softer flavours. This makes it a perfect base to jazz up with different flavours and ingredients. For example, here’s a recipe for a spiced cold brew drink. Whip out your cold brew coffee maker and give it a try!