The Best Iced Coffee Recipe

The Best Iced Coffee Recipe: No Fuss, All Fresh

Picture this: an absolutely brutal day in eastern Virginia. The heat index is well into the triple digits and the humidity broke the scale. In dire need of coffee - seriously, DIRE. However, the thought of gulping down a piping hot cup sounds like even more punishment. So what do you do instead, you ask?

You think “I’ll just make some iced coffee!” So you brew up a fresh pot, fill a cup with ice, pour the coffee in and take a sip of what you hope would be the refreshment you needed and…It is a weak, watery mess.

Our procrastination about doing yard work in the sweltering heat has led us to share a true iced coffee recipe that you can make at home with any pour over dripper. This method doesn’t use a day-old drip coffee from the fridge, there’s no extra waste (assuming you drink it all), and is something you can truly look forward to making. Apologies, it doesn’t take very long either, so unfortunately you might have to get out there and brave the heat after brewing!

Tips to Making Iced Coffee

1. Brew it stronger - Use more ground coffee than you normally would, along with a slightly finder grind than normal. This helps to offset the ice melting (diluting) when you pour the hot coffee over.

2. Flash chill it - Pour the coffee you just brewed right into a tall glass or carafe filled with ice. Our recipe calls for weighing the ice, but you can add more or less to your liking. This will rapidly cool the coffee and dilute that stronger brewed coffee perfectly.

3. Doll it up - Like milk? Add some. Like sugar? Add some. The world is your oyster here.

4. This recipe is for a single serving, triple it to try it in an auto-drip maker

In no time at all you have an amazing cup of iced coffee, so if there’s a reason you need to get outside in the heat - hopefully this helps!

Pinup Coffee Co Iced Coffee Recipe (Fresh, Strong, Perfect)

Ingredients you will need:

• 23 grams of coffee - Rationed Passion is our favorite for iced coffee

• Grinder or pre-ground to slightly finer than drip grind

• 200 grams soft, filtered water

• 135 grams ice cubes

• A glass or carafe

• Your preferred pour over dripper and filter, we used a Hario V60

• Optional: milk, sugar, syrup

• 5 Minutes of your time

Instructions:

1. Grind 23 grams of coffee a little finer than a normal V60 or auto-drip size. We used size 14 on a Baratza Encore.

2. Heat water to 198F or wait for a minute after it boils to use.

3. Place your filter in the dripper and rinse with hot water, discard the rinse water.

4. Add the coffee grounds to your dripper with the rinsed filter. Place a carafe with 135 grams of ice onto a scale, top with the dripper, and zero the scale.

5. Pour 50 grams of water to start your brew and let it bloom for 45 seconds.

6. Slowly pour the rest of the water, being careful to do a gentle and slow pour, and do not pour directly onto the filter. Total water is 200 grams.

7. Remove the dripper after the water has nearly fully drawn down. This should take just shy of three minutes.

8. By the end of your brew, most of your ice should have melted. You’ll want to make sure you have enough ice to keep this cold, so adjust to your preference. The total weight of ice and water (pre-brewing) here is 335 grams.

9. Serve in cool glass with more ice. Enjoy!

Pro Tips - Making Better Coffee Everyday

Start with freshly ground coffee.

Coffee is at its best right after grinding: full of aroma, vibrant flavors, and all the little nuances that make a cup memorable. Pre-ground coffee loses those qualities faster, and with iced coffee (which naturally dilutes over time), there’s nowhere for bad coffee to hide. If you buy from your favorite local roaster (hint, hint) and they grind it for you to use quickly, you’re in the clear. But if you really want to level up all your brewing—hot or iced—investing in a quality home grinder is a game changer. Your taste buds will thank you.

Use filtered water.
It sounds simple, but it’s huge—about 99% of your coffee is water. Using filtered water helps keep the flavor clean, crisp, and refreshing, letting the coffee itself shine. Think of it like using good stock in soup—it makes everything better.

Skip the heat plate with auto-drip coffee makers.
If you brew a full pot but only drink part of it right away, turn off that heat plate. While it does keep your coffee hot, it also cooks it (acids in coffee keep heating) leading to bitter, burnt flavors that overpower everything else. If you need to keep your coffee warm, transfer it to a thermal carafe instead. You’ll keep those smooth, balanced notes intact.

Why This Is The Best Iced Coffee at Home

Because it’s quick, convenient, and super flavorful. Making iced coffee at home with this method leaves you with a better cup that’s not iced down or stale. Once you take a sip after brewing it this way you will realize that it’s not just a recipe for iced coffee - it’s your recipe for a nice refresher on a hot day, or any day for that matter.

There is no need to over complicate it. The best iced coffee recipe starts with good coffee brewed fresh and ends with a tall glass of ice. No leftover coffee. No time consuming cold brew. Just freshly brewed coffee - iced.