Homemade Iced Lattes and Mochas
I’ve spent a good amount of energy perfecting my homemade espresso recipes using the Aeropress Espresso Maker (Amazon). I’ve actually started to prefer what I make at home over Starbucks. But what’s a latte-loving girl to do when the weather heats up? Put it on ice!
I could make a hot latte and pour it over ice, but I don’t like how quickly the ice melts, leaving me with a watered down drink. I searched the internet and found several recipes to make a cold-brewed coffee that claims to be smooth and less bitter that traditionally brewed java, but I don’t want iced coffee, I want a latte. Sugar, milk, and all.
I decided to just modify the cold-brewed iced coffee recipes and make it a latte! The result is a smooth, rich, sweet drink that is a snap to make and doesn’t require any coffee making equipment! Bonus that it’s insanely cheaper than anything you’ll get at your local coffee shop and, dare I say, better?
This is the ideal recipe for spring and summer, and especially nice if you’re camping and don’t have electricity (or don’t want to lug around a coffee or espresso maker).
RELATED: Tips for an epic family camping trip
The first step is to cold-brew yourself some coffee concentrate.
COLD-BREWED COFFEE CONCENTRATE
Based on the Perfect Iced Coffee recipe from The Pioneer Woman
Ingredients
1 cup of coarsely ground coffee*
4 cups of cold water
If you’re looking for a stronger coffee flavor, decrease your coffee to water ratio from 1:4 to 1:3.
*The best option is to grind your own coffee from whole beans (any variety will do, but the more expensive the coffee, the better it will taste — if you’re new at this and want a coffee-house style latte or mocha, select an espresso or another dark roast — Amazon). Select the french press option (or as coarsely ground as you can) if you’re grinding in the grocery store. You can try using the already-ground drip coffee sold in grocery stores but I think it tastes like coffee-flavored dish water.
If you purchase your whole beans at Starbucks or another coffee shop, they will grind it for you. Again, make sure you tell them you’re cold-brewing coffee and need it to be ground for a french-press.
Directions:
Pour the water in a jar or bowl. Add the coffee grounds on top and stir the grounds into the water. The grounds will float to the top.
Cover and put the container in the refrigerator (or cooler if you’re camping). Let it brew for at least 8 hours (you can leave it in the fridge for up to 24 hours). It can also steep at room temperature. It doesn’t really matter.
After 8-24 hours, layer two pieces of cheese cloth in a colander or strainer. Pour the coffee and grounds through cheese cloth and strainer into a bowl. Press the coffee grounds with a spoon to get more coffee out.
Rinse the cheese cloth off in the sink to remove the coffee grounds and fold it so there’s now four layers. Strain the coffee again. You could also strain it through a coffee filter at this point. The more you strain the coffee, the less “sludge” you’ll have at the bottom of your concentrate. I strained my concentrate three times and it turned out perfect.
Put your concentrate into a jar, bottle, or re-purposed milk jug and store it in your refrigerator. It will be tasty for a couple of weeks.
Now, here’s how to make your iced-latte or mocha!
COLD-BREWED ICED LATTE
Ingredients:
- Ice
- Sweetener
- Coffee concentrate
- Milk or milk substitute
Directions:
Grab a cup and fill it with ice.
Add your sweetener. You have several options:
- Coffee syrup like Torani or Da Vinci (Cash & Carry (now Smart Food Service) has the best prices on bottled syrup, plus they have an enormous selection. You can also buy in most grocery stores or directly from Starbucks.)
- Regular sugar or other granulated sweetener (Truvia, Stevia in the Raw, Equal, etc)
- Honey (heat it up until it’s runny before adding)
- Simple syrup (bring equal amounts of water and sugar to a boil until the sugar completely dissolves; use like regular coffee syrup)
- Chocolate syrup like Hershey’s
I suggest you go light on the sweetener (start at 1-2 tablespoons) and increase it after you’ve tasted the finished drink.
Add your coffee concentrate. The typical recipe calls for 1:1 coffee to milk ratio, so start with filling the cup half way with coffee. If you’re not a regular coffee drinker, use less coffee. If you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, you might fill your cup almost to the brim with coffee.
Fill the cup with milk or milk substitute (rice, soy, coconut). Unflavored milk will work best unless you’re omitting the added sweetener.
Stir & enjoy!
*************************************************************************
If you love cold brew but hate the mess of using a cheese cloth to strain the grounds, consider grabbing this highly-rated Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker. Super simple little container, but includes a built-in filter for straining the grounds.
Looking for more coffee goodness?
Follow Frugal Living NW on Pinterest!
Fantastic range of boards from best recipes and tips for frugal living to gardening and budgeting help.
This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.
Great Value Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer, can I use this creamer plus regular milk and also use the coffee you brew from a Gehrig cup maker?
Can you add the Great Value Sweet Cream Coffee Creamer, for the cream and add reg milk too plus the coffee you brew in your keurig cup coffee
I genuinely enjoy looking at on this site, it holds fantastic posts . “The longing to produce great inspirations didn’t produce anything but more longing.” by Sophie Kerr.
Ever thought of putting coffee in the cheese cloth while in the water or using a french press ? Just a thought.
KitchenAid KCM4212SX Cold Brew Coffee Maker-Brushed Stainless Steel, 28 ounce, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XNVZDC7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_C6QiDbFJWVNMF
This is my favorite cold brew coffee maker.
Just a question when you are using a French Press. When making your brew do you press the plunger down right away or do you let the coffee brew for 24 hours then press the plugger down.
Thanks
Right away if you’re using a french press.
Hello! Question: do you then store the strained coffee in the fridge? How long does it last in the fridge? I am hoping you can store the jar of strained coffee in the fridge and then just use a little each day to make your iced coffee.
Holly: It will last up to a week, I’ve found. It will start molding at some point. I suggest you make a small batch and see if you can get through it before it goes south.
It can last longer then a week..more like a month.
I just made your recipe for iced caramel macchiato,I used espresso k cups and made your vanilla syrup,soooo good.Thank you, I Need coffee with three little ones running around!!! Thank you,love your ideas.
hey nice article..but it looks very white and i have a simple solution ..grab your stove top espresso maker …make your espresso..i agree pouring hot espresso over ice is yucky…so cool your espresso in the fridge for an hour or two or longer if you are camping. put the jar in the cooler i usually make 10 shots for a weekend. pop it in the cooler. whem u want to drink it get your big glass pour 3-4 shots of espresso in FIRST then add the ice full…then add the milk and leave an inch at the top for choc milk ..it is SO much better then starbux 😉
I have had espresso a few times and enjoyed it.
I do not have my own machine so it is not often.
Would this work with cold-brew coffee packs? I love Dunkin’ Donuts’ mocha iced lattes and they sell cold brew coffee packs. Hoping I can use those to replicate the store-bought taste without the price.
Definitely worth a shot! I believe those cold brew packs are specifically formulated to be stronger so they can be poured over ice.
Great recipe! I personally use 2 oz of fresh-brewed espresso, 1 cup of milk, 1 oz of Monin hazelnut syrup, a heaping amount of sucralose (Splenda), all mixed with ice in a 16 oz+ glass. It’s pretty tasty and only has 220 calories.
I have used this recipe for a while now, and just wanted to say thank you for posting it! It makes the best iced coffee, and saves me a lots of money at coffee chains.
I can’t even explain how delicious I think this looks!! Can’t wait to try. (I popped over from Inspire Me Monday)
How do you add flavors? I love the iced caramel latte from my local coffee shop. But I don’t know what they use for the caramel flavor….
They probably just use a coffee syrup, like Torani. Do you have a Cash & Carry in your area? They have the best prices and selection. Caramel is a popular flavor, so you might find a bottle at Super Walmart or your local grocery store. I know that Cost Plus World Market also carries coffee syrup.
It has been over a year now since I have used this recipe. Have not changed anything. My friend loves this stuff, says its better than the coffee shops that make them! You can make your own coffee syrup as well saving you even more money & tastes better too –
1-1/2 cups water, 1/8 cups sugar, heat till sugar dissolves, when cool add 1 cup Splenda, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, 1 Tablespoon Carmel flavor, pinch of sea salt. (low cal version). Poor into a bottle with a spout like for oil & vinegar (Walmart has them). Will keep in frig for a couple of months.
When do you add the coffee?
I like mine sweetened with sweeetened condensed milk. Yum!
I am going to try this I already have coffee ice cubes so won’t get watered down. I love starbucks but unfortunately the closest one to me now is over 70 miles away 🙁 I am still trying to prefect their Carmel Macchiato Love that.
I didn’t read all the comments, but have you considered coffee ice cubes? My favorite coffee place in Portland does this and I love it! No watered down coffee drinks. =0)
Lighter roasts actually make an even better cold brew. A lot of the flavor in hot coffee brewing comes from the roast, while a lot of the flavor from cold brew comes from the bean itself.
Fun tip: use a giant filter like you would use in a big brewing machine at work, put in the coffee and tie it up with kitchen twine like a giant tea bag and leave that sit to brew. Then you can just pour out the coffee when it’s done brewing, nothing to double strain, no waiting for the coffee to drip through, and no grounds left behind at all! then just compost your “coffee bag.” It’s a great method, I highly recommend it. 🙂
Hi, thanks for this recipe! Are you able to give me the weight in grams for the ground coffee? Or roughly how many table spoons you use?
Thanks
Just use 1 part coffee grounds to 4 parts water.
I’m wicked excited about this find! Someone gave me a can of super dark roast coffe beans and I’m officially addicted to iced mocha lattes from dunkin..but at $4.00 a drink I’m going broke over my coffe addiction..
Wow! Had my first latte at the Dunkin, was way dissappointed, but I new there was potential. Followed your recipe & it far exceeded my expectations! And no electric anything was needed. I bought Peaberry coffee beans (a medium dark roast) at Trader Joe’s (as I do not normally like dark roasts), ground the contents of the can at the store. Had my son buy the cheese cloth. He said he was looking for it down the cheese isle! Somebody told him where it was located! Had a good laugh too!
That’s funny. It’s definitely a favorite around here.
Thank you for this! I’ve been cold brewing coffee for the past 10 years. I never ever thought to use the concentrate for an iced drink. I’ve been experimenting with brew from my espresso machine with no luck. This was perfect! You rock!
Awesome! I hope you get the results you are looking for — I absolutely LOVE it!
I’ve been meaning to make cold-brewed coffee this week and am so happy I just happened to stumble upon this post while scheduling at Ahalogy. thanks so much for the tutorial!
Another good option for straining would be to just dump it in a large French Press. We have a six cup one that I love.
This is delicious. I was skeptical, but desperate for my iced lattes! My budget is such that I can purchase one Starbucks a month, but this recipe soothed my addiction! Thank you!
Oh, good! I think it’s as good as Starbucks as well. I’m so glad you can indulge more often now!
I am new and still go to mcdonalds every sinle day of the week $3.70 a day for an iced hazelnut latte… I would love to try your recipe. I hope to find a recipe soon so that I too can start saving money. But I don’t like iced coffee it taste different from the iced latte so with your recipe does it taste like a latte or iced coffee? I am also confused on what cold brew is I’ve never made my own coffee:( help please
Ah, I also hate iced coffee and love McDonald’s Iced Lattes (it’s like we’re coffee twins :)). This tastes like a latte — the coffee is actually concentrate, no plain drip coffee that’s chilled. The key with this recipe is to buy whole bean coffee in the store (a more expensive brand, not the cheapest stuff) and grind it in the store’s coffee grinding machine (most stores have one). DO NOT buy already ground drip coffee — it will taste horrible. Grind on the coarsest setting (typically labeled “French Press”) and follow the directions in the post exactly.
Adjust the recipe to be a bit sweeter than I described in the post and it should taste like McDonald’s!
I use a finely ground coffee. I strain it using the filter basket in carafe of my regular coffee pot
I started making and using coffee ice cubes when I, too, got tired of a watered down drink when the ice melted. I use my Keurig and make some REALLY STRONG coffee for the ice cubes, use alot of flavored creamer and put this all in the glass when I brew my coffee. That way I have my iced coffee right out of the coffee maker, and don’t have to buy the iced coffee brews, which are just stronger coffees.
I made a hazelnut soy latte with the recipe this morning – AWESOME! It tastes identical (maybe even a little better) than starbucks. I’m so excited that I’ll be saving so much time and money making my own lattes – thanks!!
Yummy! This looks so good and super easy- I like that you outlined how to make a big batch that’ll keep. Thanks for the step by step guide!
you can also just fine grind your beans and put them in a coffee maker… works just as well.
Once you make the concentrate, how long can you store it in the fridge? I drink 1-2 lattes a day, so would like to make enough concentrate to get me through 3 days minimum, up to a week =) Thanks so much!!!
I’ve read anywhere between 1-4 weeks. I’ve had mine for almost 2 weeks and it tastes great!
What a great idea! I love iced flavored coffees and would certainly rather make them at home than shell out the $ somewhere else. Thank you for sharing your technique!
Yummy! I wish I had one right now!
We absolutely love this! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!! I am sooo going to try this…TODAY!
And I love the coffee ice cube idea!!
This looks wonderful – I could use one right now! Pinning right now. 🙂 Found you over at {wow me} wednesday!
Looking very delicious and perfect for our hot Arizona days! Thanks for sharing.
Michelle @ On A Wing And A Prayer
Thanks for the recipe…I love iced coffee so much!
I need to get my cold brew coffee going again now that summer is here :o) This looks amazing! I would love for you to come over and link this to my Party which will open Monday night… Follow along to join all the fun! Emily @ Nap-Time Creations
I like the idea of coffee ice cubes, but I like my coffee hot and strong. I think I’ll try it during the next heat wave.
I traded in my peppermint torani habit for agave(wholefoods) with peppermint extract (winco). It’s cheaper and agave mixes well with hot or cold liquids.
I made your latte cold brewed coffee as soon as I saw your post last night before going to bed. I made a mocha caramel iced latte for my husband, myself, and my daughter in law, (she stopped by to give me a load of papers with coupons in them, so her reward was an iced latte before she headed home!) We all loved it! So delicious! Thanks for the frugal recipe!
This is so yummy with sweetened condensed milk!!! Also a suggestion from The Pioneer Woman. Love you both!
This looks really good and I can understand the need for coffee, but how on earth do you have time to make this with all your kiddos!? kudos to you
Well, the children create the need for the coffee :). It really doesn’t take much time (honestly). 5 minutes to prepare the brew & put it in the fridge. 15 minutes to strain it (I strain it 4 times). Then less than 1 minute to mix up a glass. I have a gallon steeping right now and it should keep me caffeinated for well over a week.
Now, taking the pictures for the post? And writing it? That took hours…
To help your latte from being watered down, the next time you make coffee make a little extra and pour into ice cube trays and freeze, then add in place of regular ice cubes when making an iced latte. You might want to use a little less coffee concentrate in your latte, since the coffee ice cubes will also add flavor!
Coffee ice cubes!?! BRILLIANT!
I have also found many items at Cash and Carry (open to the public) that are the same powders used to make mocha’s etc. Most of the containers will contain enough powder to make 30 drinks and run around $14.00 without the coffee. This is much cheaper in the long run considering the fancy coffees run around $4.50 each and tastes just as good if not better than Startbucks to me.
That sounds so good! I’ve been trying a cold brew recipe very similar to yours and it works great. I personally add chocolate milk, about 1:1 with the coffee. Then you don’t have to add any chocolate syrup. I’ll have to find some carmel syrup like you have though, it sounds so good.
Oh, anything with chocolate milk is a good idea! I found the salted caramel syrup at Cash & Carry.