3 Cold Coffee Treats To Beat The Heat

Loving coffee is a year-round activity, but in the dog days of summer you may not be in the mood for a steaming hot cup of joe. That’s why we asked Eamon Rockey, Director of Beverage Studies at the Institute of Culinary Education, to help us concoct three delicious cold coffee treats.

Coffee tonic is a simple, refreshing alternative when you get sick of plain old iced coffee. Granita di caffè—basically a grown-up snow cone— is an Italian classic. And Eamon’s “milk and honey” take on a Greek frappè is a caffeinated milkshake with just enough sweetness to be addictive.

The recipes all start with cold brew concentrates, which are increasingly available at grocery stores and ensure a consistent product from start to finish. You could also use refrigerated coffee leftover from the morning or any other (preferably strong) iced coffee; you may sacrifice a bit of consistency and flavor, but something tells us they’ll still be delicious.

Coffee Tonic Recipe

Ingredients:

Grady’s Cold Brew Concentrate (or your preferred substitute) Tonic Water Ice Lemon Peel

Instructions:

1. Pour equal amounts of cold brew concentrate and tonic water into glass.
2. Add ice and stir.
3. “Express” (i.e. squeeze to release essential oils) a large piece of lemon peel into glass
4. Garnish with lemon and serve.

Granita Di Caffè Recipe

Ingredients:

Red Thread Cold Brew Concentrate With a Hint of Chocolate (or your preferred substitute) Simple Syrup (Optional) Berries and/or Whipped Cream to Garnish

Instructions:

1. Pour cold brew concentrate into a freezer safe vessel
2. Optionally, for a sweeter treat, add ¼ cup simple syrup (50 percent water, 50 percent sugar) and stir
3. Place into a freezer and let nearly freeze (1-2 hours)
4. Break up any ice crystals with a fork and place back in freezer for roughly 30 minutes
5. Repeat step four two or more times, as needed, until the mixture is all icy granules
6. Alternately, skip steps three to six and leave coffee mixture until frozen (2-3 hours). Scrape vigorously with a fork. You may sacrifice some of the light texture of the other method, but the process is considerably simpler.
7. Serve with berries or (ideally fresh) whipped cream

“Milk and Honey” Greek Frappè Recipe

Ingredients:

One Half of a Vanilla Bean 3 Tbsp. Heavy Cream 3 Tbsp. Honey 3 Tbsp. Milk 4 oz. Grady’s Cold Brew Concentrate (or your preferred substitute) Splash of soda water (optional) Ice

Instructions:

1. Scrape half of a vanilla bean and add to heavy cream
2. Make whipped cream by mixing with whisk/hand mixer, or by shaking vigorously in cocktail shaker
3. Add honey to milk and stir to combine
4. Add milk/honey mixture to whipped cream and stir
5. Pour cold brew concentrate and a splash of soda water into glass
6. Add ice
7. Top with half of the whipped cream/milk/honey mixture and stir
8. Garnish with the leftover vanilla bean pod