6 things you need to know about iced coffee

Iced Coffee originally known called Café Mazagran is believed to have originated in Algeria in the 19th century. It was created using coffee syrup and cold water to quench people’s thirst in the oppressive desert heat. French Foreign Legionnaires stationed in Algeria quickly acquired a taste for the drink and took it back to France’s cafes with them… unsurprisingly it took off.

Today it’s developed into a world-wide phenomenon, with many different styles and formats; it’s almost a living thing which is constantly developing as new ideas are thrown into the mix.

There are many reasons to try it but here are 6 things you need to know about iced coffee.

(Image by @pariwatt on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/SnbEXxIj6wk)

1. ICED COFFEE HAS LESS CAFFEINE THAN HOT COFFEE.

Home brewed iced coffee usually contains far less caffeine than your regular coffee shop brew because it’s heavily diluted with ice.

 

2. IT HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FLAVOUR PROFILE TO HOT COFFEE.

As a drink it’s got a totally different flavour profile to hot coffee, it has a smoother taste profile, and a significantly enhanced depth of flavour, which in many cases brings out the fruity elements found in coffee beans.

 

3. IT’S A SUPER SMOOTH DRINK.

Because iced coffee is essentially a hot drink that has been cooled rapidly the oils in the coffee and the acidic nature of the beans is softened dramatically making for a much smoother drink.

 

4. PAIR IT WITH FRUIT FOR CITRUSY NOTES.

Iced tea isn’t the only caffeinated drink that works with fruit. Try adding mint, citrus fruits like lemon, lime, or even add some orange segments to give your iced coffee a citrusy lift. You could even add berries too, which will give you a big tangy flavour hit, try blackberries, raspberries, or cranberries for some extra zing.

 

5. IT’S GREAT IN LOTS OF FOOD RECIPES.

You might not have guessed but iced coffee has heaps of other uses as well as being a cool and refreshing drink. You can use it to really boost the coffee flavours in cakes, use it as the base for a whole host of healthy smoothies, which will help your metabolism, recovery after exercise and keep your gut healthy too. It’s delicious in ice cream too and if you want to lift your cocktails it’s just the thing for creating the perfect base for an espresso martini or a maple pecan latte.

 

6. ICED COFFEE WON’T DEHYDRATE YOU.

Coffee has something of an undeserved reputation for causing dehydration. Happily it’s been widely scientifically disproven. Indeed the opposite is true. Coffee it’s usually diluted with a considerable volume of other liquid, including water and milk. With iced coffee, as ice is in the mix too it helps to further dilute the drink. All of which ultimately means that caffeine can actually help keep you more hydrated than many other drinks, so get chilling that coffee down.

(Image by @tabithabrooke on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/F0Wd4djYvSA)